Visiting France for language immersion - anybody else?

Bonjour! Moi, aussi :)
I wrote a short trip report on the Forum about my recent visit to St. Pierre and Miquelon, a French "outre mer" (stamped on my passport!) just off the southwestern coast of Newfoundland.
It IS France, and I had promised myself to speak only French the entire week. (Which I did, except for on a boat tour with 2 Canadian couples.)
There is very little to "do", it would help if you enjoy walks/hiking and I rented a bike one day. The experience for me was being there, and maybe it would be the cultural immersion in a small quiet place you seek!

Our daughter did a study abroad term in Paris and studied at the ICP. Her courses were taught in French, which was her minor, so the classes transferred to her regular university. It served her well as two companies she has worked for used her as a translator. She has not kept up with it though, but has a knack for language so it would probably come back to her pretty quick.

I did a few week immersion a couple of years ago in Bordeaux. This was easiest for me as I stayed at my house and just did all the usual day-to-day activities, which reinforced my French. I was already at a high level but wanted to get "over the hump" with more fluidity and that definitely helped me. Another reason I chose Bordeaux was to use more of the local lingo. All of my French was "Parisian" French, which is not the same as in the SW (poche vs sac; gavé vs très; etc.) There are a LOT of small, regional dialecs (or patois) and one of my goals was to grow in my understanding and comprehension of our "patois". My school of choice was Alliance Française. As for how my French is coming along...it is coming along great! I am for all intents and purposes fluent (solid C1 bordering on C2). Though if I'm tired I'm probably an A1... LOL ;-)

As for how my French is coming along...it is coming along great! I am
for all intents and purposes fluent (solid C1 bordering on C2). Though
if I'm tired I'm probably an A1... LOL ;-)

I'm a solid C1 -> C2 according to written testing. When I enrolled for a semester at university in France to take FLE classes, I took an evaluation to find my class level and I tested at niveau avancé but I chose to enroll in niveau intermédiaire instead because my speaking skills aren't at the same level and I didn't want to get in over my head.

At the end of the semester, the prof took me aside and said I had the best written skills in the class, but yet I still struggled to speak and he wondered why. The thing that has helped me best in improving my speaking skills is hanging out with my French friend whose English is even worse than my French. I don't feel self-conscious making mistakes with her, because I'm already meeting her more than halfway. (And we have a blast together - a bottle of wine and we're chatting in "Franglais" and we understand each other perfectly!)

Honestly, I'm not sure what qualifies as "fluent" but I can carry on a basic conversation in French, and I can make phone calls (for a taxi or restaurant reservation) and get by okay. That might be as good as I'll ever get, though, because it's already taken me 40 years to get this far.

I would say, then, that you don't need an immersion per se. You need to use what you know. I've found volunteering, dinners/apéro/movies with French friends, doing "French" things (ie: tours in French, pottery class in French, yoga in French, etc.) helped with my conversation. Wine certainly can help, too, lol! I have also found incorporating comedy into my listening/reading/watching repitoire and it is amazing how it helps. Well, how it's helped me. This was a suggestion of a French friend to help me (or anyone) understand the nuances and culture of the language. But what really helps solidify the spoken language is living in it. And for more than a month or two. As someone who has been designated a C1 and with so many great accolades with your writing, you are already probably better than you think. Good luck with your progress!

But what really helps solidify the spoken language is living in it.
And for more than a month or two.

My longest immersion was a five month stay - another time was four months. But for most of us who have a family, job and responsibilities back home, we are limited in how much time we can spend abroad.

If you're an expat living in France, that is awesome, it is every Francophile's dream come true!

My husband and I are getting ready to go to France to study French for four weeks. This is our third trip focused on learning French. We are both around B2-C1, so not as advanced as you all! I don’t really know how much we’re progressing since 4 weeks is not long, but it’s fun. We also continue to study French at our local AF in the US the rest of the year.

Congratulations, StellaB, on achieving a very high level of French! You know, if you think about it, oral expression in a foreign is much more complicated and therefore more difficult for everybody than writing one or understanding what you hear. Speaking involves more of you:: your brain plus muscles of your mouth and throat, and more of you emotionally, because it is public, plus it involves exposing potential errors to others. You’ve gotten good advice from the forum. Keep using French whenever and wherever you are able. And don’t worry if your oral production varies from day to day or conversation to conversation; that’s perfectly normal.

My husband and I are getting ready to go to France to study French for
four weeks. This is our third trip focused on learning French. We are
both around B2-C1, so not as advanced as you all! I don’t really know
how much we’re progressing since 4 weeks is not long, but it’s fun. We
also continue to study French at our local AF in the US the rest of
the year.

Where are you going for your upcoming stay?

I also have studied at the AF, starting at Alliance Française de Paris in 1980!