This course, which will be conducted entirely in French, has the goal of familiarizing students with what is known today as the “langue des affaires” used in French businesses. We will study the terms and expressions describing techniques of the economic, commercial and financial aspects of business, and the attitudes and individual or collective behaviors that form the fabric of a business’s specific culture. This course allows us to read specialized press, to analyze the principal documents pertaining to business and to practice professional communication in business.
Prerequisites:
Open to students who have placed into an intermediate or advanced French language class
Learning outcomes:
At the end of the semester, you will be able to:
Read specialized newspapers
Analyze the principal documents in the world of business
Practice professional communication in business, both written and spoken
Understand the intercultural differences in business
Method of presentation:
Class meetings, role-playing, discussions, presentations and exercises.
Required work and form of assessment:
Homework (30%)
• Two written letters on four proposals (cover letter, complaint letter) (14%)
• Dossier with citation of sources (6%)
• Work on Ganesha software and other documents on the Internet (10%) Oral (30%)
• Questions (CO, vocabulary…) (10%)
• Role-playing, news reviews, group work… (10%)
• Participation (10%) Mid-term Exam (20%)
• Written comprehension and expression
• Questions from the course
• Case studies Final Exam – written and oral – (20%):
• Written comprehension and expression
• Questions from the course
• Case studies
• Oral comprehension
Absences: Each absence must be justified. After one absence, your final grade will be lowered by additional absences.
Letters: One excellent means of communications that remains a “tradition” in the culture of French business is the letter. Consequently, you will have to write several during this semester, two (on the four proposed) of one page, typed. (Important: No late work is accepted.) Concerning the format of the letter, the margins will be 2.5 cm on each side (1 inch) Times New Roman, size 12, 1.5 spaced.
You will note that your linguistic quality (grammar and syntax) counts for a quarter of your grade. Group Project: In groups of two, you will have to work on a dossier that you choose from the proposed list on the syllabus. You will turn in a dossier of two pages (maximum), typed, by the date indicated on the syllabus. Concerning the format of the dossier, the margins will be 2.5 cm on each side (1 inch), Times New Roman, size 12, 1.5 spacing.
Work on learning software: In addition to the course in the classroom, you will have access to learning software (Ganesha) where you will find the documents to retrieve (documents to print for the course, links to newspaper articles with comprehension questions, exercises, worksheets) and questions related to different lessons. At each end of the file, you will find a forum of review questions that allow you to determine your understanding of the material. You will be graded on your participation on this software (frequency and quality of your work).
Concerning the news review: At each class meeting, students will be asked to give a short presentation of two minutes (maximum) on an event related to business, politics… that struck you as interesting. The other students will have read the appropriate article to then make comments on what was said (you will be graded on your participation). These comments in the discussion will allow us to work on French and to find the best ways to present a document.
Participation: demonstrates your work during the course (from the news review, your constructive remarks, etc) as well as your tardiness
content:
Session 1: Introducing and welcoming a visitor (documents provided)
Presentation of syllabus
Presentation of the Ganesha website (with registration)
Session 2: The organization of work in France: (documents to retrieve from Ganesha)
Socioprofessionnal categories
Work conditions
Sessions 3 & 4: The search for employment (documents to retrieve from Ganesha)
Understanding a job listing
Composing a CV and cover letter
Job interview
The business world
Choice of your dossier subject
Letter n°1: writing a cover letter, choosing one of the listings from the book
Sessions 5 & 6: Presentation of business and its environment (documents to retrieve from
Ganesha)
The different forms of society
The functions of business
The partners of business
The creation of business
The domains of activity
Procedures
Session 7: The financing of business (documents to retrieve from Ganesha)
The CAC40: Presenting a business executive working among a CAC40 society (oral presentation)
The different forms of financing
The different forms of investment
Financial fraud (documents to retrieve from Ganesha)
Dossier n°1: Men and women in the business world (in France and the USA) Dossier n°2: Present a French business (2 dossiers)
Session 8: Marketing and the study of the market (documents to retrieve from Ganesha)
Understanding and composing a survey
Composing an accompanying letter to a survey
Multiculturalism
Letter n°2: Writing an accompanying letter to a survey that you created in class
Dossier n°3: Presenting an American business located in France (2 dossiers)
Dossier n°4: La Bourse (le Palais Brongniart)
Sessions 9 & 10: Results of the business and process of manufacturing (documents to retrieve from Ganesha)
Understanding and composing a report
Commenting on the results
Understanding a financial report
Session 11: Regulations (documents to retrieve from Ganesha)
Types and conditions of payment
Understanding invoices, checks, and « lettres de change »
Session 12: MID-TERM
Sessions 13 & 14: Rules of competition (documents to retrieve from Ganesha)
Different types of business beliefs
Examples of fraud
Dossier n°5: Presenting an American state
Sessions 15 & 16: Business and customer service (documents to retrieve from Ganesha)
Line of command
Responding to a complaint
The meaning of a contract
General conditions of sales and payment
Letter n°3: writing a letter of response to a complaint letter (the subject of the complaint will be given in class)
Sessions 17 & 18: Commercial service: Sales (documents to retrieve from Ganesha)
Marketing and promotion of sales
Advertising Sales
The sales pitch
Site Visit
Dossier n°6: Advertising campaigns (2 dossiers)
Sessions 19 & 20: The import-export industry (documents to retrieve from Ganesha)
The constraints of exportation
Identifying a distribution circuit
Establishing a business in France
Modes of payment
Guest speaker
Session 21: Transportation (documents to retrieve from Ganesha)
Delivery
Complaints
Insurance
Letter n°4: Writing a letter of complaint (the subject of the complaint will be given in class)
Dossier n°7: The offer call
Sessions 22 & 23: The relations between businesses and public powers (documents to retrieve from Ganesha)
Taxes and payroll
Public aid
Fraud
The law (creation and text types)
FINAL EXAM
Required readings:
Dictionnaire d’Apprentissage du Français des Affaires, Ed. Didier, 2001 (ISBN:2278046322)
This dictionary will be very useful for you, especially to find the definitions of terms in the glossary.
