My experience.

Two years ago, it was the first time my class and me were learning French. We had an advanced book, but we didn't know any French. The teacher looked like a sergeant. She shouted at us until she was hoarse.
When she asked someone, this got his/her face white and I was thinking he or she wasn't from this planet.
My friends were afraid these days because we had French lessons. We didn't want to go to the high school.
Many people failed French.
Now, this year, everybody knows how to speak French, but only few people like it.