French Study Plan — A 14-Month Outline Toward DELF B2

Your Advantages as an Indian Learner

• Latin script: No new writing system — unlike Japanese, Arabic, or Russian
• 10,000+ French words in English: restaurant, café, ballet, entrepreneur, chauffeur, genre, cuisine, déjà vu — you already know them
• Nasal sounds: Hindi speakers (with अं, ऊँ in their phonetic repertoire) find French nasal vowels (an/on/in/un) more accessible than English speakers
• Logical grammar: French follows rules more consistently than English — once you learn a pattern, it applies broadly

Months 1–3: A1 Foundation

• Weeks 1–3 — Pronunciation FIRST: Invest here — French pronunciation returns dividends for years. Master: silent letters, liaison (linking words), nasal vowels (an/on/in/un), the French r (uvular), and vowel length differences
• 600 A1 vocabulary words (20/day — Anki)
• Grammar: Articles (le/la/les/un/une/du/de la), être and avoir conjugation, regular -er/-ir/-re verbs in present tense
• Daily: 10-minute mirror exercise — introduce yourself, describe your room, talk about your day
• Target: DELF A1 — book 3 months in advance at your local Alliance Française

Months 4–6: A2 Elementary

• Vocabulary: 1,500 total words
• Grammar: Passé composé (past with avoir/être), imparfait (imperfect past), simple future, object pronouns (le/la/les/lui/leur), negation patterns
• Start TV5MONDE (French TV channel with French subtitles) — 20 minutes daily
• Write 5–7 sentences in French daily — reviewed by DIFL teacher
• Target: DELF A2

Months 7–10: B1 Intermediate

• Vocabulary: 3,000 total — learn synonyms, antonyms, and register distinctions
• Grammar: Subjonctif (subjunctive mood — the most feared French grammar topic), conditionnel, passive voice, relative pronouns (qui/que/dont/où)
• Reading: Le Petit Prince by Saint-Exupéry — perfect B1 French text, available free online. 2 pages daily with annotation.
• Listening: RFI Journal en Français Facile — daily simplified news podcast (B1/B2 level, free)
• Writing: Practice DELF B1 formats — formal letters, personal messages
• Target: DELF B1

Months 11–14: B2 Upper-Intermediate

• Vocabulary: 5,000+ words — abstract vocabulary, nuance, register, and idiomatic expressions
• Grammar: All tenses including subjonctif passé, gérondif, hypothetical structures with si-clauses
• Reading: Le Monde Diplomatique, Le Figaro — 2 articles daily
• Listening: France Inter podcasts at native speed — no subtitles from Month 12
• Writing: DELF B2 formats — essai argumentatif (argument essay 250–300 words), compte-rendu (document summary), synthèse de documents
• Speaking: 20-minute structured oral practice with DIFL teacher — monologue + debate format (exact DELF B2 format)
• Target: DELF B2

Resources by Level