Speaking A Language And Learning French
A language is a living entity and it adapts to the person learning it. Some people will learn faster than others. But no matter how long you study, you'll never get 100% fluency in any one language because there are always new words and new ways of communicating that are just not possible or understandable if you don't speak the words with a native speaker.
Take French for instance. I've been studying French for 20 years. When I first started, it was very hard to understand a word because the grammar was new to me and the pronunciation difficult. If you have someone there who can translate for you, it's much easier to learn.
In fact, it's best to learn from a native speaker who knows French well because they will truly understand what you are saying if you mix in some English words or if you ask them questions about things that are not discussed in a textbook. This is especially true with high school students who have not learned many language skills because high schools do not teach foreign languages as often as elementary schools do.
You have to be patient with French too. Many times, the rules are different than English. French is a little harder to pronounce because it's not our alphabet. So if you're going to speak French with someone, you should make sure that you both have an understanding of what you mean and why you said it.
For example, in English we say "to" when we're talking about motion from one place to another. But in French, that's not the case. If I say j'aime le cinéma (I like movies), the word for "to" is où (where) and not à cause there is no "motion" involved if I'm speaking the truth. So you'd say je aime le cinéma et que je me mêle de ce qui ne me regarde pas (I like movies and that I interfere with everything that is not my business).
To understand why I wrote that, some people will say "movies" and other people will say "people". If people don't understand something you said, don't fret. They just didn't know what to translate it into and so they think you are speaking nonsense. I have a French phrase that goes along with this: ils ne comprennent rien (they don't understand anything).
Some people will think you're crazy when you start speaking French, but that's okay because they were the same way when they first spoke English.
You might say "it's not fair", but learning a language is like trying to solve a riddle. You have to understand the meaning of words and their context in order to communicate what you mean. If you use English words for example, tu (you in French) will think you are talking about something very different from what vous (you - plural) is talking about.
French is like another language within itself that has its own rules and regulations. You can learn English all day long, but it won't make you a better speaker of the language.
If you want to learn French, you have to speak French. You can listen to teacher, but you have to actually open your mouth and say something. If you're shy about speaking French with people around, get used to it because this is will be one of the most difficult things for you to accomplish as a new learner. It's okay as long as you're not too nervous and if you know what the other person is saying back to you.
I must warn you to be careful when you speak French because if you're not sure how to say something, you could really mess up. I recommend using a language teacher or a tutor who will help you with this problem. For example, French has many different ways of saying the word "to" and if you get it wrong, the other person will not understand what you're talking about. So be specific when speaking the words. If I say aller (to go), je vais (I'm going), je m'en vais (I'm going - far away) and j'y vais (I'm going there).