Hear how it felt for Steve to have a conversation in French with une boulangère in Marseille and how a waiter joked with him on a café terrace. 

Steve brought his musician’s mindset into every session. Steady. Focused. Disciplined. But it wasn’t just the structure he embraced—it was the rhythm of the language itself.

A year in, he messaged me after listening to a French song.

“I understood 90% of it,” he said, “and I only had to look up three words.”

That’s not a vocabulary win. That’s recognition. That’s when French becomes part of how you listen—not just what you study.

Steve and I sat down for a discussion on rhythm and the music of the French language and recorded it as a podcast that you can listen to here.

In 2022, Steve travelled to Marseille. It was a milestone moment, not because he spoke perfectly—but because he understood enough. Enough to navigate. Enough to connect. Enough to feel, in his own words, pleased.

“Only one person I spoke to didn’t answer in English,” he said. “But I was always understood.”

For a High Achiever like Steve, that kind of feedback wasn’t just encouraging. It was evidence. Proof of progress.

Two years later, Steve returned to Marseille.

And this time, people replied to him in French. No switch to English. No puzzled looks. Just conversation.

He told us about a long, relaxed chat with une boulangère—and then, with a little grin, how he’d shared a joke with a waiter.

A joke.

There’s something profoundly special about humour in another language. It requires ease, timing, trust. It’s not just speaking—it’s connecting.

That’s when it hit me.

Steve hadn’t just progressed. He’d crossed over into something more powerful: belonging in France. All in the space of a few years.

Steve's next trip to the South of France in 2025 was with a mate from his weekly live group class. I think they stopped short of speaking French between themselves but everything else was in French. Even the trip to the local Gendarmarie to report a stolen bike!

Now, Steve speaks French with fluency and confidence. But more importantly, he enjoys it. He’s built friendships, shared stories, and become a contributor to the learning culture that makes The French Room so distinctive.

Merci Steve!

And if you were wondering about that playlist Croissant Corner on Spotify here it is.