What is the fastest way to learn French words?

Short, daily recall practice: try to produce the French word yourself, then check it, a few minutes every day. Learning words by theme and always with their article (un or une) makes them easier to remember and use.

How many French words do I need for the TCF or TEF Canada?

There is no official word count for either test; the levels describe what you can do, not how many words you know. In practice, aim for solid everyday vocabulary on the exam themes: work, housing, health, transport, money and life in Canada.

How do I remember if a French word is masculine or feminine?

Learn every noun with its article: un emploi, une facture. Some endings help too: words in -tion are feminine (une question) and words in -ment are mostly masculine (un logement).

What are French false friends?

Words that look like an English word but mean something else, such as librairie (bookshop), actuellement (currently) or sensible (sensitive). They cause classic errors in the writing test, which is why a whole world of the game trains them.

Is Slalom free to play?

Yes. The first 6 levels are free with no sign-up, and levels 7 to 12 are free with an account, which also saves your stars on every device. Levels 13 to 30 come with Premium, together with every 3D game’s later levels and all the mock tests.

Learn French words on the slopes: a fast French vocabulary practice game

Le slalom

Learn French words the fun way: race down a snowy Canadian mountain and steer through the gate that shows the French for the English word on screen. The slope gets faster, so you stop translating in your head and start pulling le loyer or un emploi straight from memory. 30 levels climb from A2 words on a sunny morning to B2 vocabulary and false friends at night, and one run takes about three minutes.

3 min a round
30 levels
First 6 levels free, no sign-up
Reading
Writing

3D game: plays full screen on phones.

Loading the 3D game…

30 levels, 5 worlds

From the basics to exam speed

Each level is one round of about 3 minutes. Win a star to open the next level, and replay for three stars. The first 6 levels are free with no sign-up, levels 7–12 with a free account, and Premium opens all 30.

World 1 · levels 1–6
First tracks
Les premières traces
A2 words with their article, two exam themes per level, on a sunny morning slope.
· Free, no sign-up
World 2 · levels 7–12
Wider range
Plus de vocabulaire
B1 nouns of work, housing, health and society, like un bail or une ordonnance.
· Free account
World 3 · levels 13–18
False friends
Les faux amis
Words that look English but are not: la librairie sells books, actuellement means now.
· Premium
World 4 · levels 19–24
Verbs and phrases
Verbes et expressions
Verbs, adjectives and set phrases such as joindre les deux bouts, at dusk.
· Premium
World 5 · levels 25–30
Night race
La course de nuit
Every word and theme at race pace, with the false friends back on the boss.
· Premium

How to play

1Read the English word at the top of the screen.
2Steer into the gate that shows its French: swipe, tap a side, or use the arrow keys.
3A wrong gate costs a life and shows the right word with an example. 3 lives a run.

What it trains

Active recall of everyday French vocabulary, English to French, across 12 exam themes (work, housing, health, money, immigration and more): 384 words in all. Nouns come with their article, so you learn the gender at the same time (une facture, un logement), and the two wrong gates are always the same kind of word, so you have to know the meaning, not guess from the grammar.

Why it matters for TCF and TEF Canada

The TCF Canada and TEF Canada reading and writing tests reward a wide, precise vocabulary on exactly these everyday themes. Recognising a word is not enough when you write: you need it to come quickly and with the right gender. Fast recall practice like this builds the range and accuracy you need for NCLC 7 for Express Entry, or NCLC 4 for citizenship.

Practise reading in the real format: TCF Canada reading practice · TEF Canada reading practice

Learn while you play

Rules and tips to remember

Say the article with the word
Learn une voiture, never just voiture. The article is the cheapest way to remember the gender, and gender errors cost accuracy points in every writing task.
Learn words in themes
Each level of the first worlds keeps to two themes. Words from the same field come back together in exam texts (le loyer, le bail, le propriétaire), so they are easier to recall as a set.
Read the example aloud after a miss
When you take the wrong gate, read the example sentence out loud. A word you have heard yourself say in context, like Je cherche un emploi à Montréal., sticks far better than one in a list.
Watch for false friends
Une librairie is a bookshop, not a library (une bibliothèque), and actuellement means now, not actually. World 3 puts the look-alike in the next lane: read the meaning, not the shape.

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