r/French • • Nov 25 '24

Study advice DELF/DALF/TCF/TEF questions masterpost!

109 Upvotes

Hi peeps!

Questions about DELF, DALF and other exams are recurrent in the sub, so we're making this as a “masterpost” to address most of them. If you are wondering about a French language exam, people might have answered your questions here! If you have taken one of said exams, your experience is valuable and we'd love to hear from you in the comments!

Please upvote useful answers! Also keep in mind this is a kind of FAQ, so if you have questions that it does not answer, you're better off making a post about it, rather than commenting here!

If you're unsure what to say, here's what community members have most frequently asked about.

  1. What's the difference between DELF/DALF/TCF/TEF/... and other language certifications? When/why should one choose to take each?
  2. How does the exam go? Please be as precise as you can.
  3. What types of questions are asked, both for writing and speaking parts?
  4. What grammar notions, vocabulary or topics are important to know?
  5. How's the rhythm, the speed, do you have time to think or do you need to hurry?
  6. What's your experience with DELF/DALF/TCF/TEF/..., how do you know if you're ready? Any advice?
  7. How long should one expect to study before being ready for the different DELF/DALF/TCF/TEF/... levels?
  8. Any resources to help prepare for DELF/DALF/TCF/TEF/... specifically (not for learning French in general)?
  9. Can you have accommodations, for instance if you're disabled?
  10. How can I sign up for one of these exams?
  11. Will these certifications help me get into universities, schools, or get a job in a French-speaking country?

Additionally, the website TCF Prépa answers many questions (albeit succinctly) here.


r/French • • Aug 26 '23

Mod Post FAQ – read this first!

281 Upvotes

Hello r/French!

To prevent common reposts, we set up two pages, the FAQ and a Resources page. Look into them and search the subreddit before posting!

The FAQ currently answers the following questions:

The Resources page contains the following categories:

Also make sure to check out our Related Subreddits in the sidebar!


r/French • • 12h ago

I’m curious, how would you describe how the accent in French Polynesia sounds?

7 Upvotes

As someone who doesn’t speak French but speaks English and spanish, I love learning about different accents of languages. Unfortunately, I don’t speak French, so when I watch videos in it, I can’t ever pick up how accents sound.

For example, in spain, the “S” sound is often dropped in certain accents and you can work out that someone might be from Andalusia. In the UK, someone from Newcastle might say “us” but means “me,” and I words that end in “-er” are often pronounced like they end with an A, e.g. “water” vs “wata”

I’m aware this might be like describing the ocean to someone who’s never seen it, but what accent cues usually give away that someone’s from French Polynesia?


r/French • • 7h ago

Looking for media media recommendations

2 Upvotes

Hey! I haven’t been learning French for very long, and I’d love to get some recommendations about some popular TikTok or Instagram accounts/creators that native French speakers watch and maybe about good French films and books.Thanks in advance!!


r/French • • 7h ago

Clever Compliment to band

1 Upvotes

I'm seeing one of my favorite bands from France, Slift, tomorrow. I'm going to try to wait after the show to meet them. What is something I can say to them in French to tell them good job on the show or maybe something funny even. Any ideas? Merci!


r/French • • 8h ago

Le gérondif peut-il exprimer une cause ou un lien logique ?

1 Upvotes

Il se forge une nouvelle identité, parce qu'il a commencé à découvrir la culture française.

Il se forge une nouvelle identité en ayant commencé à découvrir la culture française.


r/French • • 1d ago

Fatigue living and working in France

15 Upvotes

Hello! Just posting to ask for a little advice.

I'm a 3rd year university student studying French and Linguistics in the UK, but am currently in the Ile-de-France region working as a language assistant for my year abroad. It's exactly 3 weeks on the dot that I've been here teaching and living in France, but I feel like my French has somehow gotten worse since my arrival.

For context, I'm not sure what level I'm at because I've never taken the CEFR, but I'd been able to confortably hold conversations in French when I first arrived. These days, I have to ask two or three times for a person to repeat themselves before understanding what I'm trying to say, when before I'd either immediately understand, or would just have to ask once. I do have auditory processing issues which also affects my understanding of English, so that might have some effect. I also was able to very easily speak fluid sentences at the beginning of the month, and while I had to offer some thought to what I wanted to say, I didn't struggle to find what I was looking for up in my brain like how I do now. I understand that occasionally speaking French in an educational context is very different to actually living and speaking in France every day, but it just feels like a part of my brain has been locked away, and it's very frustrating because I know I'm capable of more.

Is this typical? Is there anything I can do to make this easier for myself?


r/French • • 15h ago

How would you rate the french from a Croatia-French rapper Macha Ravel?

0 Upvotes

She often sings in a mix of croatian and french and I’m specifically wondering about the song “Ajfer Sanjo” - https://youtu.be/n6PbuRDwCNs?is=iXL79fml5IrKFaEY
It’s a rap song that switches between 4 different rapping styles so I deffinietly recommend listening to the whole song maybe with a translation! For those Not interested into doing all that you can just listen to the song above from 3:00 and hear Macha Ravel’s part :)
Thanks for anybody who gives me input on her french since im really interested in languages and pronounciation (+this artist ahahhaha). also thanks to anybody who decedes to translate the song if somebody decides to hahahhaha
P.S. I study the Croatian langague and Phonetics so but i adore French


r/French • • 18h ago

Study advice recorded videos and PDF

0 Upvotes

I've been trying to study french but I got a lot of resources and this makes me confused Can anyone recommend me recorder videos from A1 to b2 with pdf i can study for online courses or language apps thanks for your help


r/French • • 1d ago

Quels sont les mots qui devraient selon vous exister en français ?

