This course will teach you how to communicate easily and comfortably with those who speak French. You’ll learn practical, common phrases that will make your trip to the many French-speaking regions of the world more pleasant. You'll learn dialogue specific to various settings, and you'll be surprised how easy it can be to speak another language!

Each lesson introduces a scenario, presented in short dialogues. You'll be able to practice and learn both sides of the conversation, so you'll easily understand and expect common responses. Every lesson also has cultural tips, which will make you more comfortable in a foreign setting.

Since proper pronunciation is important to good communication, this course will help you master the best pronunciations. Simply click on each word to hear it spoken! Every word and sentence is also written out phonetically using sounds that you are already very familiar with from English words. This course has been carefully crafted to ensure you will have no trouble pronouncing French words correctly.

The first three lessons give you an introduction to the basics you'll need for most conversations, such as "please" and "thank you." You'll also learn numbers, days of the week, months of the year, and telling time.

After the introduction and basic conversation lessons, you'll learn what to say at the airport. Then, you'll need to get to your hotel, so the next lesson teaches you about transportation. The following lesson will show you how to talk to hotel employees. After you're settled into your hotel, you'll probably be hungry, so next you'll learn about restaurants. The entire course is structured in this logical, systematic method. Since each lesson presents its own setting, you will want to print your lessons and take them with you on your trip for quick reference.

Each lesson also includes cultural tips. Hand and body gestures mean different things in different cultures. For example, do you know the proper way to point to avoid offending people? This course will tell you. That tip and the many others that you will learn will help you better blend in and avoid misunderstandings when you travel.

This course makes learning French fun and surprisingly easy. You'll be pleased with your quick progress, and you'll be prepared for your next trip!

A new section of each course starts monthly. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure to space the start date for each course at least two months apart.

All courses run for six weeks, with a two-week grace period at the end. Two lessons are released each week for the six-week duration of the course. You do not have to be present when lessons are released. You will have access to all lessons until the course ends. However, the interactive discussion area that accompanies each lesson will automatically close two weeks after the lesson is released. As such, we strongly recommend that you complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.

The final exam will be released on the same day as the last lesson. Once the final exam has been released, you will have two weeks to complete all of your course work, including the final exam.

Internet access, e-mail, the Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox Web browser, and the Adobe Flash and PDF plug-ins (two free and simple downloads you obtain at http://www.adobe.com/downloads by clicking Get Adobe Flash Player and Get Adobe Reader). and a computer equipped with working speakers or headphones.

This course includes a knowledgeable and caring instructor who will guide you through your lessons, facilitate discussions, and answer your questions. The instructor for this course will be Amy Page.

Amy Page has been a translator and technical writer since the early '90s. She has a Bachelor's Degree in French, and she is one of a handful people in the United States who completed a special Translation minor. Amy has written and copy edited for large companies, and she enjoys translating for a variety of customers.

“ Amy is an amazing and understanding instructor. It was great to feel that no question was a stupid one in this class. I would recommend it to anyone who has ever considered learning the language! ”

“ I enjoyed taking this French conversational course and I would highly recommend it to anyone. It covered all the important basics and more! Ce cours de francais est excellent! ”

“ I feel empowered to speak my level of French on my trip to France this year, despite 35 years passing since my high school French classes, and all because of these wonderful lessons, discussions, and links! Thank you. ”

“ I had mixed feelings about the course at the beginning because I felt it was a lot of material at one time, but then I came to appreciate all of the information that was given to me. I never thought I would learn so much French in so little time. Amy has a great sense of humor. I like her teaching style. She responded to the discussion area with "lightning speed". I knew I would not have to wait long for a response. I really felt like she was giving me a one-on-one. She did a terrific job. Chouette! ”

“ I have learned an incredible amount of French from this beginning class. I think that is mostly due to the class format and teaching style of the instructor. Merci beaucoup! ”

“ I truly enjoyed Amy's friendly conversational teaching style. This was my first on-line classroom experience, and I found it a delight. The audio for French pronunciation is extremely useful and worked well for me. I can see that a lot of thought and preparation went into providing this excellent on-line course. ”

“ I was surprised and appreciative at how in-depth the lessons were. Much more information than I expected. This is my first time taking an online class. ”

“ The course covered all pertinent topics. I liked the structure of the course. The instructor clearly is an expert in teaching as well as in the French language and it's instruction. ”

“ This is my first online course and I am very impressed. I know a lot of effort was put into this course in a very systematic way and I appreciated it. Thank you. ”