any advice about the best way to learn french?
since GCSE (15 years ago) my school boy french has pretty much died out, but i'm keen to learn something useful and stretch myself, also have some riding plans for the medium term that speaking would be useful for.
so, short of moving there, how best to learn?
any tips for french language online radio/podcasts etc to get my ear in? i always struggled most with working out what on earth was being said even when my written french was passable!
I've been trying for years to teach myself, and was utterly shocked when I came across the 'Michel Thomas' cd's. Put everything I had kind of grasped the very basics of into a format I could totally understand. Also, there is no writing/rote learning - it's all done from CD and is much easier to fit round everyday life.
I'll be listening to the first course again this year and getting the advanced before make a decision whether to take a few private 1:1 sessions before the Alps trip in the summer. 
Buggr that, just speak slowly and loudly, and repeat yourself until they get it 
As dull as it sounds, lessons either in a class or 1-to-1 (the latter is best). Try taking some day trips if you live somewhere in the south as hearing it spoken, speaking it and reading signs, menus etc is a really good way to cement the theory you get in classrooms.
+1 for Michel Thomas' CDs. Just have them on repeat in the car/iPod
These CDs, do you have to speak out loud to gain the benefit ? I am looking for something to stop me killing somebody on the bus commutes in winter, thought some talking books might do it, but learning sounds good too. Everyone thinking I am a nutter might make the bus ride more fun in the wrong way.
Evening classes are good. And go to France and speak french with french people! I sometimes find myself speaking french to french people and they reply in english - I'm not bothered they're speaking English and they're happy for me to speak french so everyone wins. Just stick with it. I find the phrase 'encore s'il vous plais et lentement' v useful ( repleat please and slowly! ) For me I've found it a confidence thing and a don't be bothered or embarrassed about speaking french. All people want is to understand and be understood. Pick a holiday place in France where NO ONE speaks English!
According to a friend of mine, "shagging French birds" is the way forward (and you get to learn the language at the same time ).
I should point out, that as a result of this philosophy, he's now married to one of the aforesaid french birds, and runs his own business out there.
Pick a holiday place in France where NO ONE speaks English!
A LOT harder to do than you'd imagine unless you happen to know people who live in out of the way places. That said, keeping speaking French even if they speak English is a good compromise. They're practising their English you're doing the same with French.
Injure yourself in France.
I broke a lot of bones in Les Gets a couple of years ago and was laid up in hospital in Cluses for a week. It was probably the best French language crash course ever... my French was reasonable, but by the end of a week in a hospital where none of the doctors or nurses (or other patients) spoke any English, I was getting by perfectly well in complicated conversations about pain medication, operations and insurance.
There are probably less painful ways to learn, but immersion is the best way, I reckon.
Dave
I find the phrase 'encore s'il vous plais et lentement' v useful
Tess, I just put this into Google Translate and it came back with "even if you like it and slowly"! 
As Tess posted,
go to France and speak french with french people
I think is a very good way to do it.
I took a job there, lived and worked their for 18 months.
When I first arrived, I spoke no French at all.
I didn't generate as much of a command of the language as I'd have liked, and some people at work would speak English.
However, outside of work, I was left to look out for myself and mostly I enjoyed it.
I always had my DK phrase book with me (pocket sized and very useful), for when I got stuck and once people saw me reach for a book and try again, rather than expect them to speak English, they were most patient and helpful.
Spending time there, living there, certainly worked for me.
Same for other countries I've lived and worked in really.
Being there was the best way for me.
Pretty much as Tess says.
It's easy to find non English speaking holiday locations, particularly the south west and central massif areas. Listening to French radio is a huge help as you start to pick out words and get the gist in a natural way and not as spoken by another non-speaker/learner in a lesson. Try 183 & 234 long wave.
I attended night school which was crap - they were all in the "autumn of their years" and doing it as a jolly and chance to drink wine with other old buggers. Also the teacher clearly didn't speak the language and was following a fairly dire lesson plan.
you need a berlitz pocket guide for the flight, and in between the drinks trolley visits learn how to say 'i would like' 'beer' and how to count to 10. thats about it really.
but seriuosly, one thing i don't understand is why language courses jump straight in with 'hello my name is' and all that.
as a child we learn first to name the things around us, then we learn to string the words into order. so why are not languages learnt the same way?
if you can get rosetta stone its amazing. just like old skater mentioned, it simply starts by building vocab with a bit of grammar thrown in. you do need to dedicate time to it though, and if you choose to buy it, its pretty expensive
Another useful tip - watch french dvds. '36' is good and 'A Prophet' brilliant though gut churningly gory in places - bit like MTBing really.
You should introduce French into your everyday vocabulary.
Rather than saying 'hello', or 'morning' to people when you get into the office, use a common French greeting such as 'bonne de douche' or something like that.
I can't comment on the French aspect but currently work in China and have been listening to the Pimsleur mp3 course for just over a year on and off, I don't dedicate nearly enough time to it but think that it has definitely helped.
I also always carry a small phrasebook and dictionary in my back pocket as it is surprising how much time that would otherwise be spent daydreaming or wasted can be used, read it on the bog, while waiting in queues etc.
I always encourage my students to watch English language movies, telly online and listen to the radio online. In the same way you could do all of these things as French cinema is fantastic, a friend who lived in France for a year has a lw radio for the kitchen and listens to French radio while cooking / doing chores.
Rosetta Stone is meant to be very good too although what with french using the alphabet is perhaps less useful for French than for some languages.
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