I am somewhat advanced in age in comparison to many aspirants here and I wish the idea of emigrating had occurred to me earlier. Anyways, no sooner did I decide early this year to attempt the FSW route I realized that I was falling short of the score needed to get an ITA. Realized that learning French was the only option. Deterred by the high fees asked by AF in India for the entry level courses and their format which may not be best suited to prepare for a proficiency exam, I decided to go it alone. Started with "easy French step by step" a recommendation I picked up from one of the threads here as the foundation. That, along with streamed content and podcasts since late February, I assess myself at an A2 plus at this stage. Of course learning a new language has its benefits in addition to the primary objective.If you go to a typical Alliance Française, then yes it might take 2 years to reach B2 (6 months for each level). I think this is where that teacher was coming from. But you can expedite it with a good foundation and hard work.
Was targeting a TEF or TCF slot sometime in October. But with even my IELTS postponed and then cancelled along with EAS in limbo, have to play the waiting game.