tip #11 - be a friend, not an interrogator

No ketchup effect please!
When you first find someone who you can practice your language with and if they are a native speaker, remember this: they are not A) a walking dictionary, B) a walking grammar book C) there for questions only and not communication.

Communication first
If you have ever experienced the learner of languages who continually asks "is this correct? What's the word? Did I say that right?" Or repeats words waiting for the correct pronunciation back then you know what I am talking about. It's really, really important that you don't exploit your language practice partner in this way. If you really do have questions then make a list after you have spoken and then look them up by yourself.

Why speak at all?
The purpose of language is communication, and not correctness as my old language teacher absolutely never said. Nope, she would probably have a minor stroke just reading those words. But grammar is simply a much, much better way of saying something than pointing at it and grunting enthusiastically, and it only covers most common usage, there isn't much room for dialects here. And perfect pronunciation is just a much, much better way of saying something using grammar, and again covers most common usage. But that doesn't mean it has to be that way to work.

Your goal must be to be as correct as humanly possible, but without feeling limited, scared of failure or hampering the actual communication. Then you're talking!