Today I was in Barnes & Noble trying to decide on a basic French language course my family can follow this summer to prepare for the autumn trip. They had Rosetta Stone, Pimsleur, and Living Language. All were costly, so I resolved to do some research and to crowdsource the question with y’all before I commit to one of them.

Do any of you have experience with one or more of these programs? I’ll probably get a workbook and do my own review course separately, because my French is more advanced than my wife’s and my kids (my kids have no French at all). I need to get something the kids can do online independently. I’ll work with them, but there needs to be an online component. I know Rosetta Stone has this, but I’m not sure they’re the best.

Advice? I’m not looking for my children to become fluent from doing an online summer course, but I do want them to have enough French so that they’re not in an entirely alien environment, and that they can have some interaction with French people this fall.