French Assistant offers clear explanations of French concepts with solid audio examples. The audio is free for 14 days following registration, after which you must purchase the files if you want continued access. However, you do not need to give the company credit card information up-front, nor are you restricted in your access to other parts of the website after 14 days. In the earliest learning stages, French Assistant uses many words already recognizable to English speakers to demonstrate pronunciation (examples are pirate, télévision, athlète and hôtel).
Loquella is an audio-based website, with every item pronounced twice, once each by male and female speakers. Having good audio resources is important in French, because the language has several sound unfamiliar to speakers of English. For review, Loquella offers its first thorough lesson for free. Vocabulary items are taught in groups that build on each other and create an intuitive, contextual knowledge of both words and sentence structure. For access to other parts of the website, Loquella offers monthly pay plans.
The French Tutorial offers a complete and free beginner's French textbook in an online format. This text is interactive and is accompanied by many audio examples. Students learn organized vocabulary, verb conjugations, syntax and other useful information such as counting and telling time. This website is also still currently being updated, so more lessons will be available in the future.
LSF offers 22 lessons on beginning French. Every lesson contains several concepts; for instance, the lesson called "Dates/Tenses" contains 12 lessons of its own about different French verb tenses and how they are used. Most lessons also contains activities, quizzes, games and other helpful tools for students. All elements of LSF are free.
Learn French Language Guide is a free site that offers grammar (including many vocabulary groups), an entire section on verbs and phraseology for students. There are clear prose explanations of rules and many examples for students to follow. Although this site is somewhat less interactive than others, it is an excellent reference for students trying to find out about a specific rule or vocabulary item.