CEFR Speaking Levels Compared: DELF, DELE, TCF, IELTS, TOEFL
The CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference) describes speaking ability in six levels, A1 to C2, but no exam reports a level in the same way. DELF, DELE and Goethe-Zertifikat are level diplomas: the certificate is the level. TCF, IELTS and TOEFL are score exams: they report a number that is then mapped onto the CEFR scale. Most of the equivalence tables published online ignore that difference, which is why they mislead candidates who try to convert a speaking score from one exam to another.
Quick summary (August 2026) — CEFR B2 speaking corresponds to: DELF B2 or DELE B2 (the diploma itself, minimum 5/25 in the DELF oral); TCF 10–13/20 (official FEI grid); IELTS Speaking 5.5–6.5 (approximate alignment); TOEFL iBT Speaking 4–4.5 on the 1–6 scale in force since 21 January 2026. Level diplomas never expire; score exams are typically accepted for two years.
The two families of speaking exam
Level exams are built against one CEFR level and ask a single question: does this candidate perform at this level? DELF/DALF (French, France Éducation international), DELE (Spanish, Instituto Cervantes) and the Goethe-Zertifikat (German) all work this way. You register for B2, you sit a B2 paper, and you either pass or fail at B2. A “high” DELF B2 and a “just passed” DELF B2 produce the same diploma, and that diploma is valid for life.
Score exams place you on a continuous scale that spans several levels at once. TCF (French), IELTS and TOEFL iBT (English) do this. You register for the exam, not for a level, and the report tells you where you landed. You cannot fail — you can only land below what you needed.
This changes what a speaking score means. On a level exam, your marks measure margin: how comfortably you cleared the bar. On a score exam, your marks measure level: which bar you cleared. The same 15/25 means “passed B2 solidly” on a DELF paper and would mean something entirely different on a scale that runs A1 to C2.
Speaking scale by exam, mapped to CEFR
| Exam | Type | Speaking scale | What counts as B2 speaking | Validity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DELF (French) | Level diploma | 25 points, 5 criteria scored in bands (0 / 1 / 3 / 5) | The B2 diploma itself. Pass mark 50/100 overall, eliminatory minimum 5/25 in the oral | For life |
| DELE (Spanish) | Level diploma | 3 weighted tasks (35% / 35% / 30%), 4 analytic criteria plus a holistic scale | The B2 diploma itself. Pass mark 60/100, with speaking grouped with listening | For life |
| TCF (French) | Score exam | Out of 20, converted with the official grid | 10–13 / 20 | 2 years |
| IELTS (English) | Score exam | Band 0–9; 4 criteria at 25% each, averaged and rounded | Band 5.5–6.5 (approximate) | 2 years (institution-dependent) |
| TOEFL iBT (English) | Score exam | Section score 1–6 since 21 January 2026 | 4–4.5 (5–5.5 = C1, 6 = C2) | 2 years |
Sources: Manuel du candidat TCF, France Éducation international, April 2024, p. 26 (the /20 grid); the official IELTS–CEFR alignment published by IELTS; the ETS TOEFL iBT score scale update of January 2026. DELF and DELE marks follow the current official grids described in our DELF B2 speaking criteria guide and DELE B2 speaking criteria guide.
The full TCF speaking grid
TCF is the only one of the three score exams that publishes a clean, official, level-by-level speaking grid, which is why it is the most quotable:
| CEFR level | TCF speaking score (/20) |
|---|---|
| A1 | 1 |
| A2 | 2–5 |
| B1 | 6–9 |
| B2 | 10–13 |
| C1 | 14–17 |
| C2 | 18–20 |
The bands are uneven, and the B1/B2 boundary sits on the 9–10 line — exactly where French naturalisation and Canadian Express Entry thresholds fall. Full detail in our TCF scores and levels guide.
Where the equivalences break down
A conversion table is an approximation. Four things it does not capture:
Alignment is statistical, not definitional. IELTS is explicit that there is no one-to-one correspondence between its bands and CEFR levels: the C1 threshold falls between 6.5 and 7, so many band-6.5 candidates are at C1 and some are marginally below. A table printing “6.5 = B2” hides that uncertainty.
The tasks are not the same speaking task. DELF B2 gives 30 minutes of preparation for a structured monologue followed by a debate with the examiner — a rhetorical, argumentative performance. IELTS Speaking is an 11–14 minute interview in three parts with one minute of preparation for a single long turn. TCF is three short tasks, two of them unprepared. A candidate can be genuinely stronger at one format than the other at the same underlying level, which is why our TCF vs DELF comparison is a more useful read than any conversion table when you are choosing between them.
The criteria are weighted differently. IELTS gives pronunciation a flat 25% of the speaking band. The DELF grid scores lexis, morphosyntax and phonological control alongside two separate task-fulfilment criteria, and phonology carries far less weight. Someone with excellent grammar and a heavy accent scores materially differently on the two.
