Recently I started studying history at a university in Belgium (I myself am not from there) and part of the study program is the translation of French and old French written sources. While I briefly followed French during high school I'm having trouble with this class in French historic texts. The professor gave the advice of following a language course but I neither have the financial resources nor the time to do this. Now I was wondering if someone in this sub might have tips on how to deal with this course. Thanks in advance for helping me out.
Practice, practice, practice. I had this issue in graduate school with Dutch. I didn't read it and there was no one at my university who did/could. I could read/speak/write German though, so I had a bit of an advantage on that front. If you cannot afford formal lessons for whatever reason, then you're only real option is to just dive in.
A couple of tips:
Regiment your day. You have to set aside time to study French and only French. You cannot just wing it. Using as much time as you can manage is important.
Find someone you can "trade teaching" with. What is your native language? If it's English, you'll be able to find another French-speaking student who will want to learn (better) English. You teach them English and they'll teach you French. If your native language is another language, this might be harder to do, but there is probably someone at your university who will want to learn it. Don't be afraid to contact graduate departments either.
Read books in French. I'd suggest starting with easy children's books, and work your way up. Also, start with books you've already read. When my students who are ESL (English as second language) come to me for advice, I tell the to read Harry Potter. They know the basic story already, and Rowling is an excellent writer. Find an equivalent for French. French literature has a long and storied past, it won't be hard to find good writers.
If you have access to French pop music. Listen to it. Also, watch French TV if you can. Here I would suggest the news as a starting point. They will speak in very clear, non dialectical forms of French. You can then move on to more difficult sorts.
Contact the language center at your university. They will no doubt have other options or suggestions available for you. You will not be the first person they have encountered who wanted to take a course but could not afford it.
Don't give up. Learning a language is hard, but possible. It will be tiring, trying, frustrating, and any other number of bad things, but the most important part is perseverance. You can do it.
Good Luck.