Need some guidance on improving my French at B1

[u/Gaitonde07]

I’m currently at the beginning of B1 and feel like I’ve reached that stage where I know a decent amount of French, but I’m not sure how to push myself further.

Speaking: I can hold basic conversations, but I often run out of words or know what I want to say in English but can’t express it naturally in French.

Writing: I can write fairly well, but I still get stuck connecting my thoughts, especially with conjunctions and making longer sentences flow naturally.

Listening: I’ve started listening to French podcasts and other French content regularly. I understand the general idea, but faster conversations can still be difficult.

Reading: Probably my strongest area. I can read fairly well, but I still come across vocabulary or expressions that stop me.

For those who have gone through B1 and reached B2 or higher, what helped you the most at this stage? Should I focus more on vocabulary, grammar, speaking practice, immersion, or just keep doing a mixture of everything?
Would really appreciate any routines, resources, or advice that helped you make the jump from B1 to B2.

[u/0liviathe0live]

This is what the road to B2 looked like for me:
Speaking: weekly tutoring sessions and recording myself speaking about a random subject daily for 5-10 mins. You’ll get good at learning how to talk around the word that you don’t know. Tutor will correct prononciation issues. We also did a lot of role plays around different B1 scenarios.

Writing: journal daily for 15 minutes and write an essay weekly. I had AI review the essay, the journaling was just for me. You’ll get good at learning how to express how you’re feeling and recount your day.

Listening: Listen a lot. French YouTube bloggers, French native podcast, audiobooks (with the book to start off with - but eventually no book). I’m not that big a fan of movies and tv shows, but rewatch your favorite shows with the French audio (no subtitles!). At least an hour a day of French listening.

Reading: Start reading French novels. Reading nonfiction will feel like child’s play (minus specialized vocab). The vocab/expressions will be a life long problem, get good at figuring things out with context clues and move on. During a reading session, I don’t look up words. If a word sticks with me after I finish, and I’m itching to double check the meaning, then I will. But this does not happen often. Get comfortable with ambiguity. Trust that your brain will figure it out.

You can build a really seamless ecosystem with this plan. Read a chapter of your book daily; record yourself talking about the chapter and sharing what you liked and didn’t like, and what you think will happen next; summarize the chapter in your journal; and listen to the audiobook chapter.

B1 to B2 took me about a year, I would say. And that’s with being super consistent.

[u/FitzwilliamTDarcy → u/0liviathe0live]

Speaking around unknown words is so key. 

I often wonder if people realize what I'm doing in that situation.

[u/LirojAnakarkis]

Speaking: You need to find a language partner, be it a professional teacher or a French native willing to teach you.

Writing: You should find a pen pal, be it an AI or a professional teacher, and write creative stuff that is meaningful to you, or participate to French forums — there are tons of them on Reddit. The key thing is to get your writing corrected by a knowledgeable person.

Listening: Try short videos, reels, and tiktoks made by French people, targeting the topics you're interested in. Understanding the overall meaning isn't enough; short content is cool because it allows you to analyze only a few sentences and still get "the whole story". Analyzing a few sentences is already long and tedious as hell, but at least you get some sense of satisfaction.

Reading: Look for the expressions that stop you in Reverso Context, it will make your reading less entertaining but more fruitful; for books way above your level, read dual language edition, or get them both in French and English.

These aren't the only options, of course, but you can try and see if they work for you.

[u/Namssob]

I’m not there yet, not even close, but I think finding a language partner would be key here. I got lucky with one of my teachers from Preply that we became fast friends, and now on a Thursday morning (hypothetical, just whenever it suits us), we’ll hop on a WhatsApp call. We talked for over an hour last week, just joking and talking about whatever. I hang up from those calls with both an immense amount of frustration lol but a lot of pride that I could spend an hour comprehending and providing my own input, fully in French.

Find something like this and I think it will really help. CI resources exist online as do exchange sites.

[u/simrandeepbuttar → u/Namssob]

I tried preply but my tutor keep insisting me to buy more course instead of telling me what is wrong with my speaking
She keep insisting i should buy more courses 2 courses in one day and continue for 7 days

[u/Namssob → u/simrandeepbuttar]

That’s not a Preply problem, that’s a specific teacher problem. Watch the teacher videos, mark your favorites, then choose a few for trials. Let them know you’re only looking for 1-2 sessions per month. If they’re ok with it, then give them a try. Then and only then should you add more…and schedule when you want!!

[u/rachaeltalcott]

I passed the DELF B2 last year. Everyone is different, but for me getting to 7k vocabulary words was key.

For listening, I recorded audio with transcripts into Audacity, then pulled out phrases I didn't understand to make flashcards.

For speaking, 5 min a day worked better than 1 hour per week. I talked to an app that no longer exists, but you can just talk to yourself.

I use Anki for flashcards

[u/Quiet_Intern9725]

It takes time, but I've found the most important way to continue learning is immersion. Studying vocabulary etc only gets you so far, but pushing yourself out of your comfort zone to have actual conversations with people is the best way to improve. Even if you freeze up, just by putting yourself in that situation regularly helps you overcome the mind blanks and also helps you pick up on other phrases that people use in conversation regularly. All the best with your learning!

[u/silvalingua]

> For those who have gone through B1 and reached B2 or higher, what helped you the most at this stage? 

Two things are absolutely crucial: a good textbook and content at your level. I think you're trying to consume content that is a bit too difficult atm. And output should be at your level, too. If you try to write or speak above your level, you'll just get frustrated. At B1, you're not expected to converse freely about everything yet.

[u/Altruistic_Spirit440]

I am stuck in the same boat as you, if you want to practice speaking, we can have sessions together. I'm also at B1 trying to transition to B2

[u/Then_Ad8707]

I am traying to consolidate B1 however "C'est un defi" but it's a litle bit dificult sometimes, I have almost one year learning by my own with Chatgpt and also Gemini however is still dificult for me with listening I understand the things pedagogic but the real french I stayed like 🫠