Compensation rules differ. On DELF you may fail one skill badly and still pass, as long as you total 50/100 and never drop below 5/25. Several immigration programs that read TCF or IELTS results allow no compensation at all: every skill must independently reach the threshold. The same “B2 profile” can pass one and fail the other.
The practical consequence: use a conversion table to check which requirements a score you already hold is likely to satisfy, never to predict a score you have not taken.
Which exam actually proves your level
In most real cases the choice is made for you. Universities, employers and immigration authorities almost always name an exam rather than a CEFR level, and where they name a level they still list which certificates they accept as evidence. Check that requirement before anything else.
When the choice is genuinely open, the trade-off is simple. A level diploma (DELF, DELE, Goethe) never expires, so it is the better investment if you expect to reuse the proof for years — but you must pick the right level in advance, and failing means retaking everything. A score exam (TCF, IELTS, TOEFL) cannot be failed, is scheduled far more frequently, returns results in days rather than weeks, and lets a result you did not expect still be useful — but it lapses, typically after two years, and you pay again to renew it.
One more consideration specific to speaking: a level diploma tells a reader you met a standard, while a score exam tells them exactly how far above it you were. If your target is a competitive points-based immigration system — Canada’s Express Entry, Québec’s PSTQ — the extra granularity of a score exam is worth real points, and our TCF Canada score conversion guide shows how those points are awarded.
What B2 speaking sounds like, whatever the exam
Underneath the different scales, every one of these exams is looking for the same CEFR B2 behaviours in the oral: you can sustain an argument for several minutes without the listener having to help you, you can defend a position and concede a point without losing the thread, your errors do not obscure meaning, and you can shift register between a prepared presentation and an unplanned exchange. What the exams disagree about is how to measure that, not what it is.
Practice therefore transfers between exams much better than scores do. Building the habit of speaking for two uninterrupted minutes under time pressure helps at IELTS Part 2, at the DELF B2 exposé and at TCF tâche 3 alike, even though none of those three would score the same performance identically.
Find out which level your speaking actually reaches
Record your answers under real exam timing and get feedback scored against the official criteria of DELF, DELE, TCF and IELTS — criterion by criterion, not a single blended number.
Start a free simulationRelated reading
- IELTS Speaking band descriptors explained — how the four criteria are averaged and rounded
- TCF scores and levels: the /20 and CEFR grid
- DELF B2 speaking: structure and criteria
- DELE B2 speaking: structure and criteria
- DELE vs DELF vs SIELE vs Goethe: which exam
- Practising speaking for language exams with AI
Frequently asked questions
What IELTS speaking band is CEFR B2?
IELTS aligns bands 5.5 to 6.5 with CEFR B2 and bands 7 to 8 with C1. IELTS itself stresses that this is not a one-to-one correspondence: the exam spans a continuum rather than testing one level, and the C1 threshold in practice falls somewhere between 6.5 and 7.
What TCF speaking score is B2?
10 to 13 out of 20, according to the official interpretation grid in the Manuel du candidat TCF (France Education international, April 2024, p. 26). The same grid applies to the writing test.
Is DELF B2 the same level as IELTS 6.5?
They sit at the same CEFR level, B2, but they are not the same kind of statement. DELF B2 is a level diploma: you either meet the B2 standard or you do not, and the diploma never expires. IELTS 6.5 is a point on a continuous scale that happens to fall in the B2 band, is reported per skill, and is normally accepted for two years.
What is the TOEFL 1-6 speaking score in CEFR terms?
On the scale ETS launched on 21 January 2026, a section score of 4 or 4.5 aligns with B2, 5 or 5.5 with C1, and 6 with C2. Scores of 3 and 3.5 correspond to B1. Score reports also show a CEFR level directly, and a comparable 0-120 total until January 2028.
Do DELF, DELE and Goethe certificates have a CEFR score?
No, and that is the point of them. Each diploma is issued at a single CEFR level, so the certificate itself is the level statement. Your marks (out of 25 per skill for DELF, out of 100 for DELE) only decide whether you passed at that level, not which level you reached.
Can I convert my speaking score from one exam to another?
Not reliably. Conversions run through CEFR as an intermediate step, and each exam measures speaking with different tasks, different criteria and different weightings. A conversion table tells you which requirements you are likely to satisfy; it does not predict the score you would get on the other exam.
Which exam should I take if I need to prove B2 speaking?
It depends on who is asking. Universities and immigration programs name a specific exam far more often than a CEFR level, so check the requirement first. If your target genuinely accepts any B2 evidence, a level diploma (DELF, DELE, Goethe) is permanent, while a score exam (IELTS, TOEFL, TCF) is faster to sit and usually valid for two years.