Fluency before perfection
Many adults hold back from speaking until they're sure the grammar is right, which slows down fluency far more than the occasional grammar mistake would. Speaking more, even imperfectly, builds the muscle that actual conversations need — accuracy tends to catch up once fluency is there.
Practise the situations you actually face
Generic conversation practice helps less than practising the specific situations you deal with — a phone call, a parent-teacher meeting, a shop interaction, a work call. The closer the practice is to your real life, the faster it transfers.
Get real correction, not just repetition
Talking to yourself or an app can build some comfort, but it can't tell you what you're actually getting wrong. A teacher or a structured class catches specific, repeated mistakes — the kind you'd otherwise keep making for years without noticing.
Track your level, not just your effort
"I've been practising for six months" doesn't tell you much on its own. Knowing your CEFR level before you start and checking it again later gives you a concrete, honest measure of whether the practice is actually working.