e-TEF Canada is the computer-based TEF Canada from Le français des affaires (CCI Paris Île-de-France), taken in person at an approved centre. Listening (40 questions, 40 min), reading (40 questions, 60 min) and writing (2 sections, 60 min) are done on a computer with a headset, and speaking is a 15-minute face-to-face exchange with an examiner, recorded for a second marking. The scores, the NCLC conversion and the CRS points are identical to any other TEF Canada.
Key takeaways
- e-TEF is TEF Canada on a computer at a centre. It is not an at-home test.
- Listening, reading and writing are on screen; speaking is face to face with an examiner and recorded.
- Listening: each recording plays once and you can't go back. Reading: you can move freely between questions.
- Writing is typed. An on-screen keyboard has the accents, but practising typing French saves real minutes.
- Le français des affaires says results arrive in 1–10 working days as a PDF; some centres quote longer.
On this page
If your centre sells "e-TEF Canada" or "E-TEF", you're booking the normal TEF Canada, taken on a computer. It's made by Le français des affaires, part of the CCI Paris Île-de-France, and IRCC accepts it exactly like any TEF Canada result. You still sit it in person, at an approved centre: there is no at-home version (see can you take TEF or TCF Canada online?).
New to the exam itself? Read what the TEF Canada test is first. This guide covers what's different about the computer format, what isn't, how results arrive, and the one practical skill most people forget to practise: typing French accents.
- 3 of 4
- Tests taken on the computer
- 1×
- Each listening recording plays once
- 1–10 days
- Working days to results, per Le français des affaires
What is e-TEF Canada?
#e-TEF is the electronic delivery of the TEF. Le français des affaires' page on taking TEF Canada says reading, listening and writing take place on a computer, and that speaking is face to face with an examiner. Its 2025 invigilator handbook says an application called Paragraphe has been the single delivery platform for the written tests since June 2021.
So in practice, most TEF Canada sessions today are e-TEF, whether or not the centre uses the name. The same handbook allows a paper writing sheet only as an occasional exception for a candidate who genuinely can't use a computer, arranged in advance by the centre. If you have a reason to need that, ask your centre before you book.
| Test | Questions or tasks | Time | How you take it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listening (compréhension de l'oral) | 40 multiple-choice questions | 40 min | Computer and headset. Each recording plays once; you can't go back |
| Reading (compréhension de l'écrit) | 40 multiple-choice questions | 60 min | Computer. Move freely between questions; a timer shows time left |
| Writing (expression écrite) | Section A: 80+ words. Section B: 200+ words | 25 + 35 min | Typed on the computer, with an on-screen accent keyboard |
| Speaking (expression orale) | Section A: obtain information. Section B: convince | 5 + 10 min | Face to face with an examiner; recorded for a second marking in Paris |
All four tests must be taken on the same day for the result to count for immigration. For what each task asks, see the TEF Canada exam format.
How is e-TEF different from the paper TEF?
#- You click answers instead of filling in a sheet
- Listening audio comes through your own headset
- Writing is typed, and you see your text as you go
- A countdown timer sits in the corner of the screen
- Results come back as a PDF, often faster
- The number of questions and the timings
- The task types in writing and speaking
- The scoring and IRCC's NCLC conversion
- Speaking with a live examiner
- The 2-year validity and the CRS points
Is e-TEF Canada adaptive?
Nothing in Le français des affaires' material describes it as adaptive. The handbook describes fixed-length tests of 40 questions with questions of varying difficulty, and in reading you can move back and forth freely, which an adaptive test wouldn't allow. So a hard question doesn't mean you got the previous one right, and an easy one doesn't mean you're failing. Answer everything: a wrong answer scores 0, the same as a blank.
Rules on screen that catch people out
- Listening moves on by itself. You can't return to an earlier recording. Within one recording that has several questions, you can move between those questions.
- In reading, the "finish" button appears only once you've viewed every question. When time runs out, the test is submitted automatically.
- In writing, if you click "finish" on Section A early, you can't go back to it. You go straight to Section B.
- Scratch paper is for writing only, on request, and the invigilator collects and destroys it. No pens, paper or dictionaries on the desk otherwise.
- No latecomers. The handbook says no one is admitted once the test has started, and phones can't be used even as a watch.
Is the e-TEF speaking test on a computer?
#No. Le français des affaires says the speaking test is face to face with an examiner and is systematically recorded so the CCI Paris can carry out a second, independent marking. The examiner shouldn't know you. Some centre pages say speaking is "recorded and evaluated in Paris": that's this same arrangement, not a talk-to-the-microphone test.
Speaking is often scheduled separately from the written tests, but on the same day. Your convocation will give the time. Section A (5 min) is asking questions to get information; Section B (10 min) is persuading the examiner. Prepare both sections out loud, with a timer.
How fast do e-TEF Canada results arrive?
#Le français des affaires' attestation page says results arrive within 1 to 10 working days of the test, by email with a link to a secure online space where you download your attestation as a PDF. No paper attestation is issued. Its TEF Canada overview page says about two weeks, and some centres quote longer: AF Lagos tells candidates 4–6 weeks. If nothing arrives, check your spam folder, then ask the centre, which is informed first. For a rough date, use the TEF and TCF result date estimator.
How do you type French accents on the e-TEF?
