International research in France?

[eltoro89]

So, I graduated last year and I've been working and trying to get some research experience but it hasn't been going well because I live in a town which isn't really near any universities for hundreds of miles. Recently, I got a job offer to teach English in France. The hours are good and I'll have plenty of time, so I'm thinking of taking it and holding off grad school for another year and doing this job while looking for volunteer research experience in France.

 

Thing is, ESL is not my grad school endeavor so I don't think a POI will be particularly impressed by my teaching English in France. 

 

My questions:

 

Is it possible to get  volunteer research experience with professors in France with a bachelor's? Is the process like it is here in the US, more or less?

 

Would this be seen by POIs as a less valuable research experience since I didn't obtain it with academics in the US?

 

How much of the interworkings of a research lab in a non anglophone country are conducted in English? My abilities in French are very high, but I was not educated in my field in French and so I have no idea what the specialized vocabulary is or how to discuss/conduct research in French. I'm sure I could learn, but I think there aren't really any "How to be a psychology research assistant in French for beginners" books.  

 

I would be legally resident in France, but I would not be allowed to work for money outside of the position that has sponsored my visa. Would this be a problem? (I'm assuming not, since I'm sure the French love free labor just as much as we do.)

 

Would I find a significant bias in trying to secure such a volunteer research experience when pitted against French students? 

 

I'm hoping anyone who has experience in research internationally, not just in France, might be able to help.