Learn French from zero, and actually reach the level you need
French is the most-learned foreign language in India for a reason: it is the only one with a real immigration payoff attached to it. If Canada is on your horizon, the level that matters is B2, and B2 is not a weekend's work. Our free French Portal takes you from your first "bonjour" to the point where the exam measures something real, explained in Hindi and English the whole way.
The honest version of "learn French for Canada"
Canada's Express Entry runs a separate French-language category, and applicants in it have historically been invited at much lower competition scores than the general pool. That is the entire reason French has become the most studied foreign language in India, and it is not hype — but the version that circulates online usually skips the part that decides whether you qualify.
The requirement for most French-category applicants is NCLC 7, which maps to B2 on the TEF and TCF scale. NCLC 7 in French also carries a substantial points bonus on top of the category itself. The trap is assuming B1 is enough, or assuming an IELTS score can stand in for French. Neither is true: IELTS and French are scored separately, and a French claim requires a French test result.
So the honest calculation is this. From zero, B2 in French is roughly 600 to 1000 hours. At one to two hours a day, that is about a year of honest work. Anyone starting a French course expecting a three-month route to PR has been sold something that does not exist, and our job is to say so before you spend the money, not after.
What the course covers, level by level
The portal follows the CEFR scale, because that is the scale the exams use. Each level assumes the one before it, so you start where you actually are rather than where a brochure says you should.
- A1 — Beginner · greetings, personal information, numbers, time, days, simple present tense. Enough to introduce yourself and order food.
- A2 — Elementary · past tense, everyday situations, shopping, directions, describing your routine. The first level where you can hold a short conversation with a speaker.
- B1 — Intermediate · future and conditional tenses, subordinate clauses, opinions and arguments. This is the level that lets you follow a normal conversation at normal speed.
- B2 — Upper intermediate · complex grammar, formal register, nuanced opinion, argument in writing. The level Canada wants, and the level most study-abroad programmes ask for.
- Exam track · the TEF and TCF format, timed, with practice tests — because knowing the language and knowing the test format are different problems.
Each level has grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation work, and each topic ends with practice questions that tell you immediately what you got wrong. Everything is explained in English first and then in Hindi, so a concept that does not land in one language still lands in the other.
Why people give up, and what actually works
French has an unusual failure pattern. It is easy to start and hard to finish, because progress between A1 and B1 feels invisible. You can study for three months and hold a conversation that would have impressed you in week one — but the exam does not measure conversation, it measures reading and writing at a level where the gap becomes obvious.
- Short daily sessions beat weekend marathons. Thirty minutes a day is enough to move; three hours on Sunday is enough to feel tired.
- Speak out loud early. You cannot fix pronunciation by reading. The French Portal has pronunciation and speaking drills from the first level precisely because silence is what makes this stall.
- Do the exercises, not just the lessons. Reading about a tense teaches you nothing. Finding and correcting errors is what makes it usable.
- Sit the practice tests under time. Most people underestimate how much the exam punishes slow reading. Knowing your level and knowing your score under clock pressure are different things.
France and Europe, if Canada is not the reason
French is worth learning beyond immigration. Public universities in France charge low or no tuition fees for non-EU students on many programmes, and a B2 opens French-language courses that English-only applicants cannot apply to. It is also the working language across much of West Africa, parts of Europe, and the whole of Quebec — including Canada, where French is one of the two official languages.
And there is a simpler reason in India: French has been taught here longer than any other European language, so there is more teaching material, more scholarship and more community around it than for a language that arrived last year.
How students actually use the portal
The pattern that works is deliberately boring: one level topic a day, its exercises, in one sitting, and the practice tests every week or two. Students aiming at Canada PR add the TEF/TCF practice papers from around month six, once the basic grammar is no longer the bottleneck.
Our PTE Portal is the companion piece if you need the English side of a Canadian application as well — PTE Core is the version IRCC accepts, which is worth knowing before you book the wrong exam.
Questions students ask
- Is the French Portal free?
- Yes. The whole French course is free to use once we approve your login, with no charge for lessons, exercises or practice tests. The French Portal is open to everyone, not only to our classroom students.
- Which French level do I need for Canada PR?
- For most Express Entry French-language category applicants the requirement is NCLC 7, which is B2 on the TEF and TCF scale. B1 with an IELTS CLB 5 is usually not enough on its own for the French category, though it still counts in the points calculation. Most people start at zero and plan for B2 over about a year of steady practice.
- TEF or TCF — which one should I take?
- Both are accepted by IRCC and both score into the same NCLC scale, so for immigration purposes it does not matter which you take. TEF is more widely offered at test centres in India. If a specific university in France or Quebec names one of them, follow that requirement instead.
- How long does it take to reach B2 in French?
- From a complete zero start, most people need around 600 to 1000 hours to reach a solid B2 — roughly a year of daily practice at one to two hours. Someone starting from another Romance language gets there faster, because a lot of the grammar overlaps.
- Is French useful if I am not applying for Canada PR?
- Yes. France has low or no tuition fees at public universities for non-EU students on many programmes, French is the working language across much of Europe and Africa, and it is one of the few foreign languages with an established network of schools in India.
- Can I start with no knowledge of French at all?
- Yes. A1 assumes nothing — it starts with greetings and the French alphabet. The portal checks your level before it starts you, so if you already have some French you can skip what you do not need rather than sitting through it again.
- Do you teach French in a classroom?
- We run IELTS and PTE classroom batches in Yamunanagar. The French Portal is a self-paced course built to be used daily on your own. If you want French taught by a person specifically, call us on 78766-66588 and we will tell you honestly whether we can take you on.
You may also want the main Yamunanagar page, which has the full centre details and the map, or the online coaching page if you are too far to travel.