- B2 is way harder than most people think. I know countless people (my past self included) who thought they were B2 because they were comfortable having conversations in their TL. In reality they are B1 or even A2.
From now on I will forever be sceptical on someone's ability if they claim a certain level without having had formal classes or having taken an exam.
- Common language learning advice such as heavy CI, Anki, and regular speaking practice is misleading at worse and limited at best. I spent years using these methods and was at a total plateau without understanding why.
'Passive' CI is one tool, but it must be supplemented with more intensive listening. Understanding ~90% - or the gist- of a conversation almost certainly means you miss important details. Intensive listening works your ability to extract these details.
With Anki, it's one thing forcing yourself to recognise and recall words using SRS, and i think this is good for learning basic vocab (animals, seasons, bodyparts) but once you get to B2, you must be able to understand complex vocab and phrases inside out - including the nuances between them. This is done by researching the word itself and prompting yourself to make useful sentences out of them.
For speaking, unless you're very lucky or have a professional teacher, you will very rarely be corrected when you make mistakes, and much less be shown better alternatives if your speech is understandable but unnatural. In addition, many of your daily conversations won't be at a high enough level to be challenging. Try recording yourself presenting arguments on a complex topic and you will realise how much you still have to learn, not just in more complicated vocab but also in your use of connectors. Show the recording to a professional teacher or even an AI for feedback.