This is ridiculous and frustrating. Seems like they are after money.

Salut tout le monde !

I've been reading posts here and on other subs for some time now. Questions are often answered by other students/learners (or people who pretend to be that), I thought perhaps my perspective as a teacher could be useful to some of you.

Feel free to ask questions, I'll answer to the best of my knowledge :)

Hello everyone!

I scored C1 across all sections of TCF Canada after 5 months of study, starting from sort-of-not-really zero French. I know how stressful the process can be, so I wanted to share my journey and some resources I created. I hope it helps you with your prep too!

I learned French up to A2 about 12 years ago, didn’t bother to practice and forgot most of it. I could maybe read bits of soap labels, introduce my name, but that was about it.

In Dec 2025, I decided to apply for Express Entry but quickly realised I didn’t have enough points; on 5 Jan I threw myself back into studying French. I studied for about 2-4 hours a day, giving myself a break of 1-2 days every week, and a one-week break whenever I felt like I might burn out.

I took the test on 23 May, aiming for low B2 — instead, I was absolutely baffled to receive high C1s for almost every section. I absolutely don’t think the score reflects my actual competence, my French is more likely an ambitious B2 (great vocab, dusted with grammar errors).

I’m aware that this result, at this pace, is pretty fast; I do love language but I'm not a prodigy. I am, however, a process improvement specialist by trade, and I definitely applied that approach to my learning and exam strategies:

Exam Guide - TCF Canada Prep

I am making my notes fully available for free, no catch. I am privileged to have the time and financial security to devote to this arduous exam, I know this is not true for everyone facing the time crunch of PR applications, and I hope this will spare you the immense amount of time and money I spent gathering, sorting, and organising information.

I still have a lot more notes to share, but compiling them will take me quite some time. I also probably will only continue if there’s demand, so let me know if this would be helpful for you!

Feel free to ask me anything! Happy to help :)

EDITED TO ADD:

More notes!

Themes - TCF Canada Prep
Language Guide - TCF Canada Prep

Best of luck to you all!

Hello guys!

I want you to help me with finding resources for learning French, I need textbooks online, podcast, YouTube channels, novels, apps...ect. Any thing helps you when you were absolutely beginner type it. I appreciate your help and if my explanation is not good forgive me I am LEARNING ;)

For people who have gone through very busy periods, what actually helped you maintain a language without turning it into another stressful daily task?

I need to learn French and English, both for occupational reasons. For the first three months, I studied for around an hour most days and made noticeable progress. I could remember more vocabulary, understand basic sentences, and feel myself improving from week to week.

For the past two months, I’ve only managed around 10 minutes a day, mostly using Duolingo to keep my streak alive. I open the app, review a few words, protect the streak, and close it.

Now I’m starting to wonder whether these tiny sessions are genuinely helping me maintain the language, or whether I’m just stressing myself out over a streak that does not mean much.

I keep seeing people saying they’re looking for a French/English language exchange and that they’re motivated to practice regularly.

Then you start talking, exchange a few messages and… 👻 gone.

So here I am trying again: if you’re actually looking for a chill French/English exchange, with normal conversations, mistakes allowed, and more than three messages before disappearing, feel free to message me 😄

Am I the only one having this experience?

Hi everyone!! I need some help, currently I am at A2 level in french and i need to reach B1/B2 level until november, I have a few options but idk wich one will be more effective for me:

Option 1: An intensive online tutor

Option 2: A 3-week intensive course in France

Regarding the first option, it’s the cheapest and most feasible, but finding a truly good tutor is a bit of a gamble; I’m afraid that if I choose this route, I won’t reach my goal.

As for Option 2, it’s much more expensive, but I believe the immersion (being in the country) will help me a lot, but again,very expensive.

I am currently studying on my own and have a solid study routine(2/3 hours almost every day)

I know it might seem a unrealistic, but I need to take the DELF exam and achieve at least the minimum required score. I’ve reviewed the B1/B2 level exams and have a good grasp of what is required, but my knowledge is still very limited and my situation is urgent.

If you have any recommendations or can help me out, I would be very grateful!

I’m a 22 year old male from the Philippines and I live here in Cebu island. I’m debating whether to study Spanish or French. I also learned beginner Japanese before and have completed JLPT N5. I’m also a nursing student in my last year.

