Don't Speak French

I have the same worries. I can't speak French to save my life.

I found this book helpful. The authors have been guests on Rick Steves' podcast too. Worth finding the episodes and listening.
https://www.amazon.com/Bonjour-Effect-Secret-Conversation-Revealed/dp/1250051851

It's always nice if you can speak at least a few phrases. I've gotten by on Bonjour, Merci and Au revoir and occasionally even a bit of charades acting worked and we all had a nice laugh together. Thankfully Europeans as a whole are much more educated in languages than Americans.

Even if you find no way of verbal communication - whip out your smartphone and google pictures of what you may be looking for.

You’re not alone. You can get by fine with a smattering of phrases, the usual greetings, thank you, etc. You’ll find that most places are used to tourists, and as such will usually speak a little English or have English menu pages. I got a great little app on my phone called “Speakeasy” which was a great way to quickly hear/practice what you wanted to say for fairly simple exchanges. The best part is, people are friendly and appreciate you trying. Smile as you struggle and you’ll get a smile back. The shop owners want your business.

Perhaps the more important step is getting a handle on how cafes/restaurants work. When you get the style, method, and timing of French service then things go much more smoothly.

Tin has it right. Learn a few basic phrases. It goes a long way if they see that you have made some effort to learn some of the lsnguage and try to follow the basic rules in Rick's book. Just point and gesture as needed and stay low key.

I wouldn't worry. We spent two weeks in Provence last summer and had no real issues. The vast majority of restaurant staff speak English, particularly the young ones and in shops we rarely encountered any difficulty. With the absolute basics and a "parlez vous anglais" we were usually met with "just a little" which often turned out to be substantially more. On those rare occasions we couldn't get by with a bit of pidgin French/English and gesticulation there was normally someone nearby who could help with translation.

And they apologize that their English is limited -- while I struggle to get a "bon jour" out. As noted by others, people in tourism-related industries make an effort to communicate with prospective customers. Enjoy Provence!!

Our most used phrase last summer was L'addition sil vous plait. It means, check please.

It's great that you're working on learning more French. I think that once you're there, you will find yourself expanding your knowledge of the language quite a bit by applying what you already know to situations you encounter. It helps to be carrying a pocket dictionary and phrase book around wherever you go.

We've been to France three times, the first time for a month and two weeks each for the other trips. We will be back there next September for a month.

We speak no French other than bonjour and merci. Lead off with bonjour, smile, be nice and patient and all will be fine. That's our experience after being in France for two months..

The previous posters all gave good advice. When we first went to France I spoke very little French and my wife even less. We had no problems communicating for all of the reasons already mentioned.
One time I was listening intently to a man giving us directions. As we walked away, I told my wife that I hadn't understood anything he said. She said, "He said go down here and then turn left." I asked how she could possibly know that since she spoke virtually no French. Turns out that as I was literally trying to watch the words as they came out of his mouth, she was paying attention to his gestures, which were quite clear.
Relax. Enjoy. You probably won't have any problems communicating.

Hi dlwalrod, the fact that you are making an effort to learn some French already puts you ahead of most visitors. The French people I've encountered seemed to be thrilled when you attempt to speak their language. I've been using an app called Duolingo to practice. I loaded it on my I-pad and do about 10 minutes a day. It's free. Just a tip - when you enter a shop, pause, smile and say "bonjour". Don't just barge in and start touching stuff. Love France, hope you have a great trip!

We were in Provence last June... Oh, you will love it!!!
Language... ALWAYS enter a store/restaurant with Bonjour...
Sil .-vous-plait.... will get you a long way

Like "Toilet, Sil-vous-plait?" Yes, just call it a "toilet"....
Learn the phrase to ask for your bill at a restaurant...

Get the google translate app and download the french dictionary. (I had a terrible sore throat this last fall in Bulgaria, went into a pharmacy and had google translate work to get some very good meds)

Also we downloaded the google map of Provence and had a very easy time driving thru out Provence.

as others have said, its worth learning a few phrases before your trip and the politeness conventions such as always saying bonjour when entering a store or shop. I also found learning the numbers helpful so that at a market you can understand the price or ask for the amount you want ("I would like 3, please"). Context will be your friend; when you walk to the counter to pay for something the cashier is most likely to be saying something about your purchase and not the soccer game in town that weekend so just recognizing 2 or 3 words is often enough to figure out the gist.

