Posts Tagged ‘french business’

I think that most readers would agree that being able to speak French is a desirable and worthwhile goal, and yet believe that it is a very difficult thing to achieve. I remember from my first visit to France, I could speak no French, nor indeed could any of the other people who traveled to France on the same tour as myself. The interesting thing was that a good percentage of the French people I met could speak at least some English.

It seems that in many English speaking countries knowing the French language or indeed any foreign language is regarded as unimportant and too much effort whereas on the continent many people speak at least one extra language. During the next few paragraphs I intend to persuade you that training yourself to speak French is desirable, important and with modern learning techniques it is not especially difficult to achieve

French is one of the great languages of the world. About 300 million globally speak French as a first or second language. French is spoken in a large number of countries. There are 35 countries in which French is spoken at least to some extent. These countries include many parts of Africa, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, parts of Canada, Haiti, and the Seychelles, in addition of course to France itself! As you can see from the above statistics, by knowing French, you will have acquired a language skill, which will make you, feel comfortable and confident whenever you visit many of the countries of the world.

When you holiday in a French speaking country you will have no problem chatting to locals, asking for directions, ordering food and dealing with any number of unexpected problems which may arise, once you know how to speak French. How would you explain to a French car mechanic, who can speak no English, about the problem you have with your car? This would be easy if you can speak French.

Business people, who can speak French will find it easier to deal with buyers, sellers and other contacts in French speaking countries, this could open up whole new areas of income for them.

When one decides to learn a foreign language, there is some degree of difficulty involved. Learning a new language is in some respects quite a difficult undertaking. Although French is in many respects one of the easier languages to learn, there is still quite a steep learning curve, a fair investment in time and effort is required when learning the language. Pronunciation of French words is different to the way in which the English speaker would be inclined to pronounce them, and then there are the different tenses, usage of verbs and other grammatical structures to learn.

All this in additional to the time and effort required to master the reasonably large vocabulary necessary for good communication. If you think that I am trying to put you off – then I am not – definitely not! The advantages of knowing a foreign language far outweigh the investment in time and effort required. The secret is in the method you choose to learn. Rather than use a traditional book, in this technological age an interactive method such as CD’s, DVD’s or a course via the internet is the best and quickest way of getting to grips with the French language.

In conclusion, knowing how to speak French has many advantages. You will be able to travel to French speaking countries and converse with the locals easily and confidently. However learning the French language is fairly difficult and the best way for most people to achieve this is with a modern multimedia course. Provided the course is of the highest standard, the task of learning the French Language become much easier, it also becomes interesting and enjoyable.

Author: Stephen Day
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Programmable Multi-cooker

There are many so called French property consultants based in the UK who are more than happy to help you achieve your dream of property ownership in France, however many of them are also very happy to lighten your wallet along the way.

French property sales to the British is now seriously big business and as with all industries that see a substantial growth in a short period of time, more players are tempted in to that market place to try get a slice of the action.

Unfortunately for the opportunist player, getting established in France as an estate agent (Agent Immobilier) is a long and complicated process, as the industry is heavily regulated. Not just anyone is allowed to rent a shop, stick pictures of houses in the window and call themselves an estate agent. So for these players it is much easier to be based in the UK, away from the beady eyes of the French tax, social security and regulatory authorities and try and make it work for them that way.

After four years of substantial growth in the French property market we now see many British based businesses in the market place. Some claim to be French estate agents (Illegal unless they are a French business registered at the Prefecture as an immobilier); some want to charge you a huge consultancy fee (Not illegal, unless they ask for it after the seven days cooling off period has finished), and some even charge you to show you properties which is completely illegal in France but all the these players have one thing in common – they have some or all of their business based in the UK. And why is this? Because if they were based in France they would more than likely be closed down.

So what can you, the French property hunter do to protect yourself from a lot of sharp practises within the industry?

The following occurrences should set off alarm bells:-

Being asked to pay to register to receive property details

Being asked to pay to view properties

Being asked to pay any money to anyone before the 7 day cooling off period has finished

Being asked to meet an agent anywhere other than their office, e.g. in a car park

Being asked to pay a second fee on top of the normal French estate agency fee for services that a registered agent or Notaire would provide you as part of their normal service

In short the only real way to protect yourself is to deal directly with a French registered Immobilier and best of all one who is a member of one of the two main trade bodies in France for estate agents, either FNAIM or SNPI. Only by dealing with a local registered immobilier are guaranteed to get a professional service for a fair fee.

Author: Mark Russell
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Digital Camera News