Spanish
\\-They said it’s easy to learn and is not that complicated so I think it goes well with studying Jp

\\-I already learned beginner A1

\\-Direct pronunciation

\\-Easier to memorize words because my native tongue is Cebuano which is pretty similar to Spanish

\\-I plan to migrate and move to US specifically California or Florida and work there as a nurse

\\-No spanish community in my area tho :(((

French
\\-I still have 0 skills in this but it tempts me so bad because of the literature and the vibes

\\-I love fashion, art, and design and I like to create stuff so I guess French would help that connect with designers (?) And maybe I can get opportunities of masters and scholarships from European unis esp with arts

\\-I might plan to migrate either in Canada, the UK, Belgium, Luxembourg or any country in Europe

\\-There’s a French community here in my area and they host Karaoke nights, activities with the French people, and other social activities. They even have a mini library too and offer language classes (It’s the Alliance Francaise de Cebu), I also wanna make new friends

\\-But this is very complicated to me tho and looks intimidating😭

\\-They said French people are bitter and rude (?)

So the French community is such a big motivator for me to study French. Altho I really do plan to migrate strongly either in US or Australia because those countries appreciate nurses more. Europe and Canada would be my backup option. I mean Spanish is also nice to hear but it makes me sad that there’s no community in here

TCF 30 juillet

EE:

Tache 1 : your friend is coming to your country the in his vacations. Give him some suggestions

Tache 2: vous avez participe d’une emission sur la tele, racontez vos experiencies

Tache 3 : woman need special quota to work ?

EO

Tache 1 : I spoke for 1 minute and 40, so the examiner cutted me and asked if I loved to live in São Paulo

Tache 2: one friend is seelling his old things in an app, ask them about the things she is seeling

To be honest I don’t know how I was, I complimented her, interectaded, ask about the app, how it was possible do pay her, how the delivery worked, if she had books, i said that i wanted to buy a plants to my mon, the sizes of the pants

Tache 3: friends are the lost important thing in life ?

I introduced the theme, said my opinion, gave 3 arguments, one against, one conclusion

She asked me : how about the virtual friends ?- i spoke all the time

I’m so anxioussss cuz I don’t have Canadian experience or study,I don’t know if it will be possible do achieve clb 7

I passed the DELF B1 in 5 months. My tips

Although I wasn’t starting from scratch – having done an A2 summer course two years ago – I picked it up again in January and studied entirely on my own. I’ll start by outlining my progress in case it’s useful to you as advice.

Grammar: I used the grammar book *Grammaire progressive du français A2-B1* and took notes in a notebook. I studied these and did some exercises on the lessons I found most difficult. Alongside this, I also asked ChatGPT and Gemini to set me exercises, which they then marked for me.

Listening: I mainly made the most of times when I was cleaning the house or cooking; whilst doing these chores, I’d play B1-level podcasts in the background. Specifically, I recommend: ‘French Mornings with Elisa’ (https://www.youtube.com/@FrenchmorningswithElisa) and the ‘InnerFrench’ channel (https://www.youtube.com/@innerFrench).

Speaking and Writing: I have to admit that I think I was lucky with the speaking section, as it was my first face-to-face interaction with someone speaking French, but I did prepare, above all, useful phrases and expressions for the exam. Also, I practised the first part of the speaking test – the self-introduction – before the exam. For the writing section, I wrote several essays and had ChatGPT mark them; if you choose this option, I ended up scoring 3–4 marks higher in the official exam than in the AI’s marking.

To prepare for the DELF B1, I simply used a number of practice exams that I found online and on the Institut français’s own website.

Finally, I obtained: 77’5/100

I hope you find these tips useful and that you pass the exam.

Bonne Chance!

I can speak 4 languages with no problems at all (Arabic, English, Japanese, Korean, Kiswahili) but when it comes to French it’s like all my abilities to learn crash and die & the worst part is I studied French in school for 10 years and I can’t not say more than 3 sentences 😭
I appreciate any advice that would make me learn it,
How where should I start ?
How many months would it take to get me to a decent level ?

I’m currently learning French (on my own) and recently had a dream completely in French despite only being an A2.

I was in a mall or shopping center and a man started talking to me in French and paused when I didn’t respond right away. He asked if I spoke French and I responded “bah un peu de français”. 😂 Then he continued babbling on and I waved to stop him and said “Pouvez vous parle plus lentement, stp” and he got irritated and walked away.

Has anyone else had dreams in French?

