Overview
Learning to speak French can be fun and very rewarding but it takes practice, persistence and the proper instruction.  Traditional classroom French lessons or tutors can cost a small fortune and aren't always successful.  Fortunately there are some terrific online offerings available for learning French - even if you've never taken a course before.  We've sorted through dozens of them and picked out several of the best that you can download and begin using right away.

Bottom Line
Some of the offerings presented here can be used from your PC immediately while others will may you the CD-Rom software.  We tried all four along with many others and found Rocket French to stand out as our top pick.  Rosetta Stone French offers a very comprehensive program and comes in a close second.  Power-Glide is a good option to consider for young adults or if you are looking to teach children French.

Considerations
The Internet and your PC (or Mac) are great media for learning to speak French in the privacy of your home.  You should consider how you like to learn - most people benefit from a combination of written and audio material.  Some others work best solely with an audio approach.  Whatever you decide, each of the sites presented here has something to offer. 
To your success!