Pourquoi francais? Deutsch ist besser, n'est-ce pas? If this is your second attempt and you are having trouble then maybe another European language may be better, such as German. There are quite a few similarities between English and German. Also, there at least 3 countries in Europe where German is used (actually, that might be 4 if you count the small number of German speakers in Belgium). Whichever one you choose, the best advice I was given was to read children's books. Good luck!
"101" is an Americanism which tends to mean a basic course in anything and can be used for anything. It's a fairly generic term and not to be taken seriously.
Study at least a little bit everyday. Languages are use it or lose it types of things. Listen to music, watch cartoons or tv in the target language (shows that match the level of your studies, hence little kid cartoons early, news and dramas later), read books (again, that match your skills, kids books early or newspaper articles later)... Create an immersive environment so you get a little bit of the language everyday. Even as little as 15 minutes a day will help you to practice and keep your skills than skipping days of studying altogether and studying for long periods of time to make up for days you lost. This type of immersion learning is helpful, although sometimes it doesn't feel like it. You may not be able to answer someone if they ask how to say specific phrases or words, but little by little you learn vocab and can comprehend it without even trying. Then when you hear them used in conversations enough and they finally click and you use it yourself, then it becomes yours.