Gone are the dry old text books (and the dry old teachers!) of yesteryear. Today there are a huge number of ways to learn and amongst the most popular are courses that let you learn French on CD. They’re certainly convenient, but are they the best way to learn?

There’s no doubt you have plenty of choice. A quick check of online stores will find several dozen different French language CDs running from children’s basic learning to moderately advanced and with prices from less than twenty dollars to those costing several hundred.

There is also a choice of approaches. You have audio-only CDs, which are great for in the home or car, and you have the more complex interactive kind which you need to use in your computer. In some cases it’s also possible to copy files to your MP3 player for truly portable, go-anywhere French lessons.

So with such a variety, how do you choose the best French CD for you? Is learning French on CD even the best option or are there better alternatives? Largely, of course, it depends on your personal preference, your current level of language skill and your budget.

If you’re just starting out there are a number of CDs that will give you an insight into the French language. Before you shell out your cash though, have a look around the internet. There are quite a few sites that offer free French lessons so check them out first. It’s true that they don’t offer much in the way of in-depth teaching (they are free, after all), but to be honest you’re probably not going to get a great deal out of a twenty dollar “beginning French” style CD either. At least you can check online before you decide.

If you’ve got a bit more to spend, the choice gets greater and the products get better. Michel Thomas’ French lessons on CD have been popular for quite a while. If you like these kind of “listen and repeat” type audio courses it’s hard to beat. I suppose it could be argued that they’re just a copy of the old tape systems, but that doesn’t mean they’re no good. It’s claimed that thousands of people have used them to learn French and I see no reason to argue. I’ve used them myself and they certainly give a good grounding in the basics of the language and can take you to what can reasonably be called a competent level of spoken French. Personally, I do find them a bit expensive when you compare them with some of the interactive systems that are a much more involving and, in my opinion, a more entertaining experience.

I suppose the disadvantage of the interactive French CDs is that you need to be at your PC to use them fully. I would still go for this type of product though because I think the positives outweigh the negatives. There are also some which deliver at least a portion of their French lessons in MP3 format so you can download these to a CD or your player and, once again, benefit from lessons on the move.

It’s the interactivity of these products that does it for me. French is not an easy language to learn but in my opinion having an experience that involves you, which makes you respond to sounds and pictures, is just more fun – and if you’re having fun then learning isn’t a chore. You’ll learn more and you’ll learn it faster. I can’t make a definite personal recommendation because I haven’t tried them all, it wouldn’t be fair, but I would choose this kind of “learn French” CD over the other options. They’re not cheap, but they’re a good choice.

However, before we finish there is one other option in this range that’s not strictly a CD but provides the same functionality and entertainment. Instead of delivery via CD it’s provided as easy-to-download files you copy straight from the internet to your home PC. It’s got the interactivity we’re looking for and the MP3 files and it’s very competitively priced. Furthermore it offers six free lessons so you can try before you buy. Definitely worth a look.