--- title: "TV5Monde for TCF Canada: genuinely free, not enough alone" description: "TV5Monde's Apprendre le français is free, public-service and good. Here is exactly what it does for a TCF Canada or TEF Canada candidate, and the one…" canonical: https://francaisprep.com/alternatives/tv5monde last-updated: 2026-10-24 --- [Alternatives](/alternatives) # TV5Monde Apprendre or Français Prep? TV5Monde's learning site is free, made by a public broadcaster, and better than most paid material. Our own course lessons point students at it. This page exists to say what it is for and where it stops. This is not really a competitor and we are not going to pretend it is. It is the best free listening and reading resource available to a French exam candidate, it costs nothing, and you should use it. What it cannot do is read something you wrote. Updated 24 October 2026 ![Adèle, the native French teacher who runs Français Prep](/_next/image?url=%2Fadele.png&w=3840&q=75) Not sure which of this you actually need? A 15-minute video call works out which of your four abilities is furthest from the level your application needs. It is free, and some candidates leave with a plan and no purchase. Adèle Sason · Native French teacher - every class, every correction [Book the free call](/book) Side by side ## TV5Monde and Français Prep, compared honestly | What you are comparing | TV5Monde | Français Prep | | --- | --- | --- | | What it is | A free public-service learning site with authentic video and audio graded by CEFR level, with exercises. | Paid preparation for one exam, on a deadline. | | PriceTheirs wins outright, and it is not close. | Free. No account needed for most of it. | Paid, with several free tools on this site. | | Listening and reading | Excellent. Authentic material at natural pace, which is exactly the constraint the exam tests. | Covered, but we send students to free authentic audio for volume. | | Writing and speaking | Not marked. There is nobody on the other end. | Every task marked by hand in both live tiers. | | Exam format | Not exam-specific. It teaches French, not the TCF Canada. | Built around one exam's timing, tasks and marking. | | Deadline | None. Study as long as you like. | Planned backwards from your test date. | Français Prep is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or partnered with any organisation named on these pages. We describe them only in general terms that are publicly documented, and we do not quote their prices, because those are set independently and change. Verify anything that matters to your decision with the provider directly. ## Choose TV5Monde if - →You need listening volume, which is most candidates, and you need it free. - →You are more than a few months out and building general comprehension. - →You want authentic French at natural pace rather than material recorded for learners. - →You are not ready to spend money yet, which is a legitimate position. ## Choose Français Prep if - →Your writing or speaking needs a reader, which is the one thing free material cannot supply. - →You have a date and need the exam's specific timing and task structure. - →You have consumed a lot of free material and stopped improving. - →You need an honest answer about whether your target level is reachable by your date. If that points to us ## What preparation here costs Prices are in Canadian dollars and the same wherever you are sitting the exam. - ### Weekly plan The whole practice platform: every TCF and TEF Canada series, unlimited AI corrections, timed mock tests and the course lessons. CA$9.99per week Canadian dollars (CAD) Billed weekly, cancel any time. Access runs to the end of the week you paid for. [Start the weekly plan](/dashboard/premium) - Every practice series in all four exam sections - Unlimited AI writing and speaking corrections - Timed mock tests in the real exam format - Course lessons and a weekly study plan - ### Small-group live Weekly live classes with Adèle, in groups small enough that everyone speaks, plus marked writing and speaking. CA$449per 8-week block Canadian dollars (CAD) Eight weekly classes of 60 minutes: 8 hours of live teaching, CA$56 an hour, with your writing and speaking marked every week. [Join a small group](https://buy.stripe.com/fZu4gyfXZ9uK5Aj1P46Vq01) Full refund within 14 days of purchase if you have not taken a session. - Everything in the weekly plan - One 60-minute