The age-old advice is to simply continue speaking in French and make it known that you want to keep practising. If this does not work, then there is a silver lining.

And remember, as a rule, it's always safer and more polite to use the "vous," or formal version of French, unless you're speaking to a child.

people who have been living in France for a few years will speak decent French - but sitting down to a written exam can still be daunting. So the team at The Local have put together some tips ...

Speaking — mostly in French — at the film’s press conference, the Oscar winner recalled previously being “afraid” to take on more than “secondary parts” in the language.

Most Louisianans no longer speak French but more and more schools in the state are teaching it. One small school, southwest of New Orleans, is immersing students in the state's local dialects.