TCF Task 2 Notes: What to Write During the Two-Minute Preparation
Use the two-minute preparation to map the information you need, not to write a dialogue that must be delivered in order. FEI’s public Task 2 sample permits short notes and makes the candidate responsible for starting and leading the exchange. Original HootBill practice, not official exam material or an official scoring template; the four-zone layout is a training method, not a required format.
HootBill · Edited
Platform practice method
Separate official permission from the practice method
FEI’s public Task 2 sample gives five minutes thirty in total, including two minutes of preparation. It permits short notes, says to use the scratch sheet supplied by the examiner rather than write on the subject, and makes the candidate start and lead the information-gathering exchange. Repetition or clarification may be requested.
Practical administration at a particular centre should still follow the instructions given on the day. The layout below is HootBill practice.
Original practice example
Original French examples: turn four note zones into questions
Keep only four note types: roles, facts already supplied, three or four information gaps, and one reminder to follow up or clarify. These questions are original HootBill practice, not wording copied from the public sample.
- Quels sont les horaires des cours ?
- Turn the “time” gap into a direct question.
- Combien coûte l’inscription ?
- Ask about cost or registration only if that fact has not already been supplied.
- Vous avez parlé d’un niveau intermédiaire. Comment puis-je savoir si ce niveau me convient ?
- Use “intermediate level” only after the other person has introduced it.
- Pardon, pourriez-vous préciser ce point ?
- Ask for clarification when part of the answer is genuinely unclear.
Platform practice method
Two-minute drill: keep reducing the notes
Allow eight to ten keywords in round one, six in round two, then only the role, goal and three or four gaps. Ask a partner to change one answer each round; your next question must change too. Review whether you repeated a fact already given, read full sentences without listening, and built at least one real follow-up.
Before you start
Do I have to write complete questions during Task 2 preparation?
No official requirement we verified says that. The public sample permits short notes; keywords and information gaps are a HootBill training choice.
Does the public sample prove that every centre handles the paper identically?
No. It supports the published task instructions; centre-specific paper, seating and logistics should follow the centre and examiner instructions on the day.