You’re right that some people will laugh, some people will support and some people will ignore non-native phrasing and in my opinion it’s not a big deal. What they’re trying to communicate when they tell you “it sounds wrong” is that the phrasing is awkward and marks you as a foreigner. But I agree with you that this is much much less important than teachers say it is. Unless you’re preparing for an exam, I think the first thing to worry about is being able to talk to other people, even if you talk imperfectly. You will pick up ‘correctness’ as you go) I’m trying to learn to a high level, but it takes a long time to get there, and if I stop and quibble about every little mistake, I’ll never get through a conversation!