u/Logical-Brief5382

Hi everyone,

I’ve been learning French for about 7–8 months now and I’m currently around A2 level, soon moving into B1.
I’m trying to push myself to practice speaking outside of class, but I often feel quite anxious about it. I’m not a European language speaker originally (I’m from Asia), so French pronunciation and sentence structure feel very unfamiliar to me, even though I speak multiple languages already.
What’s been discouraging is that on several occasions, when I try speaking French, people switch to English mid-conversation. I understand this might be because my French isn’t fluent yet, but it makes me hesitant to keep trying.

Yesterday, something similar happened in a pub while ordering food during a football match. I tried ordering in French, and I understood everything the waitress said and was able to place my order. But she kept addressing my friend (who is a French speaker) instead of me, even though I was the one speaking. Later she came back again for another order and this time she only spoke to her. It made me feel a bit invisible, honestly.
I left feeling a bit demotivated and wondering if this is common for language learners here. Do people usually lose patience with learners at this stage, or have I just had a few bad experiences?
Would like to hear if others have gone through something similar and how you handled it.

Maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but one thing that keeps bothering me at the BBQ areas around Vidy is how little consideration some people seem to have for others.
Every time I go, I notice one of two things:
People leave the grills and surrounding area dirty after they’re done. It takes very little effort to clean up after yourself, and it’s simply respectful to the next group that wants to use the space.
Some people show up completely unprepared and expect others to supply everything. I’m happy to share the occasional item, but I’ve had multiple occasions where people arrived with just their food and then borrowed charcoal, utensils, foil, lighters etc. Last weekend a group borrowed so many things that they basically relied on other people’s equipment to run their BBQ, and some items weren’t even returned.
Maybe some will say this is petty, but it’s happened so often that it’s become frustrating. If you’re planning a BBQ, come prepared and bring what you need instead of assuming someone else will cover for you.
The BBQ areas are a shared space. Cleaning up after yourself and being self-sufficient is just basic courtesy!!