French Property News – August 2019

http://www.completefrance.com August 2019 French Property News 71

to talk about myself for two minutes. Next up,

after two minutes’ preparation, I had to ask

questions to obtain information. In my case, it

was what to do and see in Limoges. The last

part was more difficult. This was four and a

half minutes of me arguing a point. I had to

justify why I thought moving abroad is a

beneficial thing to do. I struggled a little, but

kept up my monologue for the requisite

amount of time, hopefully without mangling

the French language too badly.

Twenty-five minutes later the oral

comprehension exam began. By now, more

people had gathered in the lobby, and in total

there were eight of us taking our TCF ANF that

day. We all trooped after the examiner to the

same room we’d been in earlier, and looked for

our allocated desks. Awaiting us were an

answer sheet and a question booklet. The

examiner explained how to use both.

The first six questions of the exam presented

us with a statement followed by four possible

answers to choose from on the tape. From

question seven onwards, we only got the

questions on the tape: we had to read the

answers in the booklet and choose the correct

one, or, as in a few cases for me, the one that

appeared to look the least wrong!

Since the same exam is used to evaluate

candidates whose language level ranges from

A1 (beginner) to C2 (practically native), there

were always going to be some questions that I’d

struggle with. As it turned out, only one eluded

me completely and so the answer to that one

was 100% guesswork. Others at least had an

element, however small, of educated guesswork

about them.

Results and relief

Exactly a calendar month after taking the test,

and only a fortnight later than promised, I got

the results. I’m delighted to say that I passed. I

got B2 (intermédiare avancé) in the oral

expression part of the test, and C1 (supérieur)

in the oral comprehension part.

According to the explanations on the back of

my attestation, getting B2 in the oral expression

means that I can express myself in a clear and

detailed way on a wide range of subjects in

which I have an interest. C1 in oral

comprehension means that I can grasp the

essentials of a long speech, and understand TV

programmes and films almost without effort.

And you know what? I actually can.

So, that’s one element of the application

process ticked off, but there’s now a ticking

clock in the background. The attestation is only

valid for two years so, heaven forbid, if I don’t

get my application sorted and submitted within

the next 23 months then I’ll have to resit the

TCF. That’s something I’d rather do without! 

Next month: Putting together the paperwork

Stephanie Dagg’s book Heads above Water:

Staying afloat in France is available

from Amazon

REAL LIFE

Château de Boussac is a beautiful local monument

Revising alfresco for the language tests!

Stephanie and husband Chris run a carp fishing business and smallholding

For more inspirational real-life stories visit

completefrance.com/living-in-france/real-life

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