This paper describes two groups of students learning French online, one earning college credit through California's Coastline Community College and one studying for self-enrichment with the Annenberg/CPB Project and the University of Maryland University College. Students receive and are encouraged to explore weekly/semi-weekly current Web sites. They are also asked questions of current relevance (e.g., how they celebrate holidays and what they think of international affairs). One of the most successful features of learning French at Coastline Community College and the University of Maryland University College are electronic mail and live chats, both of which offer students ready, nearly continuous access to an instructor. Students are able to discover and construct their own knowledge rather than accepting facts transferred to them as unalterable truths by their professors. Learning becomes interdisciplinary as students learn that electronic communication is a medium, that French is a mode of communication, and that other subjects can offer the substance of the message. It appears that students demonstrate improved comprehension of written materials and improve fluency more quickly in online versus traditional French courses. In both courses, students of both sexes appear to succeed or fail in similar numbers. (SM)