You can follow a podcast without subtitles.
You can read the French press.
You understand very well when people speak to you.
 

And yet, as soon as the conversation becomes real, fast, alive, a little chaotic, something happens.
 

The person finishes their sentence.
They look at you.
They wait for your reply.
 

And you, you know exactly what you want to say…
but the words don’t come out the way you expected.

 

That precise moment almost no one dares to describe

It’s not a “memory lapse”.
It’s not a lack of vocabulary either.
 

It’s that very specific moment when:

  • your ideas are clear

  • your opinion is well thought out

  • but your mouth doesn’t move at the same pace as your mind
     

You simplify.
You shorten.
You choose a “safe” sentence.
 

Not because you don’t know better.
But because you want to stay credible.
You want to avoid sounding awkward, slow, or “off”.
 

So you speak less.
You listen more.
And little by little, you take less space in the conversation.
 

 

What life looks like when French becomes natural

Now, project yourself into a very concrete scene.
 

A lunch with colleagues.
A conversation that drifts.
A political opinion, an anecdote, a joke that lands at just the right moment.
 

You jump in without thinking.
You bounce back.
You tell a story.
You add nuance.
You improvise.
 

No one slows down for you.
No one switches to English.
The conversation keeps going, naturally.
 

You didn’t “search for your words”.
They were already there.
 

And most importantly:
you recognize yourself in what you’re saying.

 

Why this gap persists, even with a good level

If you’re someone serious, committed, demanding with yourself, you often do the same thing:
 

You want to understand before you speak.
 

You analyze.
You take notes.
You look for the right structure.
The right phrasing.
 

Result: your French works very well…
as long as you have time.
 

But real conversation doesn’t give you that time.
 

It cuts in.
It picks back up.
It changes topic.
It pulls you into the moment.
 

And that’s where many people stay stuck in a “mental” French, not yet embodied.

 

What really changes the game when speaking

Fluency doesn’t come from more theory.
It comes from living repetitions, in contexts close to real life.
 

Not polished dialogues.
Not perfect answers.
 

But conversations that are:

  • sometimes messy

  • sometimes imperfect

  • often spontaneous
     

Exactly like the ones French speakers live every single day.
 

When you practice regularly in these conditions, your brain does something other than “search”:
it reacts.

 

Ohlala French School: turning understanding into reflexes

Ohlala French School was designed for that precise moment when your French is there… but not yet available in real time.
 

Here, you don’t come to “learn more”.
You come to train, to practice, to have REAL conversations in French.
 

Concretely:

  • up to 8 conversation sessions per week, guided by a native teacher

  • self-paced lessons from level A2 to C1, focused on real communication

  • shadowing to improve rhythm, intonation, and fluency

  • targeted feedback: what truly blocks you when speaking, not every tiny mistake
     

Like a gym:
it’s repetition that creates reflexes.

 

When regular practice changes everything: Danielle’s example

Danielle had lived in France when she was younger.
She thought her French would “come back”.
 

But during a trip, she caught herself using Google Translate for simple exchanges.
Not because she lacked knowledge, but because spoken French wasn’t keeping up.
 

By joining regular conversation sessions, with themes, living vocabulary, and supportive teachers, something changed.
 

She started speaking again.
Often.
Without trying to be perfect.
 

When she returned to France, her interactions flowed naturally.
At the pharmacy, they asked her for her carte vitale.
Her level was so good and fluid that the pharmacist thought she was a native French speaker!

 

The real question to ask yourself

It’s not:
“Is my French good enough?”
 

It’s rather:
“Do I practice enough in conditions close to real life?”
 

Because understanding is not enough.
What makes the difference is regular speaking practice, in a supportive but demanding environment.

 

If you want your French to finally feel like you

If you want to:

  • jump in without overthinking

  • follow fast conversations

  • express nuanced ideas

  • stay in French without switching back to English
     

Then Ohlala French School is here to support you.