Certificat d’Etudes de Français Pratique 2 (CEFP2) 

This is an examination based on the Council of Europes Threshold specification. It tests the language skills needed to interact in social and work situations in a French-speaking environment. There are five components:

Reading

There are two sections. In the first one, candidates are expected to read short factual texts, scan factual material for information and show an understanding of the structure of the language. They must also be able to understand themes, the attitudes of the writer and the effect the passage is intended to have on the reader. Texts are taken from magazines, newspapers, literature, etc. There is one task with seven to ten items of the following types: multiple-choice. In the second one, candidates are expected to find the structure of one short text by classifying different sentences. The component lasts twenty minutes.

Writing

Candidates are expected to give information and advice or to report an event. Topics are taken from everyday life (invitations, cancellations, minor accidents, etc.). The instructions to the candidate specify both the purpose of the task and the audience at which it is aimed. There is one compulsory task. Candidates write a letter (formal or personal) or a short composition. Spelling is taken into account in this test. Responses should be between 120 and 150 words in length. The component lasts forty minutes.

Listening

Candidates must be able to understand factual radio reports on sports, the weather, news, etc. There are four tasks The first consists in identifying various types of messages (professional, friendly, familial, publicity). The second and the third test the global and factual understanding of various types of messages. And in the last one candidates have to identify the right words between two proposed each time in one message. There are 17 multiple-choice items.  

The component lasts fifteen minutes.

Speaking

Candidates are tested individually. They are expected to be able to express themselves on general topics, to take part in a discussion, to defend their own point of view and to relate some past experience in context. The component lasts ten minutes.

Structural Competence

Candidates are expected to be able to use pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions and common past tenses of verbs in context.

The component consists of gapped texts: the first one with multiple-choice items, the second with verbs to conjugate and the third is a sentence transformation exercise.

The component lasts twenty minutes.

Weighting of components

The Writing and Speaking components carry 40 pts. The Reading, structural competence and Listening components carry 30 pts (Total marks: 70 pts).

Results

There are two grades: Pass and Fail. Successful candidates may apply for a certificate.