[pythonguython]

I'm a native English speaker currently studying Russian in Kazakhstan, and I completely understand the frustration of lacking sophistication. It can become a negative feedback loop where lacking the ability to have fun and nuanced conversations causes me to avoid talking in the target language, which then only brings me further from reaching the language level I want. It certainly takes dedicated effort - language learning by osmosis can only take you so far as an adult. P.S. I had to look up the word "garrulous", so kudos to you for the vocab word.