FAQs

Alexa brings out a new live lesson every couple of weeks. Each of these lessons covers an important aspect of learning French and doubles as a great opportunity for you to communicate with Alexa and the wider Learn French with Alexa community.

The live lessons every second Tuesday, at 10:30, 12:30 or 13:30 GMT, although we occasionally take short breaks in the Summer and around Christmas.

The 'Learn French With Alexa' YouTube channel is a free resource providing French education in relaxed, easy-to-follow videos on a range of topics.

With the YouTube paid membership you will get access to support guides to some of our popular YouTube playlists, access to our regular live lessons and more, depending on the membership level. Visit our YouTube page to find out more. (Learn French With Alexa - YouTube)

The 'Complete French Course' is for people who wish to take their French to the next level and really want to focus on achieving fluency. The course is carefully structured from A1 (beginner) level to C2 (proficiency) level, following the internationally recognised "CEFR" guidelines.

Yes, you can. At the top of each support guide you will find an option to 'Download this guide as a PDF'.

The LFWA course is not specifically designed for DELF/DALF exam preparation, however the course covers all the grammatical points which are required in the exam from A1 (beginner) level up to C2 (proficiency) level. So although the course is not explicitly designed to prepare for you for the exam, it can certainly supplement and help your DELF/TFE preparation. Why not take a look at the course outline to see exactly what is covered in each lesson.

To achieve a pass, you will need to score 65% on the exam. To achieve a merit, you will need to score 75%. To achieve a distinction, you will need to score 85%.

Yes, our Complete French Course is accredited by CPD, which enables us to provide certificates upon completion after passing a level exam.

Yes, you can change your plan at any time. Please contact us at support@learnfrenchwithalexa.com and we will do the switch for you.

Yes, you can! Please contact us at support@learnfrenchwithalexa.com with the subscription plan that you wish to purchase and we will then send you a PayPal subscription invoice. Once the subscription has started, we can manually create your account and provide you with the relevant login details.

It's not easy to answer this question since there are so many factors that can influence the amount of time required to learn a language, such as the attitude and motivation of the learner, the time dedicated to studying, the learner’s attentiveness to the language, etc. Research indicates that it takes around 480 hours to reach basic fluency in French.

Find out more from my blog.

Unlike the Complete French Course, the TEF course is not a subscription. Once you’ve bought the course, you will be given lifetime access, so you won’t ever need to worry about renewing it.

However, if you’ve purchased the TEF & 'The Complete French Course' Bundle, you will be given 1 year's access to the Complete French Course.

Alexa and our team of TEF experts have created this highly effective TEF preparation course. We've collated all of our specific test knowledge to create invaluable lessons and quizzes and to bring you the best techniques, strategies and tips to guide you through the TEF exam step by step. You will be given structured methodical practice to have everything you need to get top marks in one of the toughest French exams out there.

We recommend being at least B1 (intermediate) level before embarking on our TEF course. The TEF is a difficult exam, and our tests and lessons are designed to accustom you to the kinds of questions and exercises the exam will ask of you.

The TEF and TCF exams are similar to one another: both TEF and TCF Canada are international assessment tests to assess your French language proficiency, and both are IRCC approved language test.

The main differences between TEF and TCF include:

• the format of the tests
• the time limit
• the number of questions

TEF Canada consists of the following tests:

• Oral Comprehension Duration: 40 minutes About the task: the task consists of 60 questions
• Reading Comprehension Duration: 60 minutes About the task: the task consists of 50 questions
• Oral Expression Duration: 15 minutes About the task: the task consists of 2 subjects to discuss
• Written Expression Duration: 60 minutes About the task: the task consists of 2 subjects to write about

TCF Canada consists of the following tests:

• Oral Comprehension Duration: 35 minutes About the task: the task consists of 39 items
• Reading Comprehension Duration: 60 minutes About the task: the task consists of 39 items
• Oral Expression Duration: 12 minutes About the task: the task consists of 3 tasks to discuss (Task 2 & 3 are the same as TEF, task 1 is a 2 min introduction of yourself)
• Written Expression Duration: 60 minutes About the task: the task consists of 3 tasks to write about

Our course is specifically designed for the TEF exam, however since the exams are very similar the preparation won't vary much, if you decide to go for our TEF Preparation Course just remember to check mock tests for the TCF before you sit the exam.

A pupil with no French background should expect to dedicate a minimum of 9-12 months of focused studying in order to get through all of our Complete French Course material, in addition to the exam preparation material in order to ensure a good score on the TEF exam.

A proficient (B2+) French speaker should expect to dedicate 4-6 months of focused studying in order to get through all our preparation material and ensure a good score on the TEF exam.

The GCSE, or General Certificate of Secondary Education, is a qualification taken by school students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as some institutions in other countries around the world, in order to prepare them for the final two years of secondary school and for the job market. There are around 60 subjects with GCSE qualifications—including, of course, French.

The Learn French with Alexa GCSE course has been designed to align with the AQA exam board. This means that while students undertaking a French GCSE with another exam board may find the guides, videos and other resources useful for improving their French, it will not prepare them for their respective exams or coursework.

The GCSE course will be continuously updated to reflect any changes to the AQA French GCSE. This includes the reforms that will be implemented in September 2024.

It is recommended that students undertaking the GCSE course have a minimum level of A2 in the CEFR. (You can check your level here.) However, those with a lower level may benefit from Alexa’s Complete French Course, which covers all levels of French proficiency, from the very basics to advanced French. You can purchase the GCSE course and the Complete French Course together at a discounted rate as part of a bundle.

There are many ways to improve your French, and listening to French radio or watching French films can really hep. I would recommend watching films that are quite lighthearted and easy to follow. Films such as 'Les Intouchables' 'Le Dîner de Cons' 'Bienvenue Chez les Ch'tis' are all feel good movies and very lighthearted. Watching French speaking films with English subtitles first then again with French subtitles will help you not only understand what is going on in the story but help your listening skills improve.

The same goes for books. Try to limit your reading to short and easy reads. Classic books such as 'Le Petit Prince' will help you improve your reading skills. It may be that you wish to read it in English first then in French. Have a look at the Learn French with Alexa page on Amazon. It is filled with book recommendations to help you with your French.

As for the radio, I find that France Culture is perfect for French learners as the French spoken is articulate and they discuss current affairs (which you can relate to if you follow them in your language). Europe 1 is another radio station where you may discover the 'real' spoken French. This latter may be more suited for conversational level. Why don't you have a look at my top 10 French films of all time in this blog or have a look at this blog to discover children's films.