Before you book anything

Which French exam do you actually need?

There are four common ones and they are not interchangeable. Choosing the wrong exam costs a fee, a date and several months—so start here.

Compare them Go straight to the DELF A1
DELF a diploma, valid for lifeTEF · TCF a score, expires in 2 yearsGCSE a UK school qualificationALL sat at approved centres, not here

The honest triage

Three routes. One of them is yours.

We teach beginner to lower-intermediate French, so we will tell you plainly which of these we can help with and which we cannot.

01A1—B2

DELF · DALF

Learning French for its own sake.

An official diploma from the French Ministry of Education. Six levels, from A1 up. You pass it once and it never expires. This is the right route for study, personal goals and many French residency applications—and it is the one we build for.

02B2+

TEF · TCF

Moving to Canada or Quebec.

Not diplomas but tests: they place you on a scale, and the result runs out after two years. Canadian immigration accepts these and not the DELF. The points that matter start well above beginner, so build the level first. We do not teach at this level, and we will not sell you preparation for it.

03A2—B1

GCSE FRENCH

Sat at school in the UK.

Four skills, Foundation or Higher tier, taken at sixteen. The specification changed recently, so a lot of the revision material floating around is written for the old one. Cocoon practice for the current specification arrives in September.

Where we can help today

The DELF A1
is the beginner's exam.

It asks for exactly the French we teach: introducing yourself, asking simple questions, handling a shop or a café, understanding times and prices. Nothing on it requires a tense you have not met.

  1. 1

    Read what the exam actually contains

    Four papers, the three-part speaking test and the pass mark, in plain English. The DELF A1, explained →

  2. 2

    Watch a full mock exam, free

    Ten complete speaking tests on YouTube, in French, start to finish, with nothing cut. Cocoon French on YouTube ↗

  3. 3

    Practise the everyday French it asks for

    A free Club account covers shops, cafés, family, times and prices—the whole A1 world the examiner draws from.

Start where the exam starts

The Club is free to join.

Guided lessons and picture practice built on the everyday French an A1 examiner asks about. No card, no trial that expires.

Create a free account

The practical bits

Common mix-ups

Almost everyone gets one of these wrong the first time.

DELF or TEF — what is the real difference?+
The DELF is a diploma: you pass a level and hold it for life. The TEF and TCF are tests: they place you on a scale and expire after two years. If you need a number for an immigration file, you need a test. If you want a qualification, you want the diploma.
I am a beginner and I want to move to Canada.+
Then your exam is eventually the TEF or TCF—but not yet. The points worth having start several levels above beginner. Build the French first; a DELF A1 then A2 is a sensible ladder, and both are worth holding anyway.
Can I take the DELF at any age?+
Yes. There is a junior and schools version and an all-audience version, and the diploma is the same. Adults sit the tout public version.
Do you run the exams?+
No, and nobody online does. Every one of these is sat in person at an approved centre. We make the free practice you use beforehand.
Will there be a paid exam pack?+
Only if people ask for one. The mock exams are free on YouTube and the Club has a free tier. Tell us in the comments on a mock exam video if a paid practice pack would genuinely help.