I just remember that when I started discussing with native english speakers,I was really shy because I was underestimating my skills.After a couple of discussions with them ,I became more confident and accustomed to many accents.In my opinion, you should try to discuss with many people regularly.Obviously, it would be difficult to feel at ease during your first conversations with your penpals but you'll feel very confortable after noticing that you've already get passed a stage that you think you're still in.Good luck with your learning and I hope you could quickly learn even though I must admit that English is easier to learn than French.