live class with Adèle every week - Marked writing submissions every week - Marked speaking recordings every week - Most popular ### One-to-one tutoring Private sessions scheduled around your test date, with a study plan built from your diagnostic results. CA$800per 10 sessions Canadian dollars (CAD) CA$80 an hour, booked around your test date: ten 60-minute sessions. [Book one-to-one](https://buy.stripe.com/dRm8wOfXZdL07IralA6Vq0a) Full refund within 14 days of purchase if you have not taken a session. - Everything in small-group live - Private 60-minute sessions scheduled around your test date - Study plan built from your diagnostic test - Unlimited marked writing and speaking during your block Not ready to commit to a block? Try a trial class. One 40-minute class with Adèle, one to one. The CA$30 comes off any block you book within 30 days. [Try one class for CA$30](https://buy.stripe.com/6oU4gy3bd9uK4wf0L06Vq0c) Not sure which tier fits? [Book a free 15-minute video call.](/book) Prices are in Canadian dollars and include any tax that applies. Exam registration fees are paid directly to your test centre and are not included in any tier. Questions ## About TV5Monde ### Can I pass the TCF Canada using only TV5Monde? For the two comprehension sections, you can get a long way, and some candidates do. For expression écrite and expression orale, no, and not because the material is weak. There is simply nobody to read what you wrote or listen to what you said, and those are the sections that most often hold a file below the line. ### Do you actually recommend it? Yes, and we do so inside the paid course, not only here. Our listening lessons send students to free authentic audio including TV5Monde, because volume of real French at natural pace is the thing that fixes comprehension and there is no reason to charge for it. ### Is it exam preparation? No, and it does not claim to be. It teaches French. The TCF Canada tests French under a specific set of constraints: one playback, a fixed clock, a marking grid. Good French is necessary and not sufficient, which is why exam-specific work exists at all. ### Why would you send people to a free alternative? Because it is true, and because a candidate who wastes three months on the wrong thing is not going to become a customer anyway. We would rather be right about what you need than sell you something you do not. ### Are you affiliated with TV5Monde? No. We have no relationship with them and nothing here is endorsed by them. From the blog ## More on TV5Monde and the alternatives - [GuideThe best free TCF and TEF Canada resources, rankedFree material takes listening and reading a long way. The best free TCF and TEF Canada resources ranked by skill, and the one thing free cannot measure.](/blog/free-tcf-tef-resources) - [GuideThe best kinds of YouTube channels for TCF/TEF Canada prepNaming a channel list would be out of date in a month, so here is something more durable: the types of TCF and TEF Canada videos worth your time, how to spot them, and the one job no video can do.](/blog/best-youtube-channels-tcf-tef-canada) ## The other options - [Alliance Française TCF Canada alternative](/alternatives/alliance-francaise) - [italki and Preply TCF Canada alternative](/alternatives/italki-and-preply) - [Pack Ayoub TCF Canada alternative](/alternatives/pack-ayoub) - [PrepMyFuture TCF Canada alternative](/alternatives/prepmyfuture) - [Crack the TCF Canada alternative](/alternatives/crack-the-tcf) - [TCFCAD TCF Canada alternative](/alternatives/tcfcad) - [Pack IMED TCF Canada alternative](/alternatives/pack-imed) - [OPAL TCF Canada alternative](/alternatives/opal) - [Packs Nabil TCF Canada alternative](/alternatives/pack-nabil) - [Self-study for the TCF Canada, compared](/alternatives/self-study) - [Work out where you stand first](/tools/score-converter) NEXT STEP ## Find out where your French actually stands Book a short assessment with Adèle: one writing task, one speaking task, and an honest plan for the weeks you have left before the exam. [Book an assessment](/book)[See the course tiers](#tiers) --- For agents: site index https://francaisprep.com/llms.txt, developer access https://francaisprep.com/developers, and TCF or TEF to NCLC conversion over a plain GET at https://api.francaisprep.com/v1/score/convert?exam=tcf_canada&listening=512&reading=470&writing=12&speaking=11 (exam is tcf_canada or tef_canada).