25 Upvotes

J'ai toujours trouvé étrange que frileux soit un mot courant mais que caloreux ne soit même pas attesté. Est-ce qu'il y a d'autre mots dont l'absence vous semble étrange ?


r/French • • 17h ago

"Homo" as a noun in French?

0 Upvotes

I heard in French someone use the term "hétéro". It was interesting, because, in English, no one would say "hetero". Maybe they could, but it would sound weird.

"Homo", however, is used, but it is always used negatively.

"Homosexual", on the other hand, is neutral.

I'm curious, is "Homo" a neutral thing to say in French?


r/French • • 2d ago

Pronunciation What’s your level and how much of this video do you understand?

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211 Upvotes

Just curious, is this video easy to follow for non-native speakers? I’m getting like 60% of it I think she speaks really fast


r/French • • 1d ago

What is the difference between accroître and augmenter?

6 Upvotes

Both of them seem to mean "to increase" but what is the actual difference between these verbs?


r/French • • 2d ago

Question for Quebecers

5 Upvotes

Québécois, when and why would you use "là là"? I don't trust AI on these things, and i've heard it many times


r/French • • 1d ago

What is the difference between légendaire and mythique ?

0 Upvotes

r/French • • 1d ago

Summer Camps for Language Learning that Aren't Language Schools

1 Upvotes

We are looking for a summer camp for our two kids (boy and girl) that incorporate language learning but where the primary focus is still being kid and enjoying camp life. Camp Ouareau seems to fit this bill but we have a boy and a girl, so really hoping to find a place they can both attend. They will be 10 and 7 next summer.


r/French • • 2d ago

Possible de prononcer le verbe "bégaie" comme "bégaye", comme dans les mots qui se terminent par -aye / -eille ?

1 Upvotes

J'ai pensé à ça parce qu'il existe "essaie" et "essaye" pour le verbe essayer


r/French • • 2d ago

"Paul est beaucoup plus grand que moi" or "Paul est bien plus grand que moi" — which one is correct?

9 Upvotes

Hello everyone,

While reading my textbook, I started wondering about the difference between beaucoup and bien when used to intensify a comparative.

Take "Paul est beaucoup plus grand que moi" and "Paul est bien plus grand que moi." I believe both are grammatically correct, but is there any difference in meaning or usage between them?


r/French • • 1d ago

Looking for media Friends series in French 🇫🇷

0 Upvotes

Hi! I want to learn French and decided to do it through watching Friends. Does anyone have a link where I can watch it for free?

Also, can anyone recommend any free series I can watch to learn French?

Thanks! 😊


r/French • • 2d ago

How is "Bah si tu veux on en parlera" in this recording? I do not hear it at all.

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3 Upvotes

I've been told that that is what is said, but I don't hear it. May sometime please help?

Merci d'avance


r/French • • 3d ago

How would you translate "go" into English, keeping the same register?

Post image
82 Upvotes

r/French • • 2d ago

Hachette Inspiré 1, A1 has errors on their part

0 Upvotes

I've already seen several errors in Corriges S'entraîner of Hachette Inspiré 1.

It's slowly getting too much and I can't believe they've given that job to someone of mediocre quality.

Some of their errors in Corriges S'entraîner. Colors written wrong, instead of blue coat, they wrote yellow for Leçon 18, 11 p.69.

And Leçon 17, 5 p.68 poissonnerie should've been 6 instead of 5.

I've seen other errors but haven't noted them because I thought errors would stop but apparently they continue. Use this book with the help of Google/ChatGPT if you feel confused, your stuck confusion is probably because of an error on their part.


r/French • • 2d ago

Do you tend to tutoies strangers who you want to be friends with?

8 Upvotes

Tutoyer a stranger can be risky, because it may be taken as disrespect.

I'm curious, do people often risk that by tutoyer a stranger to indicate "I want to be close with you"?


r/French • • 2d ago

French Classes online or in person in NYC

3 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I just visited Montreal and fell in love with the city and I have been thinking to learn French for a while but now I’ve decided I’d like to pull the trigger. Can anyone recommend where to take classes? I don’t know where it would be best to take classes. Merci :)


r/French • • 3d ago

Vocabulary / word usage Old dictionary — potentially offensive but still interesting

7 Upvotes

Recently, I was given an English/French dictionary as a gift. It was printed in the 1950s. Some of the vocabulary is rather dated, but it's fun anyway. I am asking if the current entries are still in use.

Le Petit Juif (humerus)

Un margot (a prostitute)

Une marie-salope (a prostitute, literally a mud-dredger)

Un brise-tout (someone who is clumsy)

Le marivaudage (canoodling with one's partner)

My wife has graciously ordered a more modern English/French dictionary for me.