English in particular is difficult to learn because it does not always follow grammar rules and you just have to learn when the rules don't apply. Growing up speaking it, you learn what is natural to say, even if it is not grammatically correct, or is correct but deviates from the rules. Also, all English speaking nations have their own version of English, which differs from 'genuine' English. Such as the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand etc. Then to make matters worse, within the UK, the language is very regional so different regions speak differently. You can equate this to Spanish which is different in each south american country, to 'genuine' Spanish spoken in Spain. My Colombian Ex-Girlfriend could tell which country in South/Central America someone was from by the way they spoke and their accent. But the first time she heard someone from Spain speak, she had no idea what the accent was!

Without context I guess the meaning of the phrase is to do something difficult even though there are easier options, although it's not a phrase I've heard used. The closest phrase I know is "swimming against the tide" which means the same thing.

That being said is NOT close to therefore, 'that being said' is closer to 'however' or 'but' which is pretty much the opposite of therefore. Therefore, is used after making a statement and followed by a declaration backing up the statement in a run on sentence. For example. "I am from England, therefore I speak English" That being said is used to modify a statement, in the same way as but or however is used "I love London, that being said I could not live there!" Cheers, Chris

Also listen carefully to the sounds your partner makes and ask your partner to correct your pronunciation. This will also help you develop an accent when speaking English, if you focus on the sounds a native speak makes and try to mimic them. Be careful though, I dated a Russian girl who had an almost american accent because she had learned using American learning resources. So her accent sounded quite funny to me!

These aren't exact equivalencies. The phrase "In a pinch" means you had to make a quick decision or you were in a tight spot so had limited options. Where as "I had to, I was forced to" implies there was external influence on the decision you made leaving you no other options.

"I can't see anything through the smoke" is correct. "I can't see anything from the smoke" is never correct! Good luck with English

You have to speak with native English speakers to learn that. Also be aware there is not really a general 'English' slang you can learn. It's very regional, so you may learn from someone in the south but someone in the north wouldn't really understand the slang. They would probably know of it but have their own slang to mean the same thing. i know this as a northerner living in London and occasionally saying things that souther friends don't understand or find funny!