Learning how to speak the French language is going to get you only as far as how you understand the lessons. As for the practicality of using the language, there are various ways how you can improve it. By putting extra effort to what you want and need to remember, say a French phrase, you then develop a way on how to append it to your normal day to day activities.
The same application goes with the grammar of the language. It could be another language aside from French but most of us already have the same perception about grammar no matter what language it is going to be. And it’s most likely that learning grammar is boring. But learning a language can be fun if you desire it to be.
Dedication is what it takes. For French language learners, striving to speak in French everyday with anyone is a big help. Learning from a French program on TV, listening to a French radio station are just several of the many things you can do to master the vocabulary of the French language. It is effective, watching TV with lessons on French because it does help a lot in making one understand the words and how it can be appropriately used.
Doing all these things in an English-speaking environment is a big hindrance from your goal though as far as using the language as normally as you could. If possible, try (but not force) to inform yourself with just about anything using French. Though it is most likely that you will not be able to immediately fly out to France to immerse yourself on the language (since language immersion is still most effective in language learning), but it does make a difference if you already start handing French words to yourself, no matter how slow it’s going to be.