If you would like to begin learning French for the first time, or to relearn it after years away from classes, figuring out where to go or what to look for can be overwhelming. So, what follows is a pros and cons list of things to consider when choosing your French beginners lessons, to make it easier to sort through all of the possibilities.

ONLINE COURSES:

• PROS:
  • Inexpensive – At only about $100 for the entire package, they cost much less than one semester at a local college or a few hours of private tutoring.
  • Flexible – you can learn at your own pace, and at any time of the day or night. Plus, you don’t have to wait weeks or months until the next college semester starts to begin lessons – you can start learning five minutes from now!
  • Interactive – the best programs include audio and visual media, so you can see, hear, and practice the language.
  • Access to help 24/7 – With the included learners forums and the option to email instructors, there is no need to wait a week for help as you may have to do with a college course or tutoring.
  • Enjoyable – Instead of the angst that usually goes along with the classroom setting, you can learn while playing games in your pjs at home.
  • Risk-free – The better programs offer free mini-courses so you can try the program before paying any money for it.
• CONS: If you like to learn through live, face-to-face interaction this won’t be the best option for you.

CLASSES AT A LOCAL COLLEGE:

• PROS: Interactive environment with live help during classes.

• CONS:
  • Class times are fixed, so there may not be classes at times that fit into your work and family schedule.
  • Practice time (listening and responding in French) is limited to the time you are in class.
  • Pricey, since it takes many semesters to become fluent.
  • Speed at which you are taught is limited – you can’t go faster or slower than the pace offered in the course.
  • There may not be college classes in your area.

PRIVATE TUTOR:

• PROS: Personalized attention, potentially with a native speaker.

• CONS:
  • Expensive – averaging $40 per hour!
  • Practice time (listening and responding in French) is limited to the time you are with the tutor.
  • There may not be tutors available in your area.

I may seem very biased towards online courses, but there are many good reasons for that! Comparing the time I spent studying in a classroom years ago as a beginning French student with the newest online programs, I feel like most of the time in the classroom was a waste of time and money, and I see how much more quickly I could have become fluent from home. Not to mention, the online courses are just so much more interesting and engaging than the French lessons for beginners classes I took.

I am a huge fan of the Rocket French program, as it’s so much more reasonably priced than Rosetta Stone, and it has all of the bells and whistles (plus free, automatic updates to the software).

Here is a more comprehensive article I wrote a while ago regarding French beginners lessons, in case you’d like to read more:

Almost all adult education centers will have some manner of French lessons for beginners. These tend to be run with many people in a class and with a trained teacher. This is all very well and you will get the benefit of a native speaker to help you. However, some people may be unable to attend on a regular basis and the classes are quite time consuming. They also involve speaking a foreign language in front of others which can be a little daunting to say the least.

French lessons for beginners don’t have to be difficult or scary. You don’t have to throw yourself in at the deep end and get utterly confused by everything you hear and see. You could opt instead for a program that’s been designed by experts; a French beginners lessons program that gradually builds up your skills and confidence so that you never feel out of your depth. Your local adult education center or college certainly doesn’t have any of these.

An online program is just what a beginner might need and you can have a go whenever you have the time or patience. They are much cheaper than the real world alternative since they do not require you to pay a tutor for their time and neither do you have to travel to the center at a given time each evening. You can set it up easily by turning on your computer and then spend as long as you like. I don’t remember being offered a coffee at the adult education center, either.

The online approach is a much more interactive way of learning and is a really useful tool if you want to practice French as well as just being filled with endless phrases by an audio CD or book. By using the language and practicing it with some games and other fun resources, you will firmly lock in all of that new vocabulary and will never have to stutter your way through a conversation again.

This approach is certainly going to keep you interested and will enable you to follow this golden rule: French beginners lessons are most effective when they are done often. This doesn’t mean you have to spend hours per da,y but rather follow the golden rule of little and often. In this way you can add a little bit every day and you won’t have to take up too much time. This makes you more likely to follow through with the course right to the end. By keeping yourself interested in French you will concentrate a lot more and feel more alert. Nothing is more frustrating that not being able to find the words you know are in there somewhere.

With the most effective French lessons for beginners your language will progress rapidly and you will soon be needing some more advanced French lessons. Using an online resource could make your French more fluent in a much shorter period of time and is well worth a try. It’s not as expensive as non-virtual classes and thus I would sincerely recommend you give it a go.

Click here for the easiest, most convenient French lessons for beginners!