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i tried for 3 years of self study plus some weekly in person lessons. Heavily grinded anki , did pimsleur, michel thomas , duolingo.

Overall i would say it was a failure, got to where I could read almost anything , but completely failed at being able to have real-time conversations.

I think for me I would need immersion to really get to the next level. Like I would need a french person to live with me for a few months.

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I grew up in Ontario, with French at school from grade 4-13. What really made the difference was going to two six-week French immersion courses (https://englishfrench.ca/explore/) in Quebec at the end of grades 12 and 13.

It's a shame that more people don't know about these courses, which are still operating more than 40 years later. The only expense is getting to the location in Quebec; all tuition, housing, meals, books, etc. are paid for by the government. The only requirement is that you have been a Canadian student in the past year.

The Tandem app is very good for finding people to talk to.

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