SHARON - Hi everyone and welcome back. Today we’re talking language tests, because you may
or may not be aware that if you are thinking of moving to Canada, amongst the many things you
will have to do, you will almost certainly have to take a language test in either French or English.
There are a huge number of different ways that you can come to Canada, from work permits, to study
permits, or as an entrepreneur, a businessperson or a skilled worker. For some temporary programs,
a language test may not be required, but for every immigration route to permanent residence,
you will need to prove that you can communicate in one of Canada’s two official languages.
If your chosen immigration route requires it, there is no exception to the language
test requirement, so even if you are from a French or English speaking country,
you still have to take an official test, and submit the results with your application.
It is rather frustrating for those who already speak one of the languages fluently,
but the upside is that you will probably find the test pretty easy!
Canada’s various immigration programs require applicants to achieve different language levels,
and for some people this may be a factor in choosing either a program or a location. As
an example, to apply as a Federal Skilled Worker through Express Entry you will need a CLB level
seven in one of the languages, and although all of the provincial nomination programs still require
a language test, some of them have very low requirements, such as a minimum of a CLB level 4.
But don’t worry if CLB levels mean nothing to you, we will explain everything in this video!
SHARON - This means that if you are thinking of immigrating to Canada,
the likelihood is that you will need to book, study for, and sit a language test. We both
had to take an English test, and I also took three French tests to boost our CRS points,
so I personally have first hand experience of three of the four language tests available!
There is a lot of misinformation out there about language tests, and we know from experience
that it’s hard to find the correct information. Having been through this process ourselves,
we’re painfully aware of how much confusing and often conflicting information there is available,
especially for the French tests. There are also a huge amount of so-called experts who will tell you
that to immigrate you will simply need to take an IELTS test, very few mention that there is another
English test you can take, and almost no-one makes any reference to the possibility of French tests
too! So, to save you the vast amounts of time and effort to research and understand the language
requirements for immigrating to Canada, we have done the hard work for you and are going to talk
you through exactly which tests are available, where you can take them, and what to expect.
To begin, there are four language tests which are accepted for Canadian immigration, two English and
two French. The English tests are the IELTS, which stands for International English Language Testing
System, and the CELPIP, which is the Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program.
The French tests are: The TEF, which stands for Test d’Evaluation de Francais, and also the TCF,
or the Test de Connaissance du Français, which was only added in 2018 as an accepted test, and
the reason why so many people are still unaware of it. It’s important to point out here that no
other language tests are accepted for Canadian immigration, these are your only four options.
The results of the English tests are converted into CLB levels,
which stands for Canadian Language Benchmarks, and NCLC levels for the French tests, which stands for
Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens. For the purposes of giving information here,
let’s just call them CLB levels! As we mentioned earlier, there is no minimum CLB
level to immigrate to Canada, the required level for each immigration program varies quite a lot,
so you will have to find out what level you need to reach for your chosen program.
CLB levels range from one to twelve, with one to four being seen as a basic level,
levels five and six lower intermediate, seven and eight upper intermediate,
and levels nine to twelve being advanced level.
To give some examples, federal skilled worker applicants through the Express Entry program
need to achieve at least a CLB level seven to be eligible to apply, but a federal skilled trades
applicant needs only a CLB four in reading and writing, and a CLB five in speaking and listening.
A provincial nomination from Manitoba only requires a CLB four, whereas the ​​Ontario
Express Entry program requires a CLB level seven, so you can see how much the requirements vary!
The most important thing to understand is that regardless of what level you require,
you will still have to take a test, and the better prepared you are, the higher your score will be!
Let’s start with by far the most widely used test, the IELTS. This is the world’s
most popular English language proficiency test for higher education and immigration, and it’s
easy to see why, because it is available in over 1600 locations in 140 countries.
It’s probably safe to say that regardless of where you are in the world,
if you need to take an English test, you will more than likely have an IELTS
test centre somewhere not too far away. You can find out where all the test centres are and
book a test online through their website, which we will include in the description box below.
There are two IELTS tests available, the General test and the Academic test,
but for immigration purposes you will need to take the General test.
