Reaching CLB 7 in French — approximately equivalent to the B2.1 level on the CEFR scale — is a significant milestone for Canadian immigration.
How long it takes depends heavily on how many hours per week you’re in class, and on how much work you put in between classes.
Timeline by program
Total hours required to complete each level (including personal study time).
The single biggest factor is your weekly class time. Here’s roughly how long each level takes, depending on the format you choose:
These are realistic averages, not guarantees — progress is always individual.
Why private classes vary so much: the range is wider because the pace is entirely dependent on you.
Your teacher adjusts to your speed. It also depends on your own learning speed and the amount of work you put in between classes.
The more homework and self-study you do between classes, the faster you’ll move.
Estimated Timeline: zero to CLB 7 / B2
Most students go through four levels to reach CLB 7.
At our intensive pace of roughly 4 months per level, that works out to about 16 months of consistent study:
- A1 Level — your foundation. A1 is the most difficult level, because everything is new: sounds, structures, and habits you’ve never used before.
- A2 Level — building on your foundational skills.
- B1 Level — moving toward independent use of the language.
- B2 Level (CLB 7) — your target: comfortable with complex language use.
When starting from zero, reaching B2+ / CLB 7 takes at least 16 months at our intensive pace of 3 hrs per week.
At a standard pace of 2 hrs per week it is closer to 18 months, and around 20 months with 1.5 hrs per week.
With private classes it can be done in 12 months or less, since the pace adapts entirely to you. This is the quickest route from zero to CLB 7.
Can it be done faster? Yes — but it’s not common.
Private classes can advance more quickly than the 4-months-per-level intensive pace. Many students have gone from zero to B2 in a single year, sometimes faster.
That said, it’s difficult to do. Those who manage it usually have a tight deadline and can dedicate 4–5 hours per day to studying.
For most people, 4 to 5 months per level is the realistic target — and that’s a result to be happy with.
We can never guarantee how much time it will take to complete any given level — it is highly dependent on the individual.
Other factors include your daily self-study time, how many classes you’re taking, how quickly you learn, and how dedicated you are.
Here’s how you can optimize your learning:
- Dedication and Consistency — Regular attendance and active participation in classes, combined with completing all assignments, are vital. Daily practice is key to language retention and progress.
- Self-Study — Incorporate 1–2 hours of independent study each day. This can include doing additional exercises, engaging with French media (films, books, podcasts), and using language apps.
- Proactivity — Enhance your learning by exploring extra resources. Interact with native speakers, join language exchange meetups, or take supplementary online courses to practice and refine your skills.
- Motivation and Adaptability — Stay motivated and be flexible in your learning methods. Experiment with different techniques to find what works best for you, ensuring the learning remains engaging and effective.
Our Programs by Level
Here’s exactly what you’ll work through at each level — open a level to see its units and duration:
Level A1: Beginner
Welcome to our beginner’s program, designed to help you acquire, improve and perfect your French skills and pass a TEF or TCF Canada exam in the medium/long term!
DURATION: BETWEEN 80 AND 100 HOURS
Hours listed below include personal study time.
- Unit 0: Basic French
- Unit 1: Introducing oneself
- Unit 2: Expressing your tastes, introducing/talking about your family
- Unit 3: Shopping for food, ordering in a restaurant
- Unit 4: Presenting a neighbourhood, public transport, understanding an itinerary
- Unit 5: Commenting on a price, asking about size and shoe size, talking about the weather, describing an object
- Unit 6: Talk about daily activities, ask about the time, suggest an outing, accept/refuse an outing, describe a person
- Unit 7: Find out about accommodation, understand house rules, apologise in a message, explain a domestic problem
- Unit 8: Expressing a positive or negative emotion, talking about health and sport, agreeing or disagreeing, expressing an obligation, a prohibition, giving advice
- Unit 9: Booking a hotel room, describing a landscape, writing a postcard
- Unit 10: Talking about one’s studies and university, talking about one’s skills, talking about one’s career plan
Examples of a few grammar points: the verb to be and to have, present, past and futur tenses, gender, adjectives, prepositions, pronouns, frequency…
Methods used: French as a second language books
Please note that the units and the grammar may differ slightly depending on the equipment used. Progress tests will be carried out at the end of each module.
Level A2: Intermediate
Welcome to our beginner’s program, designed to help you acquire, improve and perfect your French skills and pass a TEF or TCF Canada exam in the medium/long term!