#Accents are part of French spelling, and spelling is marked in writing. Le français des affaires says that if the keyboard doesn't have é, è, ê, ç or à, an on-screen virtual keyboard gives you them. That always works, but clicking each accent is slow. Which keyboard you'll get depends on the centre: AF Toronto, for example, says it uses a US QWERTY keyboard with the on-screen accent keyboard, while centres in France or North Africa may use AZERTY.
| Character | On-screen keyboard | French AZERTY | Windows US-International | Mac (US layout) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| é | Click é | Key 2 (unshifted) | ' then e | Option+e, then e |
| è | Click è | Key 7 (unshifted) | ` then e | Option+`, then e |
| à | Click à | Key 0 (unshifted) | ` then a | Option+`, then a |
| ê, â, î, ô, û | Click the letter | ^ key, then the letter | ^ then the letter | Option+i, then the letter |
| ç | Click ç | Key 9 (unshifted) | ' then c | Option+c |
| ù | Click ù | Key next to m | ` then u | Option+`, then u |
The French accents chart shows when each accent is used. Then type a timed Section A answer in the box below. It counts your words live, so you'll know how long 80 words takes you when you're typing in French:
Hier matin, à Lyon, un chauffeur de bus a sauvé une fillette de six ans qui s'était perdue près de la gare. Selon les témoins, l'enfant pleurait seule sur le trottoir quand le conducteur l'a remarquée. Il a arrêté son véhicule, a rassuré la petite et a prévenu la police. Moins d'une heure après, elle a retrouvé sa mère, très émue.
Which centres run e-TEF Canada?
#Many centres now name the computer format on their pages. In our centre directory, these say e-TEF or E-TEF explicitly:
| Country | Centre | What the centre says |
|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | AF Lagos | Computer-based E-TEF and E-TCF Canada, sold on its online portal; no postponement or refund |
| India | AF Madras (Chennai) | e-TEF Canada calendar, 10 seats per session, two-week registration period |
| India | AF Pondichéry | e-TEF Canada on Wednesdays, about two sessions a month |
| India | AF Bombay, AF Pune, AF Hyderabad | e-TEF Canada at about ₹26,000 incl. GST |
| Egypt | IF Égypte (Cairo) | Yearly e-TEF Canada calendar with short registration windows |
| Pakistan | AF Karachi, AF Islamabad | e-TEF on set or custom dates; Islamabad says paper TEF is suspended |
| UAE | AF Dubai, AF Abu Dhabi | e-TEF Canada on laptops at the centre |
Centres in Canada, such as UQAM in Montréal and AF Toronto, also run TEF Canada on computer. Browse TEF Canada dates by country, or find what runs near you:
Taking TEF Canada in France? Ask the centre whether your session is on computer. See TEF Canada in Paris and the other centres in France.
How should you practise for the computer format?
#Le français des affaires publishes free online tutorials for each TEF test, plus sample papers and audio. They show the screens and the way questions move, which is exactly what the computer format adds. Our free TEF and TCF practice tests guide links them all.
For the day itself, read what to expect on exam day and check the ID your convocation asks for.
- Myth
e-TEF is the online TEF you take at home.
FactNo. It's taken at an approved centre, under supervision. IRCC doesn't accept any at-home French test.
- Myth
e-TEF scores are worth less than paper TEF.
FactThe scoring and NCLC conversion are identical. IRCC doesn't distinguish between them.
- Myth
On the e-TEF you speak to a computer.
FactSpeaking is face to face with an examiner. It's recorded so a second examiner in Paris can mark it too.
- Myth
The test gets harder when you answer correctly.
FactThe official material describes fixed sets of 40 questions, and you can move freely in reading. Nothing describes it as adaptive.
Check yourself
1 of 4.Which e-TEF test is not taken on the computer?
2 of 4.In e-TEF listening, can you go back to an earlier recording?
3 of 4.You click "finish" on writing Section A with 5 minutes left. What happens?
4 of 4.How does Le français des affaires deliver the attestation?
Questions people ask
Yes. e-TEF Canada is TEF Canada delivered on a computer. IRCC accepts it like any TEF Canada result, as long as all four tests were taken on the same day.
Only the delivery. e-TEF is the computer-based version of the same test, with the same tasks, timings and scoring. Most TEF Canada sessions today are run this way.
Usually not. Le français des affaires runs the written tests on its computer platform and allows paper writing only as an exception for someone who can't use a computer, arranged by the centre in advance.
Basic skills are enough: using a mouse, scrolling and typing. Some centres, such as AF Hyderabad, mention basic computer skills as a requirement. Typing speed in French matters most.
It depends on the centre. AF Toronto says it uses US QWERTY with an on-screen accent keyboard. Ask your centre, and practise the on-screen method either way.
Yes. Many centres run TCF Canada on computer, and some, like AF Bangalore and IF London, run it on paper. See TEF vs TCF Canada.
Terms in this guide
- Attestation
- E-TEF / E-TCF
- Le français des affaires
- Convocation
- Ancien score
- Institut français
- Score /699
- Expression orale
Each one is defined in plain English in the TEF & TCF Canada glossary.
Sources
- Le français des affaires: TEF Canada, taking the test (passation)
- Le français des affaires: TEF Canada attestation
- Le français des affaires: TEF invigilator handbook 2025 (PDF)
- Alliance Française de Lagos: E-TEF Canada
Rules and fees change. Always confirm with IRCC and your test centre before you pay.
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