This has really been a nightmare for us!

My 11th grader has tried Spanish Rosetta Stone - it did not go well.  I couldn't help because I know zero Spanish

So I figured I could teach her French and we bought Bob Jones curriculum used, because I know French.  The curriculum is horrible and we just can't get through it.  We now have 18 months to get through a foreign language 1 & 2.  She's going to be gone for 2 months this summer on a missions trip so that takes 2 months away!  I am willing to try Latin because I have some knowledge and she'd like to try Russian because she'll be in Russia for 2 months.  I just can't find what we need on line that isn't $1,000!!

Help! We'd really like something with DVDs or CD Roms a least so she can work independently much of the time

Any suggestions appreciated!

We can use Mango for free through our library.   Check on your local library website for "other services" and it should say if they have a Mango membership.  You may even be able to check the Mango website for your library. 

Just a thought!

Mango is good.  Also look into Auralog's Tell Me More.  It was what we used instead of RS.  I'm not sure why so many people like RS.  It just isn't a good fit for my son, I suppose.  I had BJU Spanish 1 (high school) and it was so hard to use for HS'ing since it was written for B&M school teachers.  We did about three lessons and then I sold it.

You can find stuff on HomeschoolClassifieds.com

Also, the Homeschool Buyers Co-op (free to join) has group buys for Tell Me More.  I think the price right now is down to about $125.  It's a newer version than we used and looks even better!

http://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/

http://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/auralog-s-tell-me-more-reg-homeschool-version.html

Before I found a local French class for my daughter, I trolled the internet for resources.  This one looked like the most complete usable online French I class (and the links to Tex's French Grammar were fun, too).  Looks like every resource you need for the class is available online.  We used Rosetta Stone for French for couple of years, but discovered that she was learning lots of vocabulary but no formal grammar.  That would have been fine if she was studying it for a trip, but it wasn't going to work if she wanted to follow the program with higher level French classes.

http://www.laits.utexas.edu/fi/

Hope that helps!

Yes, RS is really only good for "immersion" learning, not for "textbook" type learning of another language.  RS was started to help professionals prep to visit, or work in, areas where English was not the first language.  Then it just sprouted from there.  With RS, my son also memorized, not really learned, as he's good at that.  So he couldn't apply what he learned in the "real world" without photos, or text, of what he needed to use.  We tried PowerGlide (now called powerspeaK12 from K12, Inc.) and it was the same story.  He did great on the lesson and unit assessments but miserably failed the final with a 42%.  This is a profoundly gifted, straight-A student. :-o!

There are some great online programs.  Many universities around the country have online high schools that are fantastic for "textbook" learning (in a 21st Century way).

I don't know if this helps or not BUT just in case... MIT has free courses online. I checked and they have French. http://www.ocwconsortium.org/courses

The two months during which your daughter will be in Russia won't have to be subtracted from your time to learn a foreign language, as she will probably learn TONS of Russian on that trip. So you don't have to worry about losing time.

I google searched free online language courses and found hundreds. Have you checked out MIT, YALE, and other similarly-ranked college free open courses? There may be language courses on there, complete with lectures, notes and assignments. All you would need would be the book. No grades are given but the material is covered and you could determine a grade for her transcript by having her write something or quizzing her.

Good luck!