I studied French in Grade 8, 9, 10, 11 and then had 2 more years of it in Uni. None of that helped me become a French speaker. Some friends own a ruin of a chat

I studied French in Grade 8, 9, 10, 11 and then had 2 more years of it in Uni. None of that helped me become a French speaker. Some friends own a ruin of a chateau in France and I spent a summer there working on it. That didn't seem to be helping much - until I started speaking with the children of the locals who worked on the chateau or lived nearby and visited everyday. It didn't take long doing that to progress to a conversational ability level that I never thought I would have.