How to speak French fluently
It made me
Pretty damn pleased! 
"Comment? Qu'est ce que c'est ça?"
How I did it: I took french in school for 8 years, starting in 5th grade. A lot of times I hated it, because I was only required to take it, rather than wanting to. Now that I'm out of high school, in college, and taking Italian, I'm realizing how big a part of my life that it is. I keep going back to french, and I'm also noticing how much it is affecting my english as well — try playing a word search game, and filling it with french words!
The first years were weird. I honestly had no idea what I was saying in the slightest. It was just the constant exposure that helped me move on. Just picking up small words and phrases added up enough to get me to an intermediate level.
Reviewing helps a lot. In 8th grade I had mastered the subjunctive tense, but when entering high school, even though I was ready for french 3, my teacher did not want me to be the only freshman in that class, so she put me in french 2. It was a huge class, so I spent the whole year reviewing things I already knew. While this sounds boring, I think it strengthened my knowledge of the language immensely. Having a solid base to start off does not hurt anyone!
Lessons & tips:
There is/was no specific way to 'learn' how to do it. For me, it just happened. It took a lot of work, and studying and sounding completely stupid, but it happened. There is no set way to learn any language, and French is no different. C'est la vie!
The thing to remember, is that it is hard. All languages are difficult to learn (I'm still trying to master pig-latin), and thinking French is going to be easy for any reason is stupid. Knowing a romance language like Spanish or Italian helps, but does not help enough to make the process of learning individual words and idiomatic phrases any easier.
If you're required to take it for school, don't grumble and hate the language. Grumbling and hating the teacher is alright, if your teacher is bad, but the language itself is something good and useful. Just get through it and work on doing your best.
For everybody, immerse yourself as much as possible If I was home sick (or really REALLY bored), I would watch DVDs and switch the language overdub to french, rather than english just to get a feel for the way it sounds. And don't put on subtitles in english. If you need help, put on subtitles in french, and don't be afraid to pause and write words down.
Also, don't ask for a word in english! Before you use a dictionary, use whatever french words you know to ask for a word IN FRENCH! Use circumlocution as much as possible, it'll help you in the long run.
I also went to France with my class. I was the most advanced student there, because of the higher placement, so I ended up doing a lot of translating with Parisians, and people in Biarritz and Anglet. It helps; it's awkward, and it feels like you're being annoying, but it helps.
Read books you know in english translated into french. I have a copy of the first Harry Potter book in french, and, since I knew the story well (I'm a bit of an HP nerd), I was able to go through the book in french and figure out what was going on. It does not give you a true "french voice," as reading french literature does, but it really helps to get you started
Resources: France, translated books and any french speakers...
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