Citizenship test prep when English is your second language

If English is your second language, preparing for the citizenship test means doing two jobs at once: learning facts about Canada, and learning to read those facts in English. This guide is about the second job. It is written with Chinese-speaking learners in mind, but the method works for anyone. For general questions about the test language, see our FAQ for applicants whose first language isn’t English. For how to answer each question, see citizenship test tips.

Why you need to study in English

The test is in English or French only. There is no Chinese version, and no one may translate for you. You may know very well that Canada’s first Prime Minister was 麦克唐纳, but on test day you will only see Sir John A. Macdonald. If you learned the fact only in Chinese, you may not recognise it in English.

The good news: you do not need perfect English. Test questions are short and plain, and the same words come back again and again. Your goal is to recognise the key words and names of Discover Canada quickly and calmly.

Three stages: from Chinese support to English only

Chinese is a good tool for understanding a hard idea for the first time. But the balance should change as you go.

Use the language switch to compare

This site’s language menu, at the top of every page, switches between English, 简体 and 繁體. The chapter guides and articles are written in all three. On practice questions, you can also choose the language of the explanation. A useful habit: read the English explanation, then switch to Chinese and check that you understood the same thing. If the two do not match in your head, you have found a word to learn.

The core method: English question first, Chinese explanation second

1. Read the English question to the end. Find the question word: who, when, which, how many.
2. Read all four options in English.
3. Choose an answer, even if you are not sure.
4. Read the English explanation.
5. Read the Chinese explanation. Ask yourself: which English word did I not know?
6. Write that word in your word list.

Why does the order matter? On test day you can only do steps 1 to 3. If you always read the Chinese first, your brain practises answering Chinese questions, and the English ones still feel strange.

Build your own word list

Our key English terms page lists the main vocabulary of the test. Your own word list is different: it holds only the words you did not know. Keep it in a small notebook or a note on your phone, with three columns:

The sentence matters more than the translation. A word you have seen inside a sentence is much easier to recognise in a test question.

Then review with flashcards. Our flashcards cover key dates, people and symbols: tap a card to flip it and mark the ones you know. For the words on your own list, paper cards work well: English on the front, your sentence on the back.

Names and dates: learn them the English way

• Learn the English spelling of names. Chinese spellings of the same name often differ between books, websites and even between 简体 and 繁體. Alberta, for example, can be 阿尔伯塔, 艾伯塔 or 亞伯達. The English name on the test is always the same. Watch small details: it is Macdonald, not McDonald.
• Say names aloud. Saying Champlain, Laurier or Louis Riel out loud a few times helps you recognise them in print.
• Read years the English way. 1867 is said “eighteen sixty-seven”; 1982 is “nineteen eighty-two”. Say the year and the event together as one sentence: “Confederation, eighteen sixty-seven.”
• Know decades and centuries. “The 1890s” means the years 1890 to 1899. “The 20th century” means the 1900s.
• Learn unusual place names by sight. Many Canadian place names come from Indigenous languages and do not look like ordinary English words, for example Saskatchewan, Nunavut and Iqaluit.

Traps for Chinese speakers

Words that look like one Chinese word

Everyday words with a test meaning

These words have a common meaning you may already know, and a different meaning in Discover Canada:

• riding: not horse riding, but an electoral district.
• bill: not a restaurant bill, but a proposed law.
• Cabinet: not a cupboard, but the Prime Minister and the ministers.
• minister: in government, the person in charge of a department (部长), not a church minister.
• Act: a law, as in the Official Languages Act.
• the Crown: not only the King’s hat, but the monarchy and the state.
• Order of Canada: an honour, not a command.

Small words: singular, plural and NOT

• Plural -s. Chinese nouns do not change for plural, so the English -s is easy to miss. “Which province” wants one place. “Which provinces” or “which two” wants a group, so the right option will list more than one.
• is / are, was / were also tell you if the answer is one thing or several.
• NOT is written in capitals. When you see it, say the question again in your own words: “Three options are true; find the one that is not.” Our test tips show worked examples.

Is 45 minutes enough if you read slowly?

Yes. You have 45 minutes for 20 questions, which is more than two minutes per question. Most questions are one short sentence with four short options, so even a slow reader can read each question twice and still finish early. What costs time is not slow reading. It is stopping on a word you do not know. That is why your word list matters. Practise with a timer so you know your own pace.

Listening: the audio version of Discover Canada

IRCC offers Discover Canada free in several formats, including an audio version. Listening on the bus or while you cook helps you hear how names and places are pronounced, and hearing the same chapter again makes the words familiar. You can find every format on IRCC’s Discover Canada page.

A 20-minute daily routine

Short, regular practice works better than long sessions once a week. Here is a routine you can do every day:

When you have more time, for example at the weekend, take one full practice test as well.

The last week: English only

• Take timed mock exams: 20 questions in 45 minutes, like the real test.
• Set the explanations to English. Look at Chinese only if you still cannot understand after reading the English twice.
• Read your word list every day, especially the words you got wrong more than once.
• Do not start new vocabulary on the last day. Review what you already know.

It is normal to find this hard

Learning a new country’s history and government in a second language is real work, and many people feel slow at the start. That is normal. Every mistake in practice shows you one word or one fact to learn, so it is useful, not a failure. Your first practice score tells you very little about your score after a few weeks of steady study. Many people who now hold Canadian citizenship started exactly where you are.

Start today: take practice test 1 with the English-first method, and add every new word to your list.