FrançaisFR
Sign in

TCF Canada Speaking · task 2

TCF Canada speaking task 2: annotated example 3 (dropping off old furniture before a move)

Updated 24 October 2026 · rules checked against the official sources cited

PDF version: all 9 speaking examples

TCF Canada speaking task 2 lasts 2 minutes of preparation, then 3 min 30 in which you ask the examiner questions while they play the role on the card. The topic is original, written for this site following the official format: it is not a past exam topic, and the example is not a recording. It targets an estimated NCLC around 9; it is not an official mark. FEI · Candidate handbook

This example shows how to lead the exchange: vary questions, react to each answer, check a schedule, and bounce back after an 'I don't know'.

Take this topic with the AI examiner Read the example

The card

Vous habitez à Québec et, avant votre déménagement, vous devez vous débarrasser de vieux meubles et d'un téléviseur. Votre ami(e) travaille à l'écocentre des Collines. Vous posez des questions à votre ami(e) pour savoir comment y déposer vos objets (horaires, prix, documents, objets acceptés…).

Translation: You live in Quebec City and, before you move, you need to get rid of some old furniture and a television. Your friend works at the Des Collines eco-centre (recycling drop-off centre). You ask your friend questions to find out how to drop off your things there (opening hours, prices, documents, items accepted…).

Points noted during the 2-minute preparation

  1. Greeting + context: move, furniture, TV
  2. Price? Documents to bring?
  3. November hours, closed days
  4. Check the hours by rephrasing
  5. Volume limit; TV; damaged furniture
  6. Reuse corner: what happens to the furniture
  7. Best time to go, thanks

The example, turn by turn

Written for this page. Do not memorise it: a recited answer may be interrupted, and the examiner’s answers change from one candidate to the next.

404 words, 7 turns with a question. The real task lasts 3 min 30: read the exchange aloud with the timer below to feel the pace.

Candidate: Salut Mélanie ! J'aurais besoin de tes lumières : je déménage le mois prochain et j'aimerais savoir comment ça fonctionne pour déposer des affaires à ton écocentre.

Hi Mélanie! I could use your expertise: I'm moving next month and I'd like to know how it works to drop things off at your ecocentre.

Natural opening using tu, context in one sentence, then an indirect question ('I'd like to know how') that sets the topic.

Examiner: Bien sûr ! Qu'est-ce que tu veux jeter, au juste ?

Sure! What exactly do you want to get rid of?

Candidate: De vieux meubles et un téléviseur. D'abord, est-ce que je vais devoir payer quelque chose ?

Some old furniture and a TV. First, will I have to pay anything?

Short answer, then an 'est-ce que' question. The connector 'D'abord' structures the series of questions.

Examiner: Non, pour les gens qui habitent Québec, c'est sans frais. Par contre, apporte une carte d'identité et un papier qui montre où tu restes, une facture d'Hydro du mois dernier, par exemple.

No, for people who live in Quebec City, it's free. But bring ID and a document showing where you live, like last month's Hydro bill.

Candidate: Parfait, j'ai justement reçu la mienne. Et à quelles heures êtes-vous ouverts ?

Perfect, I just got mine. And what hours are you open?

Personal reaction to the answer, then a question-word question with inversion. 'Et' links smoothly.

Examiner: Ça dépend de la saison. D'avril jusqu'à la fin d'octobre, on ouvre à 8 h 30 et on ferme à 17 h. À partir de novembre, c'est l'horaire d'hiver : ouverture à 9 h, fermeture à 16 h. On accueille le monde du mardi jusqu'au samedi ; le dimanche et le lundi, porte close.

It depends on the season. From April to the end of October, we open at 8:30 and close at 5. From November, it's winter hours: opening at 9, closing at 4. We're open Tuesday through Saturday; Sunday and Monday, closed.

Active listening: catch the contrast 'April to October / from November' to note the schedule that matches your date.

Candidate: Attends, je veux être sûr de bien noter : en novembre, c'est de neuf heures à seize heures, du mardi au samedi, c'est bien ça ?

Wait, I want to make sure I get this right: in November, it's nine to four, Tuesday to Saturday, right?

Rephrasing to check a figure; intonation question with 'c'est bien ça?'. Shows active comprehension.

Examiner: Exactement. Évite juste le dimanche et le lundi, tu trouverais la barrière fermée.

Exactly. Just avoid Sunday and Monday, you'd find the gate closed.

Candidate: D'accord. Y a-t-il une limite de quantité ? Parce qu'entre le sofa, la commode et la table, ça fait du volume.

Okay. Is there a limit on quantity? Because between the sofa, the dresser and the table, that's a lot of volume.

Inversion question, justified by a concrete detail ('Parce que…') that makes the exchange realistic.

Examiner: Oui : chaque passage sans frais te donne droit à trois mètres cubes. Si tu dépasses, on te charge 15 $ pour chaque mètre cube en plus.

Yes: each free visit lets you bring three cubic metres. If you go over, we charge you $15 for each extra cubic metre.