You won't have any real problems with language when speaking to Frenchmen. If you are in a touristy area they will have at least limited English. Do be situationally aware. The clerk in an empty shop may be very patient with you . The clerk in a store with a long line of natives might not be.

It is a good idea to learn to read some key words such as entrance and exit, bathroom, various permutations of the word street (so you don't mistake it for the name of the particular street), track, metro station, bus, etc.

Merci beaucoup for all the tips and encouragement - it is greatly appreciated. I always feel bad when I go to another country and am not able to speak their language because when foreigners visit the USA they usually speak English. I wish I could reciprocate. I got a little practice speaking French phrases in Quebec City in October. I am so excited to visit Provence - so much to see and so little time!

Au revoir!

We also found that when buying something and the merchant spoke the price in French (in Provence) that they did so so fast that we had no idea what they were saying. So the expression "please slow down" or just give them a paper and pen so they can write the price.
Do NOT miss some of the weekly markets in the villages.

T.

You should be fine. I'd suggest bringing a little pocket-sized phrase book, Rick Steves and Lonely Planet and Berlitz all have good ones. Spend some time looking through it before you go, bookmark pages you think you'll use often (like hotel check-in, shopping, restaurants). Ideally you want one with two mini-dictionaries in the back, French to English and English to French.

And read this from the website you're already at.

It's less a matter of language and more a matter of politeness. France values formal manners, at least in public. Saying 'bonjour, madame/monsieur' when entering a shop or other smaller business, 'au revoir" when departing, and a please or thank-you in between ( 's'il vous plait; merci') is a superficial ritual that retains a good deal of significance.

Your trip is in 5 months. You have time to do an online self study of introductory French. You will benefit tremendously if you put in the time and effort to learn the language basics. Consider Berlitz.

I rely on my own efforts using a bilingual dictionary, if need be, than the google app.

A teacher friend of mine who got his degree in French, has a fairly fluent command of the language told me that the further south he went (Provence too), starting from Arras/Nord Pas-de-Calais, he found himself more and more addressed in French, even though he had tourist written all over him, where up north this was not so evident. This was ten years ago.

Always say "Bonjour" when you enter a store. Always say "Merci" when you leave. And smile.

If you go to an open-air market, and you don't see any bags available, you will have to rely on the vendor to give you what he has. Do not, under any circumstances, touch the merchandise, unless you see the bags.

If you go to a supermarket, it's fine to put whatever you have into a bag.
You should always bring your own bag. Shopkeepers charge for them.

If you go to a patisserie and you want, say 3 croissants, you put your thumb and 2 fingers up.

Look up familiar words, like: beef, pork, chicken, pasta and so forth, so you will be familiar with them and can recognize them. You will waste the waiter's time if you don't do this.

Don't go into a boutique and paw through the merchandise. It's not appreciated.

Trying goes a long way. I am from Quebec and people who at least try to speak a few words of French are much more appreciated than those who assume that everyone should speak English and have the attitude to go with that assumption :)

If you know Spanish or Italian, or Latin, you’ll be able to pick out many words. Between the little French you know and the English they know, you should do fine. The charades suggestion works. My wife played that game in Poitiers trying to figure out the type meat something was. Made for a lot of laughs going over animal sounds.

Seriously don't worry. I've been working on my French for about two years and it's still horrible. It's very good to know some basic polite words but much more important to understand how to approach French people politely. An acceptable conversation starts with a polite greeting (something along the line of "Bonjour Madame" or "Pardon Madame"). Ask if they speak English (parlez vous anglais?). Since you have approached them politely they'll probably say "A bit". Ask your question slowly (not awkwardly) and clearly in proper English with no contractions. After they answer always end your conversation with a polite Thank you and goodbye ("Merci Madame, Au revior" - Mehr cee, Ah Vwah). The biggest mistake Americans make is to simply walk up to someone and ask a question in English. The French consider this incredibly rude and won't respond even if they could. A polite ending is also important for people to have a good opinion of you. If you know no French, it's not impolite to ask in English, "Good afternoon sir, do you speak English?" The French have an interesting, to us complex, concept of politeness. If they consider you polite, they are great. If they consider you impolite, they will probably treat you rudely (by our customs).