wackamole

Hi there,

Sorry this is probably a very familiar question, but I had no luck finding answers in the FAQ or the Search function (too many results - mostly unrelated to the search terms!?).


Background: I have a job offer in Marseille for up to 2 years at a university. It's a mixed English/French work environment so I will get by on English initially. My partner is American and I am British. We have no kids so we're thinking of doing it for the new experience. Our French is GCSE level +/- 20 years of neglect!

Our main concerns are:

1) Learning French.
2) Partner picking up part-time work (or doing further education).

Are there any (free or cheap) resources for immigrants, particularly in regard to learning French or taking a university course?

The salary is not great but we live frugally and have no aspirations to buy a yacht for the time being.

Thanks for your help!

EuroTrash

You'd need to enquire locally. A few communes do run courses, don't know about Marseilles. I believe that if you have to apply for a visa, taking a language course can be one of the requirements and in that case it's provided free, but they only teach the very basics.
University fees are very low compared to the UK.
Unemployment however is high high high in France at the moment, so well done on getting a job, but you can't count on your OH finding work easily. Not sure what sort of visa it would be for a US citizen who is the (unmarried?) partner of an EU citizen, would he be allowed to work or would he be a 'trailing spouse'?

cjm

ET gives sound advice. Why not trawl charity shops and see if you can pick up a BBC or similar CD based language pack. You don't say if the job offer comes with the caveat of learning French, but you will want to get on in both languages. You may even find a colleague who is bi-lingual who will work with you to grasp some refreshed GCSE stuff.
I did one term of French at senior school and only recalled one verb learned mantra style. But, in moving to France learning by listening and getting it wrong (always grammar), you stumble along. Generosity of French friends who had English was a help. And, they got to use English. Good luck.