I came to the U.S. for undergraduate studies about six years ago. While my English language skills have, indeed, improved, I still consider myself an average English language speaker. My accent is almost as noticeable now as it was during my early years in the U.S. I must say I am quite conscious of my accent and this is, especially, the case when a native English language speaker may struggle to understand me. Even though it may not be the best policy but I do sometimes hesitate to speak in social settings due to being very conscious about my accent. But still my social experiences with Americans have been better than many of my fellow students from China because I happened to meet some great people who tried to make me feel comfortable in America.
I have received great advices on improving my English and increasing my social interactions with Americans. First of all, improving any language is a matter of practice and interacting with local language speakers. Thus, I try to watch American movies and shows without subtitles and I try to meet different native English speakers to get used to different accents and learn about local jargons. I have noticed jargons are important part of culture and jargons may be different between countries even if they speak the same language such as the US and UK.

I will offer numerous suggestions to incoming foreign students. First of all, the best way to improve English is to expose yourself to situations where you are forced to speak and listen conversations in English language. It is also important to make some local friends who create opportunities for you to meet other local people. For example, I met few great American friends who took me to social events, creating opportunities for me to make even more friends. I will also ask American students to make efforts to include foreign students in social gatherings because some foreign students are not outgoing and they are also afraid to embarrass themselves. Thus, they often limit interactions to fellow international students.