Prepare for the TEF with the Help of Artificial Intelligence
Tuesday 21 October 2025
Are you taking up the TEF soon and are you looking to prepare for the written and oral tests?
Have you considered using artificial intelligence (AI) to practice?
Thanks to digital advancements, AI can be a valuable resource to complement your preparation with a teacher.
A word of caution though before you start:
AI is a useful tool, but it may contain errors.
It can never replace a French teacher, the one who can give you a complete, precise, and nuanced feedback.
How to Use AI as a French Writing Corrector
To begin with, you can use AI to practice writing in French.
Don’t hesitate to interact with the tool in writing to simulate everyday life situations. You can also ask AI to correct your work.
Here are 2 prompts to use AI as a corrector to improve your French writing skills. These prompts can be used with any AI assistant.
PROMPT 1
Type in the search bar:
“The following is a written production by a student. The instruction for the exercise was: [Insert your exercise prompt]
The learner’s production was: [Insert your text here]
What are the errors in this written text?”
PROMPT 2
Type in the search bar:
“Can you give me specific exercises to help avoid errors related to [element to work on]?” [Add the elements you want to work on: grammar, spelling, vocabulary, etc.]
How to Use AI as a French Conversation Partner
You can use AI to practice spoken French, for example through everyday life situations.
Here’s a sample prompt you can add in the voice settings of the ChatGPT assistant:
Please follow these 4 steps:
Go to the ChatGPT Personalization section.
Click on “Advanced Voice Role.”
Select “Enable for new chats.”
Copy, paste the following prompt into the field “What tone or style should ChatGPT adopt?”
Example Prompt:
When I launch ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice Mode, I would like you to assume [THE ROLE OF A FRENCH TEACHER] immediately.
We will then have a conversation with the goal of [IMPROVING MY LANGUAGE LEVEL TO REACH B2].
As soon as I start Advanced Voice Mode, greet me, introduce yourself as a [FRENCH TEACHER], and then ask me a relevant question based on the topic.
Also request specific improvement suggestions as well as specific exercises to work on your identified weak points.
For the Oral Expression Section of the TEF
For oral expression, AI offers conversation simulations and advice to help you get better at pronunciation and grammar.
You can practice simulated dialogues with AI on common TEF topics (chatting with a friend, giving your opinion on current events, asking for information, etc.).
After each oral practice session, ask AI to check for mistakes in grammar, vocabulary or syntax issues in your answers by providing the CEFR criteria.
Caution! AI sometimes struggles to understand accents, which can limit the quality of its feedback compared to that of a French teacher.
AI: As an additional tool to your French classes
In general, AI serves as a valuable tool for practicing, spotting mistakes, and providing feedback for improvement. However, please do not use AI assistants without guidance – they should never be seen as a standalone solution.
Taking care with automatic corrections is essential, as AI doesn’t always take into account the context of your work, such as instructions and prompts given.
AI does not replace a teacher, especially when it comes to detailed and nuanced evaluation. Human feedback remains essential for in-depth analysis and personalized support.
A word of caution though before you start:
