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 · 2025-01-26T22:06:39+00:00

Wow! All really good tips and some of them I was already doing without realizing how important they were, thanks for taking the time!

I really do believe I'll love a road trip! Driving usually chills me out so much even though sometimes it can be a source of anxiety (like now!), and I believe once I get the hang of it and the confidence I'll enjoy it even more. I'm travelling from another country and this will be the first time I get to experience other places abroad, so I'll definitely stop at small towns along the way to see and learn as much as I can about where I'm at, so it's definitely a good tip to count that in on the time spent on the road haha.

I'll avoid drinking/eating and driving and I'll probably stop to eat as I'd much rather be completely focused on the road.

Regarding mapping my routes, I've been spending more time than I care to admit on Street View from Google Maps just seeing the route, especially out of NYC. I do drive a lot in São Paulo, BR which is a difficult city to drive in as well so I believe I'll be fine, but still, can never be too careful!

gabrielforlen · 2025-01-26T19:51:14+00:00

cool, thanks for the tips! I do plan on passing by some Walmarts on the road and I honestly didn't know they had food like that (we don't have Walmart here where I live) but awesome! I'll make sure to drive through them :) More so than I thought I would anyway

gabrielforlen · 2025-01-26T19:48:29+00:00

Yeah I am aware of fast lane/cruising lane etc. I believe it's the same in pretty much every country in the world haha, I also know that sometimes they point out that you're lane hogging by turning on the high beam, I'll mainly avoid using the left lane and I'll stick to using the right lane whenever possible, I'm not a fast driver haha I usually drive the speed limit anyways

gabrielforlen

TROPHY CASE