Which mistakes cost marks in TCF Canada speaking task 2?

Task 2 is a role play. The examiner plays someone from everyday life, and you have to get information by asking them questions. It is not a free conversation, you are the one running it. Most mistakes come from that.

Each mistake carries a label. “FEI instruction” means the rule appears in FEI’s sample paper. “Our reading” means it is our interpretation of the speaking criteria, set out in how speaking is scored.

Mistake	Status
Waiting for the examiner to start	FEI instruction
Writing full sentences while preparing	Our reading
Always the same question form	Our reading of the linguistic criterion
A badly built question	Our reading of the linguistic criterion
Not reacting to the answers	Our reading of the pragmatic criterion
The wrong register	Our reading of the sociolinguistic criterion
No questions left before the end	Our reading
Leaving without wrapping up	Our reading

The examples below follow a made-up topic. You want to rent a community hall for your son’s birthday. The examiner is the city hall clerk. Ask them questions (capacity, price, equipment, conditions).

Waiting for the examiner to start

The instructions in FEI’s sample say it plainly, you speak first and you lead the conversation. A candidate who sits in silence waiting for a question shows they have not understood the task. Open with a sentence that sets the scene.

Fautif. (silence) … Oui ?

Corrigé. Bonjour monsieur. J’organise l’anniversaire de mon fils le mois prochain et j’aimerais louer une salle. Est-ce que je peux vous poser quelques questions ?

(Hello. I’m organising my son’s birthday next month and would like to rent a hall. May I ask you a few questions?)

Writing full sentences while preparing

Two minutes is not enough to write eight full questions, and reading a sentence off your sheet is audible. Note keywords, one per point in the brackets, and build the question as you speak.

À éviter. Est-ce que vous pourriez me dire combien de personnes la salle peut accueillir au maximum ?

À faire. capacité ? / prix week-end ? / tables, chaises, cuisine ? / ménage, caution ?

(A full written question versus keywords for capacity, weekend price, equipment, cleaning and deposit.)

Always the same question form

A question carried by intonation alone, « La salle est libre le samedi ? », is fine in speech. The problem is asking ten in a row. Vary them, it shows the range of your grammar.

One form only	Varied forms
La salle est grande ?	Combien de personnes peut-elle accueillir ?
Il y a une cuisine ?	Est-ce qu’il y a une cuisine équipée ?
Je dois payer avant ?	Quand faut-il payer la location ?

A badly built question

Inversion is the most formal form, and that is where mistakes happen. When in doubt, « est-ce que » is always correct.

Wrong	Fixed
Combien ça coûte-t-il ?	Combien est-ce que ça coûte ? or Combien coûte la salle ?
Qu’est-ce que la salle comprend-elle ?	Qu’est-ce que la salle comprend ?
Pouvez-vous me dire où est-ce que je peux payer ?	Pouvez-vous me dire où je peux payer ?
Vous savez qu’est-ce qui est inclus ?	Vous savez ce qui est inclus ?

The last two lines are indirect questions. After « savoir », « dire » or « demander », say « ce qui » or « ce que », never « qu’est-ce que », and no « est-ce que » after « où ». As for « Combien ça coûte-t-il ? », it mixes two forms and is best avoided in writing and in speech.

Not reacting to the answers

Candidat. Combien coûte la salle ?

Examinateur. C’est 200 dollars pour la journée.

Candidat. Est-ce qu’il y a des chaises ?

(How much is the hall? 200 dollars a day. Are there chairs?) The candidate is reading a list. Nothing shows they understood the answer, while FEI assesses interaction. React first, then move on.

Candidat. D’accord, 200 dollars, c’est raisonnable. Et ce prix comprend le ménage, ou il faut le faire soi-même ?

(OK, that’s reasonable. Does the price include cleaning, or do we do it ourselves?)

The wrong register

The topic says who the examiner is. A city hall clerk gets vous, a friend back from a trip gets tu. The most common mistake is switching from one to the other halfway.

Fautif. Bonjour monsieur, vous avez une salle libre ? … Et tu sais si on peut mettre de la musique ?

Corrigé. Bonjour monsieur, vous avez une salle libre ? … Et savez-vous si on peut mettre de la musique ?

No questions left before the end

Eight quick questions can run out well before 3 min 30. The silence that follows costs more than one more question. Keep two follow-ups that work with almost any answer, and ask for detail on what was just said.

• « C’est-à-dire ? Vous pouvez me donner un exemple ? » (Meaning? Can you give me an example?)
• « Et si jamais il y a un problème le jour même, comment ça se passe ? » (And if there’s a problem on the day, what happens?)
• « Qu’est-ce que vous me conseillez ? » (What do you recommend?)

Leaving without wrapping up

The exchange often stops in the middle of a question. When you feel the end coming, sum up and say thank you. It is one sentence, and it shows you can close an interaction.

Corrigé. Donc si je comprends bien, la salle est libre le samedi, c’est 200 dollars avec les tables, et je dois laisser une caution. Merci beaucoup, je vais en parler à ma femme et je vous rappelle.

(So the hall is free on Saturday, it’s 200 dollars with tables, and I leave a deposit. Thanks, I’ll talk to my wife and call you back.)

Before test day

1. Practise with the topics in the list by theme, with a 2-minute timer for preparation.
2. Note keywords, never sentences.
3. Have someone play the examiner and give short answers, to force you to follow up.
4. Record yourself and count how many questions start the same way.

The full dialogue of a candidate who avoids these mistakes is in the task 2 sample. NCLC Prep grades writing, not speaking. If your writing needs work too, you can have a written task corrected there, with a limited free trial.