The TEFAQ (Test d'Évaluation de Français adapté au Québec) is a Quebec-specific version of the TEF required for most Quebec immigration programs including the Programme de l'expérience québécoise (PEQ) and the Quebec Skilled Worker Program (QSWP). If you are targeting Quebec — not federal Express Entry — register for TEFAQ, not TEF Canada.
TEFAQ tests only two skills
Compréhension Orale (Listening) and Expression Orale (Speaking). No reading or writing. This makes TEFAQ shorter — approximately 55 minutes total — but the oral focus is intense and the content is calibrated specifically to Quebec French.
What Quebec French means in practice
The TEFAQ listening section uses audio set in Quebec contexts — healthcare, housing, civic life, government services — spoken by Quebec voices at natural Quebec pace. Quebec French is phonologically and lexically distinct from Parisian French. If you have trained only on European French audio, the TEFAQ listening will feel noticeably harder than equivalent TEF Canada content.
Format details
Compréhension Orale: 40 minutes, 40 multiple-choice questions. Audio drawn from Quebec public life — announcements, dialogues, reports.
Expression Orale: 15 minutes, two sections. Section A: obtaining information. Section B: expressing and defending an argument. Topics reference Quebec culture, civic life, and daily situations.
Score requirements
Quebec uses its own Échelle québécoise rather than the federal CLB scale. Most skilled worker streams require approximately B2 in oral skills — check the specific program on the Quebec MIFI website for current thresholds.
Preparation
Heavy Quebec-specific exposure is essential: Radio-Canada podcasts, ICI RDI television, Quebec government audio, and TEFAQ sample materials from Alliance Française Québec. European French resources alone are insufficient for TEFAQ preparation.
