French for Canadian immigration
If you are learning French for Express Entry, a Québec programme or Canadian citizenship, your target is a benchmark, not a textbook chapter. Easy French News publishes real news at four reading levels mapped to the NCLC scale, so you can practise the reading and listening the TEF Canada and TCF Canada actually test — on the kind of texts they use.
The Express Entry French-language proficiency category requires a minimum of NCLC 7 in all four abilities — reading, writing, listening and speaking — on an approved test. The same NCLC 7 in every ability adds 25 additional CRS points, or 50 if your English is also at CLB 5 or above; below NCLC 7, French still earns second-official-language points but not the bonus. Citizenship requires NCLC 4 in English or French for applicants aged 18 to 54. Québec’s skilled-worker and experience programmes set their own oral-French thresholds, typically level 7 for the principal applicant.
TEF Canada and TCF Canada report on the Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens. Here is how the four reading levels on this site line up.
| Reading level | CEFR | NCLC |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner | A1 | 1–2 |
| Elementary | A2 | 3–4 |
| Intermediate | B1 | 5–6 |
| Original | B2–C1 | 7–10 |
Every article at A1, A2, B1 and the B2–C1 original — the register the exam uses. Tap any word for a translation, and switch levels mid-article to see exactly what changes. With Plus: timed reading and listening at your level, and exam-format documents with questions.
Every article can be read aloud by a French voice, with each word highlighted as it is spoken. Dictation drills grade what you heard against the text.
Save words as you read and review them with spaced repetition. The dashboard tracks how much of the 5,000 commonest French words you have collected — the range NCLC 7 reading assumes.
The TEF Section A (continue a fait divers), Section B (letter to the editor) and TCF task 3 (react to two opinions), each set from an article, graded on the examiners’ four criteria with your errors quoted and corrected and an estimated NCLC band. Prompts are free to read; a grade costs one try, sold in packs.
TEF Canada and TCF Canada are accepted on equal terms. Choose by format and available dates — see the comparison.
Through an accredited centre (Alliance Française and others in most Canadian cities, and abroad). Dates fill weeks ahead near Express Entry draws; book before you feel ready.
Roughly CAD 350–500 per sitting for all four skills, set by the centre. Postponing a date is usually cheaper than failing one — which is what the placement and the timed practice here are for.
A few weeks, varying by exam, centre and season. Ask your centre for the current turnaround if your profile has a deadline.
Two years from the test date for IRCC. Note the expiry when you set your exam date: a profile that outlives its test result needs a new test.
Both exams require a waiting period — typically 30 days — between sittings, and each retake is a full new fee.
The archive carries French-language reporting on Québec and Canada alongside French and international stories, so the vocabulary you build includes the places and institutions the exam’s Canadian texts assume.
Reading and the placement are free. An account adds saved vocabulary and reviews; Plus adds timed exam practice, drills, dictation and unlimited words — with a six-month plan sized to an exam timeline.
| Easy French News Plus | A leading paid French-news service |
|---|---|
| $2.99 / month · $8.99 for one exam cycle (6 months) | $22.90 / month — Plus is 7× less |
Estimate my NCLC reading levelCompare the four reading levels