Difficult situation of French in language exam (6)
I believe the answer is:
ordeal
'difficult situation' is the definition.
'of french in language exam' is the wordplay.
'of french' becomes 'de'.
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'language exam' becomes 'oral' (I've seen this before).
'de' placed within 'oral' is 'ORDEAL'.
(Other definitions for ordeal that I've seen before include "Difficult experience, a tough time" , "A tough and testing time" , "Severe or trying experience" , "Torment" , "Trouble" .)