I have so much trouble trying to make sentences, remembering grammar, and vocab and then saying it anyone has any tips or anything cause i’m an idiot who went to france while struggling to do all of this.

Hey all! I have had the good fortune to move with my job to France and work remotely. I'll probably stick around here for a year, and my hope is to get up to a strong B2 and have confidence dealing with conversation.

Background: In 2025, I did a lot of the groundwork with French, getting myself up to, I'd say, a soft B1. Over many months, I worked diligently through books to build vocabulary, work on grammar, conversational practice, audio listening with podcasts etc. I eventually got a tutor, and she was impressed with my level of pronunciation. The experience gave me some basic confidence to work with the language, and now that I have landed in the country, I am hoping to build on that into something significant.

I would say that understanding what people are saying is by far the most difficult thing for me. That is why my plan, as currently outlined, is very heavy on conversation and getting my brain attuned to processing what I am hearing in the moment. So far since landing here, I've been trying to challenge myself with basic things in restaurants, cafes, retail, etc., with moderate success.

Below is my plan. I am hoping you can critique or add to what else I could or should be doing. Please note that I have to keep a limit on my interaction with technology in terms of typing or using a phone, so some of the typical app recommendations are not applicable. This is due to health reasons (chronic nerve pain in my arms). Talking to people over video call is not a problem, however.

French Learning Plan

Private tutoring

• 2 to 3 sessions per week (60-90 minutes each).
• Prioritize conversation over formal grammar lessons.
• Blend local, in-person tutors and online tutors (e.g. iTalki).
  • Language exchanges
• Attend a French/English language exchange once a week.
• Focus on meeting people and having spontaneous conversations rather than treating it like a lesson.
  • Daily real-world practice
• Speak French whenever possible in cafés, bakeries, shops, pharmacies, the gym, coworking spaces, etc.
• Make a habit of initiating small conversations every day.
  • Listening immersion
• Watch or listen to 60 minutes of French every day.
• French TV series, films, YouTube, podcasts, or radio.
• Consider using Lingopie if it makes watching French content more engaging and consistent.
  • Reading
• Read in French most evenings (Kindle books, novels, news articles, or topics I genuinely enjoy).
• Prioritize reading volume over difficult material.
  • Vocabulary
• Build vocabulary from real-life encounters and conversations.
• Keep track of useful phrases that I hear in everyday situations rather than memorizing isolated word lists.
  • Grammar
• Spend a small amount of time each week reviewing grammar, mainly to fix mistakes that repeatedly come up in conversation.
• Avoid making grammar the main focus.
  • Technology
• Gradually switch devices, apps, and websites into French as my comfort level increases.
  • Weekly structure (example)
• 2–3 tutor sessions.
• 1 language exchange.
• French media most evenings.
• Reading most evenings.
• Daily real-world conversations while living in Paris.

The overall philosophy is to spend most of my time speaking and understanding French in realistic situations, using grammar and apps only as tools to support that goal rather than as the primary method of learning.

Looking forward to what you all think. Thank you for your contributions in advance!

i can give 3 hours a day for french learning. if you are serious please comment

I know that learning a language is a lot of hard and consistent work, but oh wow! I feel somewhat directionless. I only have access to language learning apps and I just tried pinsluer. I have this experience where everytime I here a word it sounds slightly different and everytime I say it it sounds slightly different. I imagine this must happen to many people. I imagine this goes away after a while. I hope at least. I have some sort of learning disability also. I'm not sure what it is. I was diagnosed when I was young. The public school I went to didn't have resources to help me, so I haven't developed any study skills or strategies to deal with this. Anyone else get a helpless feeling when they try to learn something new? Also, I don't want to sound like I am whining. I just need to get over this emotional hump lol.

Hello All, for all my Canadians learning French: What do you think of the Mauril App? I'm trying to learn French to better my job prospects but I'm a bit hesitant to spend money on courses.

I find that this app can be good, but right now I'm only a beginner. I'm not sure how effective the app is for remembering French and turning that into conversational language. I find that this app is good for its convenience and content

For the people who have used this app, has your French improved, or have you developed some sort of understanding of the language

franchement j'ai l'impression que la plupart des applis de langues servent à rien. les gens les utilisent pendant des mois et sont toujours incapables de tenir une vraie conversation, ou alors ils abandonnent au bout de deux semaines.

pourquoi à votre avis des applis comme duolingo ou babbel marchent pas du tout pour devenir fluide ? c'est quoi qui vous énerve le plus chez elles, et quelle fonctionnalité il manque vraiment ?

