What shall I do to improve my French skills? I've just started to learn french for half of a year,and I can't understand long sentences,and my vocabulary is limited..I'll make every efforts to improve my French skills,could you please tell what shall I do?

What makes me frown Now I am a junior student, and it's time for me to make a choice about my future.Should I apply for study further abroad?Or stay in China and take part in postgraduate entrance exams? Actually,I'm eager to study abroad, because I believe it's an opportunity for me to acquire knowledge, broaden my horizon,and prove my ability to live alone.However, it's not an easy way for me. Firstly,I should make preparations,for instance,pass IELTS and TOEFL, which means I should learn English very well,not only oral skills, but also listening comprehension, reading skills,and writing skills.Secondly,I should make an investigation about colleges in America or other countries ,which are totally strangers to me,and then make a choice by myself.Thirdly, I'm going to be separated from my parents and stay in an exotic place for a year or two,which is a big challenge for me. Maybe I should consider to send an application to a college in HongKong,which is not so far away from my home and I can still stay in China. But my father told me to take part in the postgraduate entrance exam,which is more difficult for Chinese because there are numerous of candidates ,and they are striving to pass the exam and be admitted in a selected university.It's an tournament and only the best twentieth of us could win the prize, in other word, it will be very competitive. I know that whatever choice I have made,I should make every efforts to accomplish them.It's difficult to see if I would fail in both ,because I don't want to let my parents down and be a loser of my life. I believe people of my age are bound to face with such a hard condition,but I am a girl with a strong mind and courage,I will not afraid of them. Allez！Allez！