improve my french accent

I went to my college orientation earlier this week, and found out that as part of my language requirement, I’ll have to pass an oral proficiency exam at the end of my junior year. That gives me even more reason to work on my damn accent. Also, I tested into a high-ish class, so I’m pretty proud. The placement exam was surprisingly easy.

My calculus teacher likes to randomly speak French in class, and I’m delighted that I can understand him. I want to be confident enough in my speaking to hold a real conversation without being humiliated. I tried in France, and it wasn’t that bad. The only thing that really sucked was when we were talking about astrology, and I said my sign- “poisson.” They thought I said “boisson,” and were all confused. When they figured it out, they teased me, even though I’d said the right thing.
I suppose my naturally quiet voice doesn’t help, but I hope that one day I’ll be good enough that native French speakers understand me at my usual volume. At least I understand decently, and can read and write well.