Unfortunately there is no catch all for learning a language. Reading in another language bores me rigid. I HAVE to speak a language in order to engage with it, which means by now I can cope in most situations, even if I don’t know the vocabulary and far from understand every word. OH on the other hand was only comfortable doing text-book exercises, so his grammar and vocabulary are much better than mine. Unfortunately he doesn’t hear well (or in English either) and so understands much less than I do.
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We had an english neighbour who said I don’t need to learn French all the French speak english! They only mixed with ‘Brits’. They went back to the UK in 2018 having put their house up for sale in 2011 at a ridiculous price and eventually being desperate to get out of France reduced the price by 100,000 euros! Receiving 30,000 euros more than they paid for it which didn’t cover the amount they spent on making it to their taste.
Anyhow have a read of the article below…
Yes, exactly my point! I have found that concentrating on what I’m naturally better at has really helped. My friend Tim, on the other hand, is great at talking.
Another good idea is reading/listening to/watching content that interests you. Again, what interests me will probably not interest you.
I read French newspapers online every day… with some different slants on a theme… interesting to see a melange/mixture of different phrases depending on the Writer.
Sadly, not many of the words/phrases stick in the “conversation” part of my brain to be dragged out when discussing… although having got the gist of what’s going-on, I can talk it through with French pals… using my own vocabulary…
When we first came over, I would write down useful/interesting phrases… mutter them over and over… and try them out in conversations (discretely using my notepad as reference). It seemed fun at the time… but I’ve not got the patience nor the time for that now… 
I love listening to people talking around me… the music of the language is something I try to imitate…
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I’m curious about how many here watch TV and listen to the radio in French. Do people still watch / listen to UK (or whatever country they’re from) channels?
A mixture….morning radio is French, but still listen to the 6pm R4 news as the dog enjoys Big Ben (it signals his dinner time). Will watch Arte and news programmes on French channels, but BBC dramas and drama/documentaries like Alan Bates and PO. Cinema and theatre is generally in French
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Both, depending on what is on. I love my french evening soaps and if I miss one episode, use the catch up on TF1 and also the main TF1 news reports. I have american streaming services for the latest film and series releases, Irish system for UK channels and Amazon Prime and Netflix so am never without something to watch. I tried watching some of the Irish channels in Gaelic, won’t try and learn much of that 
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I watch a lot of French and German productions on Arte (usually with French subtitles, but never English). The only UK radio I catc is a short bit of the Today programme that I overhear every morning and the 6pm R4 news (neither by choice!). TBH I find news from UK outlets fairly depressing and insular, and haven’t watched a UK TV programme for seven years.
I stopped reading S African newspapers online a few years ago and I imagine in time The Gaurdian will go the same way.
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Perhaps because of - or exacerbated by - the fact that French really is two languages, the written and the vernacular which are only loosely (and arguably less and less) connected.
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Yes this is what catches me out - I did “French” up to A Level at school (many moons ago!) but of course it was all formal and literary French not colloquial French, so I am doing my best to modify that to the “street” version.
I am currently doing this by taking lessons from various gorgeous young French women on YouTube. 
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I don’t know about the gorgeous young French women bit but YT has a lot of “talking head” stuff but done by ordinary people - so there is a wide range of accents, plus many are captioned (though occasionally the auto captioning screws up) and you can watch/liste multiple time to “get your ear in (or at least can use that excuse if your spouse catches you watching those " gorgeous young French women” )
Films can have too little dialogue and TV can’t be rewound and re-listend to (well, maybe on digital “catch up”).
I confess that I struggle much more with the locals than I do with YT though - perhaps living (or visiting) Brittany is the equivalent of trying to learn English in Wales?
Fortunately (or not) I am single…
My ex-wife is originally from Montpellier. Hearing her parents talk when I first met them was definitely an experience. I never knew that the French word for bread had a ‘g’ at the end 
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I’m learning two different forms of French, ‘proper’ and local (Occitanish). The latter is used for day to day exchanges on the market or with neighbours in the village, but I presume I’ll also need the former if I ever apply for French citizenship.
Yes I have found that living down here too and even my DIL has reverted from Breton accented french to the stranger south patois. No doubt the grandchildren will also do the same being Catalan born.
? Typo perhaps, did you mean the “former” presuming that your agent will require Academy French? I don’t think they care as long as you can communicate.
But the DELF B2 exam can include regional accents in the aural sections.
French is THE official language of the Republic but metropolitan France still has about another 6 languages in use 
you can sit some of your school exams in them.
Both my children learned Breton at collège as it was part of the curiculum, many of their peers went onto be come Diwan teachers (breton speaking schools) and still are. Round here, many of the older people speak catalan most of the time amongst themselves and family so yes, regional languages are alive and being spoken though many might eventually die out if the upcoming generations don’t learn them to conserve their heritage.
Thanks - now corrected! Useful to learn that they’re not too picky about the accent.
Hi, seems, as usual, a frightening scenario is being encouraged, there are as many reasons for moving to France as there are people who have moved here from the UK and the brexit agreement included protecting peoples right to live in peace and harmony in their chosen European country. Injecting a language problem is only to the advantage of mean minded disrupters, you only need what you need!