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French for TEF Canada & TCF Canada

This lesson covers the everyday phone calls and paperwork that come with living
independently in France: banking, phone and internet service, subscriptions, and the
tradespeople you call when something breaks. It is, almost word for word, the vocabulary
the TEF formal phone call (Expression Orale Section A) is built around — that task is
explicitly a vouvoiement call to an unknown professional, using a funnel of polite
questions, and every domain in this lesson (a service provider, a bank, a repair
call-out) is a plausible scenario for it.

Start with the mechanics of the call itself: ne quittez pas ("please hold"), joindre
quelqu'un ("to reach someone"), and laisser un message are the building blocks of any
French phone interaction, formal or not. Around them sit the two most common reasons you
would actually place a formal call: to schedule or cancel something (fixer / annuler un
rendez-vous, un service après-vente, porter réclamation), or to cancel a subscription
outright — une résiliation, the word this lesson's title borrows from résilier, "to
cancel."

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The banking cluster — ouvrir un compte, un virement bancaire, un guichet automatique
bancaire, les frais bancaires — is core survival vocabulary for opening and running a
French bank account, something every candidate preparing to immigrate will eventually
have to describe or do. The repair vocabulary (un dépannage, un plombier, un électricien)
and the post office round out the "calling a stranger for help" scenario the exam tests.

Finally, three transit and driving terms are folded in here rather than into a separate
travel lesson, because that is where they belong in daily Canadian and French life: un
abonnement de transport and le transport en commun are how most newcomers get around
before they get un permis de conduire.

Practise every vous-register sentence in this lesson aloud — that register discipline is
one of the most heavily graded elements of the oral exam.

Everyday services (l'abonnement, résilier)

Immigration and residency procedures (la démarche, le permis de séjour)

Documents, forms and paperwork (le justificatif, l'attestation)

Living in Canada (le courriel, la fin de semaine)

Finding a job (la lettre de motivation, l'entretien)

At work (le CDI, la rémunération)

Finding a place to live (la caution, les charges)

Health and healthcare (l'assurance maladie)

Studies and credential recognition (la formation, l'équivalence)

News and fait divers vocabulary (le témoin, l'enquête)

The big debates (l'enjeu, la mesure)

Stating your opinion and arguing (pour ma part, en revanche)

Conceding and countering (certes..., mais)

TEF Writing A — continuing a fait divers (journalistic narration kit)

TEF Writing B — the letter to the newspaper

TEF Speaking A — the formal phone call (vous)

TEF Speaking B — convincing a friend (tu)

TCF Writing 1 — messages and invitations

TCF Writing 2 & Speaking 1 — talking about yourself

TCF Writing 3 — the synthesis (reported viewpoints)

TCF Speaking 2 & 3 — getting information and giving your opinion

Question	Answer
a cancellation	une résiliation
to schedule an appointment	fixer un rendez-vous
to cancel an appointment	annuler un rendez-vous
after-sales service	un service après-vente
to file a complaint	porter réclamation
to pay a bill	régler une facture
an automatic direct debit	un prélèvement automatique
a bank statement	un relevé bancaire
to leave a message	laisser un message
please hold (on the phone)	ne quittez pas
to reach someone (by phone)	joindre quelqu'un
an internet service provider	un fournisseur d'accès à Internet
a repair/troubleshooting call-out	un dépannage
a plumber	un plombier
an electrician	un électricien
a post office	un bureau de poste
a bank account	un compte bancaire
to open an account	ouvrir un compte
an ATM	un guichet automatique bancaire
to withdraw money	retirer de l'argent
a bank transfer	un virement bancaire
a debit card	une carte de débit
bank fees	les frais bancaires
a transit pass	un abonnement de transport
public transit	le transport en commun
a driver's licence	un permis de conduire
I would like to request the cancellation of my phone subscription.	Je souhaite demander la résiliation de mon abonnement de téléphone.
Could you schedule an appointment with an electrician for Thursday?	Pourriez-vous fixer un rendez-vous avec un électricien pour jeudi ?
I have to cancel my appointment tomorrow, unfortunately.	Je dois annuler mon rendez-vous de demain, malheureusement.
The after-sales service called me back to settle my bill.	Le service après-vente m'a rappelé pour régler ma facture.
I would like to file a complaint about my bank statement.	Je voudrais porter réclamation au sujet de mon relevé bancaire.
Every month, my rent is paid by automatic direct debit.	Chaque mois, mon loyer est payé par prélèvement automatique.
Please hold, I'll connect you with a technician.	Ne quittez pas, je vous mets en relation avec un technicien.
I tried to reach someone all morning, in vain, so I left a message.	J'ai essayé de joindre quelqu'un toute la matinée, en vain, alors j'ai laissé un message.
I need a quick repair call-out; could you send a plumber today?	J'ai besoin d'un dépannage rapide ; pourriez-vous envoyer un plombier aujourd'hui ?
Which internet service provider do you offer in this neighbourhood?	Quel fournisseur d'accès à Internet proposez-vous dans ce quartier ?
I need to go to the post office to send this package.	Je dois aller au bureau de poste pour envoyer ce colis.
Could you explain to me how to open a bank account and withdraw money from the ATM?	Pourriez-vous m'expliquer comment ouvrir un compte bancaire et retirer de l'argent au guichet automatique ?
The bank fees on my debit card are higher than the cost of a bank transfer.	Les frais bancaires de ma carte de débit sont plus élevés que le coût d'un virement bancaire.
Since I got my driver's licence, I take public transit less often, even though I keep my transit pass.	Depuis que j'ai mon permis de conduire, je prends moins souvent le transport en commun, même si je garde mon abonnement de transport.

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