DURATION: BETWEEN 100 AND 120 HOURS
Hours listed below include personal study time.
- Unit 1: Talking about your career
- Unit 2: Telling a memory, talk about your vacation
- Unit 3: Commenting on an accommodation, rent an apartment
- Unit 4: Describing someone (physically, personality)
- Unit 5: Imagining the future
- Unit 6: Understanding a recipe or instructions, expressing a quantity
- Unit 7: Speaking about health issues, expressing an opinion
- Unit 8: Understanding the news and medias, writing a review
- Unit 9: Debating about ecology, requesting and proposing a service
- Unit 10: Talking about tourism, planning and describing a trip, structuring ideas
- Unit 11: Speaking about the work environment, writing a resume and a formal e-mail
- Unit 12: Explaining about the biodiversity
Examples of a few grammar points: Continuation of past and future tenses, the condition, the comparison, pronouns, the subjunctive, causes and consequences, the imperative, the passive form…
Methods used: French as a second language books
Please note that the units and the grammar may differ slightly depending on the equipment used. Progress tests will be carried out at the end of each module.
Level B1: Advanced
Welcome to our beginner’s program, designed to help you acquire, improve and perfect your French skills and pass a TEF or TCF Canada exam in the medium/long term!
We would begin focusing on exam-specific materials right away once you reach the B1 level. This will include using practice exams, as well as exam-specific materials and exercises. The goal here is to increasingly mimic exam-specific situations.
DURATION: BETWEEN 150 AND 180 HOURS
Hours listed below include personal study time.
- Unit 1: Social relationships.
- Unit 2: Finding solutions about environmental issues.
- Unit 3: Speaking about culture and art.
- Unit 4: Discovering the French-Speaking world.
- Unit 5: Living in an urban area.
- Unit 6: Speaking about the new types of travel.
- Unit 7: Speaking about your learning and professional plans.
- Unit 8: Speaking and debating about society issues.
- Unit 9: The well-being in the workplace.
- Unit 10: Promoting daily life and cultural activities.
- Unit 11: Getting involved in the society and giving an opinion to others.
- Unit 12: Being a volunteer and becoming politically involved.
Examples of a few grammar points: Logical connectors, passive voice, the past perfect, futur anterior, hypothesis…
If giving TCF/TEF/DELF exam, methods may change.
Methods used: French as a second language books, TCF/TEF/DELF methodology
Please note that the units and the grammar may differ slightly depending on the equipment used. Progress tests will be carried out at the end of each module.
Level B2: Fluent
To get an idea of the topics that will be covered over the final 2–3 months of this program, click the button below for an outline of the goals as part of the B2 level. Note that it is important to clearly distinguish between B2.1 and B2.2 for individuals preparing for the TEF/TCF. Level 7 corresponds to B2.2.
C1 and beyond: we use the “Odyssée” method along with a wide range of authentic materials tailored to each learner’s specific goals (French for specific purposes) — whether you need French for work, studies, or daily life in a French-speaking environment.
What you’ll cover
To get an idea of the topics covered over the first roughly 12 to 20 months of this program, here is an outline of the goals as part of the A1, A2, B1, and B2 levels:
** Total hours listed include personal study time.
** Course outline is adjusted based on your current French level.
To get an idea of the topics that will be covered over the final 4 months of this program, here is an outline of the goals as part of the B2 level:
To learn more about how our programs work, watch the following presentations:
Presentation of our French Program for TCF/TEF Preparation
Presentation of our French Program for Professionals
Presentation of our French Program for Kids
Presentation of our French Program for Adults
Learn French with French Language Solutions!
Real students, real results:
TCF B2 Success Story: How Davide Achieved His Goal
CLB 7 in 13 Months: My Path to PR with FLS
Ever wondered how well someone speaks at the B2/C1 level?
TCF Oral Expression — B2 / C1
Presentation of our French Program for TCF/TEF Preparation
Presentation of our French Program for Professionals
Presentation of our French Program for Kids
Presentation of our French Program for Adults
Learn French with French Language Solutions!
TCF B2 Success Story: How Davide Achieved His Goal
CLB 7 in 13 Months: My Path to PR with FLS
Ever wondered how well someone speaks at the B2/C1 level?
TCF Oral Expression — B2 / C1
TCF Oral Expression — B2 / C1