French Classes for Complete Beginners

Looking to start your French journey? You are in the right place!

The Alliance Française de St. Louis offers a wide range of French classes for learners of all levels - from complete beginners on up. Most classes are available as hybrid classes, which can be taken in person or remotely over Zoom - whichever works best for you.

Our teaching staff is composed of highly qualified French instructors of native language proficiency. We welcome all students of French and aim to offer fun and effective classes for your learning journey.

Class Levels

Classes are structured into one of five levels: A1 (Beginner), A2 (Advanced Beginner), B1 (Intermediate), B2 (Independent), and C1 (Proficient). These levels correspond to the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages), an international standard for describing language proficiency. If you’d like to know your level, please take our free placement test!

Tuition & Enrollment

Adult classes are arranged in eight-week terms. Classes meet once per week for two hours and are **$280 per eight-week term** ($17.50 per hour of instruction).
We have a total of six terms in a calendar year with a two-week break in the summer and winter.
Classes are offered on a variety of days and times - morning, afternoon, and evening.

Membership & Textbook

In addition to tuition, an annual membership is required. Memberships are $50 for an individual or $80 for a family. Students currently enrolled in a local university may receive 50% off an individual membership.
You will also need a textbook. Our classes use the Tendances books, which are $58 for the textbook/workbook combo. Your book will last you an entire level (roughly one year).

2024 Adult Class Schedule

Please note: beginning in 2024, we are shifting all classes to eight-week terms (from the previous six-week terms).

Term 1: January 8 - March 2

Term 2: March 4 - April 27

Term 3: April 29 - June 22

Summer Break (Closed): June 24 - July 6

Term 4: July 8 - August 31

Term 5: September 2 - October 26

Term 6: October 28 - December 21

Winter Break (Closed): December 23 - January 4

How to Enroll

Complete Beginners

If you are a complete beginner, check our course listings to see if there is an A1.0 complete beginner class posted.

If there is not, please contact us to inquire about the next complete beginners class. We typically start a new beginners class every other term.

If You Have Some Experience

If you already have some experience with French, please take our free online placement test. We will reach out to you as soon as we receive your results to determine which classes best suit you.

View Our Full Class Offering

If you already know what you are looking for or would like to browse our full schedule, head to our Enroll Online page.

You will notice that each class is labeled by their CEFR level (A1, B2, etc.) and followed by a second number. The second number describes which chapter in the book the class is currently in. Therefore, A1.5 is a Beginner class in the 5th chapter of the book. This helps you to know how progressed the class is within their level.

Enroll & Pay