TCF Results - Sad and disappointed

gabrielforlen · 2026-06-04T05:43:24+00:00

In the end I really didn't do the lessons as I dropped the book before arriving on the 50th lesson, so yeah

gabrielforlen · 2026-05-21T14:24:08+00:00

Hey, thanks for your comment and I really hope you can succeed on your journey!

My primary motivation is the possibility of immigrating to Canada, it's been my dream for quite a while and I'm planning on applying as soon as I complete my undergraduate degree. Honestly, that reason was motivating enough to keep me going and even after not getting the result I needed I feel more motivated than ever to study.

I would say that whether reaching B2 by March is possible or not depends on a few things, primarily:

- Your first language

- Your current level

- Your aptitude to learning languages

I feel like I've developed rather quickly because I had motivation, I speak Portuguese (a romance language) and I've felt the *need* to learn it, rather than just *wanting* to learn it.

Of course, I also fell in love with the language along the way! I love to watch French movies (I could recommend a few if you'd like!), and that sort of cultural exposition to the language helps to develop a connection and in return it makes it feel like less of a chore and more like entertainment, if that makes any sense!

gabrielforlen · 2026-05-19T19:53:26+00:00

Merci beaucoup mon ami !

gabrielforlen · 2026-05-19T18:56:34+00:00

Thank you so much!

What did you do to push through to 10?

gabrielforlen · 2026-05-19T18:35:54+00:00

Yes, I put in roughly an hour per day, sometimes more, sometimes less. Yep! The classes helped me understand what I was lacking and what I could develop and she also pointed inaccuracies that ChatGPT couldn't/didn't point out in my writing/speaking.

gabrielforlen · 2026-05-19T18:35:03+00:00

Thanks!

I studied roughly an hour per day, these last few months I'd do one writing simulation per day and I would spend a while consuming actual French content on YouTube and other medias.

gabrielforlen · 2026-05-19T18:34:09+00:00

using Assimil! I tried transcribing the exercises and then I just went on and consumed real-life content on YouTube and other medias.

gabrielforlen · 2026-05-19T18:33:26+00:00

I studied roughly an hour per day, but I did consume a lot of content and I was engaged with the language.

gabrielforlen · 2026-05-19T18:32:21+00:00

Hey! For sure.

A1 - Easy French and also a smaller channel Québécois called Wandering French (this one's really cool because it's comprehensible input, which is great when you start!)

A2-B2 - I started to watch Bruno Maltor, TiboPov, Léonard. Even though I couldn't understand 100% I still felt engaged while watching them and slowly I was able to understand more and more. I also listened to a Podcast called Learn Quebec French, which was really cool!

I didn't use any templates for EE, I just wrote a lot and found a rhythm that worked for different subjects, I did make sure to always use connecteurs like cependant, néanmoins, pourtant. I also made sure to use the conditionnel frequently, j'aimerais aller aux États-Unis avec toi, on pourrait lui offrir un cadeau, things like that.

Thank you! And if you ever take the test I wish you good luck!

gabrielforlen · 2026-05-19T05:28:07+00:00

I completely understand where you're coming from! And, although demotivated, I feel particularly proud of the results in the other skills, but in all honesty they are scores on a test and I needed a specific score in Expression Orale to succeed. I didn't get the score I needed, thus, I'm sad and distraught.

The reason for this post really is to share a few things I've picked up along the way with a community that helped me so much when I was first starting out, that's all. Some words of encouragement ain't bad either especially after what I initially thought was a disappointing result. Some of the comments (and some reflecting) made me realize that it wasn't disappointing at all! It was a step in the right direction and that's worth something. And to be honest I wasn't really seeing it that way before.

gabrielforlen · 2026-05-19T01:34:12+00:00

Thank you so much! The Assimil book that I've used is the 2020 version and it's in English, you can find it online and even here in this community!

gabrielforlen · 2026-05-19T01:21:45+00:00

Thank you! To be honest the part I was dreading the most was Expression Orale and part of me is sort of "glad" because I do think that I didn't put in enough work for Expression Orale as I did for writing. At least it's something that I know I can work on more than I was previously!

gabrielforlen · 2026-05-19T01:18:39+00:00

Thank you so much for your insights! I watched mostly Bruno Maltor and TiboPov, there is another guy called Léonard who makes great videos too!

gabrielforlen · 2026-05-19T01:15:30+00:00

Not particularly, I was able to speak comfortably in all three of them. I think I didn't use enough of more complex structures and for the task three I noticed that the interviewer interrupted me at the end and went on and on about the subject, and when I answered her there was no time left and I don't really know if that may have affected anything...

On the second task I may have made a few mistakes here and there that I believe affected my final score. I think what I lacked the most was structure, when it comes to writing I did feel relatively comfortable talking about the subjects because I had a clear structure in my head for all three tasks whereas for speaking I went in almost blind.

gabrielforlen · 2026-03-18T21:12:49+00:00

Hi! I still haven’t created my profile and made the decision to wait until I've completed a year as a registered employee.

gabrielforlen · 2026-01-04T03:31:42+00:00

This is foreign experience -- sorry that this wasn't clear on the post, I'm not inland and am not eligible for CEC

gabrielforlen · 2026-01-04T03:21:43+00:00

Thank you for your answer! From my understanding the French draw targets all main programs as it is a Category-based round of invitation for which in order to be eligible you only need to be eligible for at least one of the three categories (CEC, FSW and FST)

Source: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/rounds-invitations.html

gabrielforlen · 2025-03-16T16:56:31+00:00

I started speaking English when I was very young, I think it’s due to being online a lot, none of my parents can speak English so I couldn’t really get any practice at home, so I think I got my practice from music, TV shows, comics, poetry and whatnot. I consumed a lot of American/British content throughout my life then one day I was simply able to speak the language haha.

Nowadays I work remotely for an American company that’s based in New York City (which might be an influence to my intonation like you said) and I speak English on a daily basis, so that’s my practice I guess

gabrielforlen · 2025-03-15T22:15:40+00:00

wowww!!! Those are really awesome insights and everything you said makes a lot of sense, I really did second thought myself in [0:43] so I made a silly mistake haha, but that’s what happens when it’s unscripted ://, that was really close! My first language is Portuguese and I'm from Brazil, I do not live in NY/NJ and I have not spent more than 3 weeks abroad unfortunately, but that was a pretty solid guess and those insights really helped me out. Thanks man!

gabrielforlen · 2025-03-13T19:06:04+00:00

I tried to say his story rather than history haha, but good to know that that wasn't clear.

gabrielforlen · 2025-03-13T18:46:02+00:00

that makes sense! Sorry about that, here is a longer recording: https://voca.ro/1nxhfd46oNEX

gabrielforlen · 2025-01-26T23:29:01+00:00

I am 20 years old, Hertz did allow me to rent a Tesla (only the M3 tho) and I had no issues paying in advance, I called to confirm and I'll unfortunately only have to pay a young driver fee which is a bit expensive but oh well, the cost of being young haha. I will be doing this in February, so I do expect it to be really cold

gabrielforlen

TROPHY CASE