Course description

You've found the house, or you're about to. The view and the market are easy to love; the notaire's clauses, the bills, the phone calls and the conversation with the plumber are harder. This course gives you the French for the situations you'll actually meet when you buy in France, retire there or move for good: the mairie, the estate agent and the notaire, the rental lease, the bank, the doctor and the pharmacy, the artisan, the garage, the préfecture and, if it ever comes to it, a call to 15 or 18.

It's a full course, not a phrase list. There are 10 sections and 50 written lessons, each built around a real situation, with the words you'll see and hear, the sentences you'll need, a worked example, the mistakes to avoid and a practical task to finish. Grammar comes in as the situations need it, explained in plain English. You follow Blossom and Osborne, a retired couple from Stevenage, through their first eight months in a village in the Charente, from renting to buying an old stone house, along with their friend Nargis, who owns a holiday home nearby. They sign a compromis, open a bank account, register with a doctor, fail a contrôle technique and call the fire service, and each mistake teaches something useful. Every section has a worksheet with model answers, a cheat sheet, a glossary file and practical tools, including a personal details sheet in French, phrase cards for the mairie, the bank and the doctor, a timeline of buying a home, a health details card and an emergency card to keep by the phone.

What you'll learn

• Getting started: French sounds and spelling your name aloud, polite French for counters, rescue phrases, numbers, dates and money, and the words on French forms.
• The mairie and the commune: your first days in a village, introducing yourself at the mairie, bins and local rules, meeting the neighbours and raising a problem politely.
• Buying a property: adverts and the agent, viewings and the offer, the notaire and the compromis de vente, the diagnostic file, and signing day.
• Renting and utilities: rental adverts, the lease, the deposit and the état des lieux, electricity, water and heating, internet faults, bills and home insurance.
• Banking and shopping: opening a bank account, everyday banking, card problems and fraud calls, DIY stores and returns, and the market.
• Healthcare: joining the health system in outline, the médecin traitant, the pharmacy, urgent care and hospital, the dentist and optician, and a health details card.
• Trades and repairs: describing a problem at home, booking an artisan, the devis and the facture, while the work is done, and when a job goes wrong.
• Driving and getting around: French roads and priorité à droite, the licence and the car's papers, the garage and the contrôle technique, breakdowns and accidents, and trains.
• Paperwork and emergencies: the language of residence permits, official letters and the post office, phone calls and emails, calling 15, 17, 18 and 112, and reporting a theft.
• Settling in for good: invitations and dinners, village life and customs, your own settling-in phrasebook, three role plays and a plan to keep improving.

Who it's for

People from the UK who are buying a home in France, retiring there, moving there for good or who have recently arrived. You don't need any French to start, though some helps. It teaches standard French as spoken in France, with a simple pronunciation guide in the text, as there's no audio. It isn't legal, tax, property or immigration advice: it teaches the French for each situation and points you to GOV.UK and service-public.gouv.fr, where you can check the rules for your own case.

What will I learn?

• Handle counters and offices politely in French: greetings, requests, rescue phrases, numbers, dates and the words on forms
• Introduce yourself at the mairie, follow local rules on bins and noise, and get on with your neighbours
• Follow the French of buying a home: adverts, viewings, the offer, the notaire, the compromis, the diagnostics and signing day
• Rent a home, set up electricity, water and internet, report a fault and query a bill
• Open and use a French bank account, deal with card problems, recognise and end fraud calls, and shop at the market
• Understand the French health system in outline, see a doctor, use the pharmacy and cope with urgent care
• Describe a problem at home, book an artisan, read a devis and put things right when a job goes wrong
• Manage the French of driving, priorité à droite, the licence and the car's papers, the contrôle technique and public transport
• Deal with residence permit paperwork, official letters, phone calls and emails, emergency calls and reporting a theft
• Accept invitations, join in village life, and build your own settling-in phrasebook and practice plan

Frequently asked questions