This will assess your ability to listen, read, write and speak in English, and is graded on a
scale of one to nine, with level one being a person who knows only a few words in English,
and nine being fluent or native speaker level. There is no such thing as a pass or a fail,
simply that the better your English is, the higher your score will be, and the score you
need will depend on the program you are applying for. There is no fixed cost for the IELTS test,
as it varies from country to country. As an example, in Austria a test will set you
back two hundred and thirty five euros, in Canada expect to pay three hundred and nineteen canadian
dollars, and in Switzerland a test will cost you three hundred and sixty nine swiss francs.
The official IELTS website has a huge amount of sample questions which I
highly recommend you go through so you can familiarise yourself with the format of the test
and what to expect. We will also add this link into the description box below.
Now the CELPIP is a Canadian English language proficiency test, and is similar to the IELTS
in that your reading, writing, speaking and listening will be tested. Some prefer the CELPIP
and some prefer the IELTS, more often than not it comes down to which one is available in your area
at a time which suits you. The CELPIP assesses English abilities in everyday situations,
like communicating with work colleagues, talking to friends, understanding news bulletins,
and responding to written material. The CELPIP also offers two tests - the General Test,
and the General LS Test, but the General LS Test is only for citizenship applications in Canada.
For immigration you will need to take the General Test.
A big selling point of the CELPIP is that it uses only one, North American accent,
rather than a variety of English accents, and the cost is similar to the IELTS test in that
it varies depending on the country. Currently you are looking at two hundred and eighty dollars plus
tax to take it in Canada, or just under eleven thousand Rupees to take it in India,
which is approximately one hundred and eighty five canadian dollars. CELPIP test centres are
currently only located in Canada, the USA, Korea, Singapore, UAE, Philippines, India
and China, which certainly limits the options for applicants outside Asia and North America!
They also provide free practice tests, and preparation courses on the CELPIP website,
which we will link in the description box below.
Regardless of your level of English, it is highly advisable to prepare well for your test, even if
English is your mother tongue, because although the language itself may be easy, you should
be prepared for how much time you will have, what type of questions you may be faced with,
and how to structure a written response. This is especially important if it has been a long
time since you have taken any formal tests, as the situation itself can be quite daunting!
As a general overview, both English tests will include a wide variety of tasks such as multiple
choice questions, completing a form, identifying information or a point of view, matching
information or sentence endings, completing sentences, labelling flow-charts or diagrams,
answering short questions, writing a letter, giving your opinion, talking about a particular
topic, and having a discussion. But make sure you hit subscribe and check back regularly
as we will be releasing more videos in the coming weeks on each language test in detail.
With regards to the French tests, both the TEF and the TCF are very similar,
so again it will likely be a case of finding out which one is available nearest to you.
And because English tests are taken much more often than French tests,
you may have to travel further for a French test as there are fewer locations.
SHARON - Some test centres will offer both tests, some will offer only one, so it’s worth
keeping an eye on what your local test centres are offering, as this changes often. I took the
TCF in my nearest test centre, and when I got the results, I wanted to book to take it again as I
needed even more extra points, but by that point the test centre was no longer offering the TCF,
just the TEF. Having taken both, I can honestly say that there is not a great deal of difference
between the two, I wouldn’t say either one was easier, they just have slightly different formats,
so you should make sure you prepare for the specific test you choose.
The TEF test consists of a forty minute listening test, a sixty minute reading test, a fifteen
minute speaking test, and a sixty minute writing test. The cost of the test varies depending
on the country you are in, so you will need to contact your local test centre to find out more.
The TCF test follows a similar format, with a 35 minute listening test, a 60 minute reading test,
a 60 minute writing test, and a twelve minute speaking test. But, although the timings are
almost the same, the format and the layout of the questions is quite different, with, for example,
the TCF reading test having fifty multiple choice questions on fifty different texts,
and the TEF having longer texts, but with several questions related to each text.
The final thing to mention about language tests is that the results are only valid for two years, so
don’t be too hasty when booking your tests, as the immigration process can take a very long time, and
you really don’t want your language test results to expire before you complete your application!
So we hope that has cleared up some of the misconceptions
about language tests for immigrating to Canada,
and given you some useful information about what’s available and what your options are.
Do let us know in the comments if you have taken a language test,
or if you are in the process of moving to Canada, and of course drop any questions
into the comments box if you would like to know more. See you next time!