getting to know the locals

I took courses as an adult starting at 35 years old that led to BA a degree in French language and literature at 40.
I found the best way to learn or practice French or get a spontaneous lesson to build on what you learn stateside is to go to festivals or events related to your hobbies or passions in France. You have to find the aficionados or snobs of your hobbies past times except in French. For example I go to the jazz festivals in France ( a dwindling audience) some have been in existence for decades and are established as important events by the locals and the French government and last several days; they happen in small towns where you meet other like minded people that just happened to be French and run into the same people again over the days. Your informal lesson is trying to speak without reverting to English. The hardest part is understanding what you hear back because the accent French you hear in Seattle.

We are staying in smaller towns so that we can get to know the locale(s) and the people.

With only 1 or 2 weeks in a single location, the notion that you are going to make fast friends with residents is just not realistic. The French are generally very courteous but are not particularly open to making new friends with anyone they might casually meet in the street or otherwise informally. If your objective is cultural interaction of some type, you probably would be more successful in a larger city where you might find organizations involved in a common interest such as sports, art, or some type of volunteer work helping the disadvantaged. You need structure of some type to be able to interact with residents.

Making every effort to meet people is a worthy goal but I am not sure that you are setting yourself up for success by arranging short stays in various small communities.

I have twice gone to Europe and found a language school on the spot. That's easier (but clearly more expensive) than locating a private teacher, but the latter should be possible if you are prepared to work at it. Asking your airbnb person is a good start. Also inquire at the local tourist office. Keep your eyes open for bulletin boards; they may have postings for French lessons. If there's a college or university in town, check for bulletin boards there.

By all means, try Googling, but I have not had any luck with that as a means of finding a private teacher. In my experience you'll pay about €50 per hour for lessons arranged through a school (much less if you are part of a class), but you know the teacher only gets part of that. I think there must be teachers willing to work for €25-30 per hour; the trick is to find them.

I have found that even with my basic French, using it has opened up communication with locals. One time it was with a woman who grows and processes olives near Pezenas. Another time with a young man at a sandwich shop. He spoke English pretty well, so we used "franglish" for an interesting conversation. One time an elderly woman recognized us as foreign visitors and waited for us outside a boulangerie. She walked with us through her small village, chattering away in French. I couldn't understand a word, but enjoyed the encounter so much - it made my day. None of these people became friends, though we did return to the olive shop several times, even to say goodbye, but in all these encounters, and many others, all it took was a word or two of French and these friendly locals opened up, enriching my travel experience.

I Googled “Meet Up France” and there are several results.

Meet Up.com here in the US is a well known website for strangers to meet up for every interest imaginable... speaking a foreign language, hiking, playing card games, quilting, etc.

I spend a fair amount of time in Paris each year and many times a day, every day, I have wonderful 20 min to 2 hr conversations with all kinds of Parisians... and I’m not paying them. One example, I was slowly walking down rue Mouffetard and took a photo of the wine store there with all their wines displayed on the street, an 80 yr old Parisian stopped to talk to me and we stood there for 2 hrs talking. We exchanged email addresses and have stayed in contact. If I had known we’d be talking for 2 hrs, I would have invited him to have coffee at one of the cafés there. This is just one of 100s of examples.
It does help that I speak French.
The majority of French people are wonderful, friendly and happy to talk.

My French relatives and friends barely know their neighbors, they are courteous, but making a friend is a far more serious matter .

Just go and have fun , and don’t worry about this “ getting to know the locals “ thing that many North Americans seem obsessed with , friendly chatter at the bakery counter may happen , or perhaps a chance meet with a local who will chat a bit of sitting next to you at a cafe , but just don’t count on it to make you happy .
I think Jazz travels suggestion of a hobby or shared interest is you best chance to actually get to know a local

You meet locals if you rent a room in an Airbnb home rather than an apartment. I realize not everyone is up for that.

If all you want is some conversations, be ready with a lot of questions. People, including the French, love to help others. Ask how to cook something and everyone in the shop will chime in. Waiting in line, say—excuse me madame/monsieur, but could you tell me what type of sausage/cut of meat/flavor ice cream is the best? What’s this? What goes with this? Remember the formal addresses and the pleases and thank yous or you’ll be too intrusive. But, just ask questions. Also carry a little notebook to write down what you see and hear, which will show you are serious about the language and culture. You’ll have a lot of people trying to help you.

While breaking the ice can be hard due to the formality, I’ve learned after living many years in France that a lot has to do with YOUR attitude and how you approach others. You probably won't make best friends for life, but you’ll get conversations and maybe an invitation.

“I’ve learned after living many years in France that a lot has to do with YOUR attitude and how you approach others”

Well said Bets.

"...with YOUR attitude...." Very true as this applies to les français, plus one's expectations too.

@ ann...practice the language for n-th time. You cannot over learn, just keep at it.

But the French are surprised and delighted in the provinces when they learn that I'm American, not English. Americans in out-of-the-way places off-season seems to be rare.

So true. We rented a house for a week in a small village in the Isere this spring, and the proprietor said that we were the first Americans to ever rent her house. Then later that day we met a man on the street who we conversed with for a bit, and from the conversation it seemed we might have been the first Americans to ever set foot in the village.

We also rented a house in a village 20 years ago, and became friends with the owners during that week. We returned again to stay, a couple more times for dinner or lunch, and kept in touch over all these years.

I agree with Bets, if you are looking to have conversations, you will be able to make that happen, especially if you are in smaller places. I’m not sure about the lessons as you describe them. I think your hosts would be a great place to start, or the tourist office. Even if you can’t find what you are looking for, if your French is intermediate level, you will be able to use it in everyday living. You never know when an ordinary exchange will blossom into something more. We have had extended conversations. My French gets better when I’m talking to someone who doesn’t speak English! I’ll never forget that waiter in Conques who was learning English by listening to rap! I didn’t see a lot of evidence of English but we had a delightful conversation.

Hope you have a wonderful trip. In the meantime, work on your French!

Just one more thing: use vous and not tu until you are invited to use tu. With people in their 20s you may be able to switch sooner, but it’s better to be formal first. There really is a protocol and deference that needs to be followed.

Indeed Jeff. It took my French in-laws five years not to be considered outsiders when they retired to Burgundy, since they had been born in different provinces and had no Burgundy ties. Once they got the dog, everyone Started engaging them in conversations.

But, when a couple of Media people retired to the largest house in the middle of the same village, they got to know everyone immediately and threw a big party at their one year anniversary. I saw them have conversations with everyone, even the isolated bachelor goatherder. I was with them when the local countess, who never interacted with any locals, came out of her chateau to tell them how glad she was they had bought this property next to her gatehouse. These retirees, with money, with the language, with artistic and intellectual currency, and with a genuine interest in others, broke down the walls.

True, but just because many learn and speak English is no reason for one not to speak French if the intent is to improve one's speaking level.

In Germany speaking English is more pervasive than in France, or so it seems. Yes, France and Germany are different. With the locals in Germany and Austria, I never speak English to them, don't even ask if they know English, usually their Schulenglisch. I let them admit to me what their English knowledge is, if they choose to; some do say that they don't speak English at all or it's so limited, broken, modest,.. whatever that one can't communicate at that level anyway.

Bottom line is if one wants to make progress linguistically with the locals ( or yourself), speak the local language.