Of course, one can learn a language at any age, although it has been proven easier to do before the age of 13, due to the brain’s stages of development.
I went back to university as an adult to earn a B.A. in French – a “fait accompli” in three years time; the focus was mostly on learning to read and write French. Bien sûr, there were the required grammar classes and a lot of literature classes, but surprisingly not many French conversation classes. So, learning was how to speak textbook French, which is not always what’s truly spoken. Afterwards, when I lived and worked in Paris, this all became amusingly quite evident (read about it in “Solitary Desire – One Woman’s Journey to France” – available on Amazon)!
Spoken French is like spoken English, where words are slurred together, spoken quickly, and includes slang. I have a good friend who takes lessons via skype with French Today (click on the image icon on the left sidebar on my blog for direct access) to improve her speaking ability, and she highly recommends the company. They also have a variety of listening programs & lessons in communicating in modern day French.
What a great idea, as well, to give as a gift to a Francophile friend! Let’s speak French (Parlons français) and oui, let’s speak French Today!
24/7 in FRANCE 
wanted to study French but seems not easy language 🙂
Like anything new – learning a foreign language takes time, dedication, & practice. Merci for commenting.
I am using Pimsleur French – but you need to have someone to talk to to build your confidence so the French today actually sounds like a great idea.
Confidence is key – if you are considering French Today, please go through the link from my site so they know the referral came from here – Merci!
I will thank you Kim
My children learned French in a French school in Helsinki. They both speak it perfectly. I am not speaking it well. I have 1500 books in French. During 38 years I have read them thrice and one year ago I started the fourth tour.
How wonderful for your children! There is a big difference between reading/writing French and speaking it, however, which I amusingly write about in my book Solitary Desire-One Woman’s to France. Bonne continuation & bonne chance!