$1616 later
For the record, I grew up speaking French. After not speaking it regularly for a decade or so, I picked it back up for the test. My first shot I was ONE point away from getting 7 and above in all categories.
Then the second time, I missed the same categorie with an even lower score. I took that exam discouraged and not fully prepared.
The third time, I was ready. I took expression écrite more seriously than the other categories because that’s the one I kept failing at. I had help from fellow TEF exam takers, my tutor and I watched a lot of YouTube tef exam videos. I had a structure for expression écrite and I stuck to it. Then I got my results. I was gutted. I did not understand what went wrong because I failed not one but TWO categories. (For the record, on that day I was more nervous about expression orale than anything else.)
So I took a break. I kept my tutoring sessions and I kept doing writing exercises. I kept watching TEF videos specifically from the CCI website to be more clear on what they wanted. That actually helped. When I took the last one, there was less pressure (mainly because only my tutor and I knew). I prayed, gave it all I could and hoped for the best. I got my results and CRUSHED expression écrite with a C1 level.
I almost gave up you guys. Especially after the third one. I’m so glad I didn’t. 🥹