In this live event, Céline Guerreiro, founder of Languagemate, showed France Today members how to move past textbook French and start acquiring the language the way native speakers actually use it. Drawing on research from linguist Stephen Krashen and behavioural science from James Clear and Anne-Laure Le Cunff, Céline explained why weekly lessons alone will never be enough, why identity (French student vs French speaker) quietly decides your progress, and what to do in the 167 hours each week when no one is teaching you. She walked through a day in the life of "Jessica," a native French speaker, to show exactly how to weave podcasts, reading, messaging and real conversation into everyday routines, then closed by helping viewers design a "tiny experiment" they could start the same day. Host Sylvia Davis, Culture Editor for France Media, guided the Q&A, which covered language partners, French subtitles vs English subtitles, and how to pick the right podcast for your level.