Candidate: Bon à savoir, je vais peut-être faire deux voyages. Pourrais-tu aussi me dire si vous prenez les téléviseurs ? Et ma table a une patte cassée : est-ce que ça pose problème ?

Good to know, I might make two trips. Could you also tell me if you take TVs? And my table has a broken leg: is that a problem?

Reaction drawing a consequence, polite conditional request with an indirect 'si' question, then a second 'est-ce que' question.

Examiner: La télé, aucun souci : l'électronique, on la reprend sans frais. Les meubles encore beaux, tu les laisses dans la zone réemploi ; ceux qui sont endommagés, on les prend gratuitement aussi, mais ils vont dans le grand conteneur des encombrants.

The TV, no problem: we take electronics for free. Furniture still in nice shape, you leave in the reuse area; damaged pieces we also take for free, but they go in the big bulky-items container.

Candidate: Super. Justement, ma commode est comme neuve. Sais-tu ce qu'elle va devenir dans la zone réemploi ? J'aimerais qu'elle serve à quelqu'un.

Great. Actually, my dresser is like new. Do you know what will happen to it in the reuse area? I'd like it to be useful to someone.

Follow-up question on a detail from the previous answer, with inversion ('Sais-tu'). 'Justement' links the idea naturally.

Examiner: Honnêtement, aucune idée. J'ignore qui vient chercher ces meubles-là et où ils s'en vont après.

Honestly, no idea. I don't know who comes to pick up that furniture or where it goes afterwards.

Candidate: Pas grave, je demanderai sur place. Dernière question : quand est-ce que c'est le plus tranquille ? Je n'ai pas envie de faire la file pendant une heure.

No worries, I'll ask when I'm there. Last question: when is it quietest? I don't feel like waiting in line for an hour.

Accepts the 'I don't know' gracefully, offers a solution, then signals the end ('Last question') with a question word.

Examiner: Surtout, pas le samedi : on attend facilement une demi-heure, parfois trois quarts d'heure. Le mardi matin, par contre, c'est presque vide.

Definitely not Saturday: you easily wait half an hour, sometimes forty-five minutes. Tuesday morning, on the other hand, it's almost empty.

Candidate: Parfait, je vais viser un mardi matin, alors. Merci beaucoup, Mélanie, tu me sauves la vie ! Je t'invite à prendre un café après le déménagement.

Perfect, I'll aim for a Tuesday morning, then. Thanks a lot, Mélanie, you're a lifesaver! I'll buy you a coffee after the move.

Complete closing: a decision based on the answer, warm thanks using tu, and a friendly invitation that ends the exchange.

One level up: 3 phrasings

First, what is often heard around NCLC 7; then, the phrasing used in the example. Look for the same kind of sentence in your own answers.

  1. Est-ce qu'il y a un maximum ?
    → Y a-t-il une limite de quantité ?

    Inversion and the precise phrase 'limite de quantité' vary the question forms and show a more refined register.

  2. D'accord, alors je vais peut-être venir deux fois.
    → Bon à savoir, je vais peut-être faire deux voyages.

    'Bon à savoir' clearly reacts to the information received, and 'faire deux voyages' is more idiomatic than 'venir deux fois'.

  3. Je voudrais qu'on utilise encore ma commode.
    → J'aimerais qu'elle serve à quelqu'un.

    'J'aimerais qu'elle serve à quelqu'un' expresses a wish; 'servir à quelqu'un' naturally conveys the idea of being useful.

Your turn: the same topic, timed

Start the timer and do the task aloud, without rereading the example. For a real exchange and feedback (estimated NCLC, mistakes one by one), take this topic with the AI examiner.

Press Start: a topic is drawn at random.

Preparation

2:00

On your own you get no answers: the drill checks you have enough questions to last 3 min 30.

Take this topic with the AI examiner Task 2 method

All annotated speaking examples

For writing too: 18 answers annotated sentence by sentence. Annotated writing examples

FAQ

How long is TCF Canada speaking task 2?

5 min 30 in total: 2 minutes of preparation, then 3 min 30 of interaction. You start and ask the questions; you may ask the examiner to repeat or clarify.

Official sources: Official speaking sample test · TCF candidate handbook (version Q, Sept. 2026)

Can I learn this dialogue by heart?

No. The examiner’s answers will differ, and anything that sounds memorised may be interrupted. Keep the method: set the scene, ask, react, follow up.

Official source: TCF candidate handbook (version Q, Sept. 2026)

What if the examiner does not know the answer?

React simply (“Ah, d’accord, je vérifierai”) and move on to another point. It shows you are listening and keeping control of the exchange.

TCF TEF Study is independent: neither France Éducation international nor CCI Paris Île-de-France has reviewed this content. Facts come from the official pages cited; check them before you register, as the test owners can change them.

Original example by TCF TEF Study, written to the official format — not an exam topic. Levels: estimated NCLC, not an official mark. https://tcftefstudy.com/en/tcf-canada/expression-orale/tache-2/exemple-3