I find this presenter and her series of YouTube videos enjoyable and beneficial. The wife is a little suspicious of my motives though.
https://youtu.be/IzugQ-xIJrE
https://youtu.be/1_-AVqJh-5Y
Starting young is a very good idea. Something that amazes me is hearing groups of teens here in Berlin switching between English and German fluidly like they're one language. They'll be talking, say German, and something will trigger them switching to English, like an English quote or a common...
I'm in a similar boat. My spoken German is well behind my level of writing and reading. I wouldn't say I panic when someone speaks to me...but I do give up quickly and easily. The wife found a "tandem partner" to practice spoken German with. A tandem is someone wanting to practice the reverse ie...