French classes in Singapore: what they cost, and what SkillsFuture no longer covers

SkillsFuture Singapore stopped funding non-certifiable courses after 31 December 2024, and those courses stopped being eligible for SkillsFuture Credit on the same date. At the time of the announcement they represented about 7 % of the courses SSG funded.

SSG defines a non-certifiable course as one that does not lead to a qualification below degree level awarded by a local post-secondary institution, and is not recognised under a regulatory or professional development framework endorsed by a Singapore government agency. A general conversational French course sits squarely inside that description.

So the useful question to put to a school is not « are you SkillsFuture registered ». It is: what is the course reference of this exact class, and is it listed today as SkillsFuture Credit-eligible in the MySkillsFuture course directory? A course that is not in the directory cannot be paid for with the credit, whatever else is true of the school.

The Alliance Française de Singapour states on its own pages that it is registered as a Private Education Institution under the Private Education Act 2009 with SkillsFuture Singapore, from 1 December 2023 to 30 November 2027. That is accurate, and it is a regulatory registration: SSG is also the regulator of private education in Singapore.

It is not a statement about funding. The same three words appear in both sentences, which is exactly why the misreading is so common — and why it is worth checking the directory rather than the brochure.

NTUC members have a separate route. UTAP covers 50 % of the unfunded course fee — the balance left after any government subsidy — capped at S$250 a year for members under 40, S$500 a year from 40, and S$200 a year for Starter members. It applies only to courses supported under UTAP, which is again a list to check, not a status to assume.

Alliance Française de Singapour, general French for adults: 24 hours over 8 weeks, once a week, from S$440 — about S$18 an hour. Twice a week, 32 hours over 8 weeks, from S$510 — about S$16 an hour. Add S$10 for weekend or evening slots, S$32 for annual student membership, and course materials on top.

Its focus classes are priced separately: 16 hours over 8 weeks at S$380 for grammar, literature or conversation; 12 hours at S$270 for phonetics; and DELF/DALF preparation from 8 to 24 hours, S$210 to S$470.

French Toast, adult group classes: 20 hours over 10 weeks, S$325 at beginner and elementary level, S$365 at intermediate and advanced, plus S$60 of books — about S$16 to S$18 an hour. Conversation is 8 hours over 4 weeks at S$250, DELF preparation 10 hours over 4 weeks at S$180 plus S$45 of books. The school states no GST, no registration fee and no membership fee.

Alliance Française de Singapour: S$108 an hour for a block of 6 to 14 hours, S$98 an hour from 15 hours, with a six-hour minimum and the same rate on the premises or online. For a group of two or three, the published rate is S$180 an hour, falling to S$160 from 15 hours.

French Toast: S$80 an hour for one student, S$55 an hour each for two, S$45 an hour each for three.

Not everyone publishes. French Studio advertises a S$10 adult trial class but no fee list. Quote-on-request is not a scandal; it simply moves the comparison work onto you, by email, one school at a time.

A group class at S$16 to S$18 an hour looks four to six times cheaper than a private lesson at S$80 to S$108. Per hour of class, it is exactly that.

Per hour of your own speech, the two converge. In a class of eight, an hour of lesson contains a few minutes in which you personally speak; in a one-to-one lesson, most of the hour is yours. Neither format is better in the abstract — but they are priced in different units, and only one of the two units appears on the invoice.

Our rates are published in full: 32 €/h for general French at any level, 35 €/h for DELF, DALF, TCF and TEF preparation, academic support and university methodology, and 50 €/h for professional French. Billing is in euros, direct, with no platform commission.

At the European Central Bank reference rate of 3 August 2026 (1 € = S$1.4783), that is roughly S$47, S$52 and S$74 an hour — your bank's rate on the day is what you will actually pay. Set against the Alliance Française's published private rate of S$98 to S$108, that is about half; set against its group rate, it is three times more. Those are the two comparisons that mean something.

The first twenty-minute conversation is free. Hours you do not take are refunded in money, never in credit, and 10-hour and 20-hour packages carry a reduced rate.