
CEO studied French for 6 years and still can’t speak it. This is why
From Learn Languages with Steve Kaufmann by Steve Kaufmann
April 2, 2026 · 6 min
About this episode
The episode discusses the challenges faced by the CEO of Air Canada in learning French despite extensive study, highlighting the shortcomings of traditional language learning methods.
The CEO of Air Canada spent 550 hours studying French over six years — and still couldn't speak it. Here's why traditional language learning fails, and what actually works.
People in this episode
Host: Steve Kaufmann
Topics covered
- language learning
- traditional education
- language acquisition
- French language
- Air Canada
- CEO experiences
Keywords
- language learning
- French
- Air Canada
- CEO
- education
- language acquisition
- study methods
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Air Canada
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