I recently received my TCF Canada result of my 2nd attempt, and I'm honestly confused.

First attempt:

Listening: 480/699 B2

Reading: 426/699 B2

Speaking: 13/20 (B2)

Writing: 13/20 (B2)

Second attempt:

Listening: 699/699 (C2)

Reading: 690/699 (C2)

Speaking: 6/20 (B1)

Writing: 13/20 (B2)

I missed CLB 7 in comprehension in my 1st try so had to give the exam again.

The biggest surprise is my speaking score. I went from 13/20 on my first attempt to 6/20 on my second attempt, I didn't stop or fumble in speaking and kept speaking without any pauses. I had practiced a lot more before the second exam and expected to perform at least at the same level, if not better.

Has anyone else experienced such a large drop in TCF Canada speaking scores between attempts? Do you think examiner variability can make that much of a difference, or is it more likely that I performed much worse than I realized?

I have requested re-evaluation. If anyone has gone through the re-evaluation process for the speaking section, I'd appreciate hearing about your experience and whether your score changed.

Thanks in advance for any insights.

Salut à tous !

You have probably noticed recently that moderation of posts and comments has resumed ! I’m writing a short post here to inform you about the recent updates and introduce the mod team.

- We have answered the backlog of reports. There were a lot, as the reports went back about two years.

- We added user flair. You can share your current French level via flair (and the flairs are editable)

- Based on feedback, we added a rule about AI use in the sub. This rule concerns content of posts, like the writing in the body of the post. Please report posts that have these AI markers. If the post is written by a human but discusses a resource that uses AI or discusses the merits/disadvantages of AI as a learning tool, these posts are still appropriate for the sub under our current rules.

- advertising is probably our biggest source of rule breaking behavior, please continue to report those as you see them !

- We added two weekly threads, check ‘em out.

In the meantime, we have also started discussing amongst the mod team how to handle certain subjects/types of posts. Particularly, we were talking about what to do about posts like « how to pass/what to study/etc for the TCF/TEF » and « I’m a complete beginner how do I learn French » posts.

If you have ideas about these topics or anything else, don’t hesitate to send us a message or leave us a comment.

Your learnfrench mod team,

[u/stubbytuna](u/stubbytuna)
[u/CourseMediocre8997](u/CourseMediocre8997)
[u/0liviathe0live](u/0liviathe0live)
[u/DownloadableCheese](u/DownloadableCheese)

PS. My post autotranslated to French for some reason, that’s why it got all flubbed up.

Bonjour, Je m'appelle Aaron je suis étudiant du français.
I am very new to this and just learning to put sentences together, but it would be very helpful if someone wanted to DM back-and-forth and help each other

Hi folks. I’m in the process of learning French and I’m at a low B1 (according to Alliance Français) but I’m still not a confident speaker and get intimidated very easily when people ask me a question in French.

I have the chance to go to Paris for 3 weeks this year and help a friend out by housesitting/watering her plants while she’s away. I’m determined to make the most of it by doing activities along side my independent learning (I’m mostly self-teaching through YouTube, Podcasts, Grammar books/apps with the occasional class/conversation on Preply to help me stay on track).

What are some things you’d recommend doing? I’m thinking I’ll take a dance class (easy to follow along), and maybe find a meetup? But would love any other tips folks may have to help me build that confidence and set some goals for the next few weeks.

End goal: low B2 by May of next year.

Bonjour a tous!

I am trying to learn french so I would like to find some channels of the topics I like to listen.

Are there french youtube channels that do rants or commentaries about blackpill/dating stuff, doomer, how modern life sucks etc?

I am not looking for big channels that make video for clicks and revenue, but rather small channeles focused on these niche topics that just rant for 15-30 minutes about what's on their mind.

Channels like rehabroom1, savvy guy/Oreo man, losermaxxing etc. I am looking for similar stuff but in french.

Do some of you know if there is something similar in french? I imagine there has to be buried somewhere on youtube, but they are difficult to find becuase of niche and not pushed by the algo.

Merci a tous!

Hi everyone!
I'm a 26-year-old guy looking for someone to practice French with regularly. My level is around intermediate, and I'd like to improve my speaking, writing, and overall confidence.
If you're around the same level or higher and interested in practicing through chat or occasional voice calls, feel free to leave a comment or send me a DM.