A French language dictionary
Good examples are the Robert Micro or le Dictionnaire de Le Robert et Clé International
Recommended readings:
Extracts from the economic and financial press including:
Daily (Le Monde, le Figaro)
Weekly (L’Express, Problèmes Economiques, Courrier International)
Monthly (Capital)
Business French
This course, which will be conducted entirely in French, has the goal of familiarizing students with what is known today as the “langue des affaires” used in French businesses. We will study the terms and expressions describing techniques of the economic, commercial and financial aspects of business, and the attitudes and individual or collective behaviors that form the fabric of a business’s specific culture. This course allows us to read specialized press, to analyze the principal documents pertaining to business and to practice professional communication in business.
Open to students who have placed into an intermediate or advanced French language class
At the end of the semester, you will be able to:
Class meetings, role-playing, discussions, presentations and exercises.
Homework (30%)
• Two written letters on four proposals (cover letter, complaint letter) (14%)
• Dossier with citation of sources (6%)
• Work on Ganesha software and other documents on the Internet (10%) Oral (30%)
• Questions (CO, vocabulary…) (10%)
• Role-playing, news reviews, group work… (10%)
• Participation (10%) Mid-term Exam (20%)
• Written comprehension and expression
• Questions from the course
• Case studies
Final Exam – written and oral – (20%):
• Written comprehension and expression
• Questions from the course
• Case studies
• Oral comprehension
Absences: Each absence must be justified. After one absence, your final grade will be lowered by additional absences.
Letters: One excellent means of communications that remains a “tradition” in the culture of French business is the letter. Consequently, you will have to write several during this semester, two (on the four proposed) of one page, typed. (Important: No late work is accepted.) Concerning the format of the letter, the margins will be 2.5 cm on each side (1 inch) Times New Roman, size 12, 1.5 spaced.
You will note that your linguistic quality (grammar and syntax) counts for a quarter of your grade. Group Project: In groups of two, you will have to work on a dossier that you choose from the proposed list on the syllabus. You will turn in a dossier of two pages (maximum), typed, by the date indicated on the syllabus. Concerning the format of the dossier, the margins will be 2.5 cm on each side (1 inch), Times New Roman, size 12, 1.5 spacing.
Work on learning software: In addition to the course in the classroom, you will have access to learning software (Ganesha) where you will find the documents to retrieve (documents to print for the course, links to newspaper articles with comprehension questions, exercises, worksheets) and questions related to different lessons. At each end of the file, you will find a forum of review questions that allow you to determine your understanding of the material. You will be graded on your participation on this software (frequency and quality of your work).
Concerning the news review: At each class meeting, students will be asked to give a short presentation of two minutes (maximum) on an event related to business, politics… that struck you as interesting. The other students will have read the appropriate article to then make comments on what was said (you will be graded on your participation). These comments in the discussion will allow us to work on French and to find the best ways to present a document.
Participation: demonstrates your work during the course (from the news review, your constructive remarks, etc) as well as your tardiness
Session 1: Introducing and welcoming a visitor (documents provided)
Presentation of syllabus
Presentation of the Ganesha website (with registration)
Session 2: The organization of work in France: (documents to retrieve from Ganesha)
Socioprofessionnal categories
Work conditions
Sessions 3 & 4: The search for employment (documents to retrieve from Ganesha)
Understanding a job listing
Composing a CV and cover letter
Job interview
The business world
Choice of your dossier subject
Letter n°1: writing a cover letter, choosing one of the listings from the book
Sessions 5 & 6: Presentation of business and its environment (documents to retrieve from
Ganesha)
The different forms of society
The functions of business
The partners of business
The creation of business
The domains of activity
Procedures
Session 7: The financing of business (documents to retrieve from Ganesha)
The CAC40: Presenting a business executive working among a CAC40 society (oral presentation)
The different forms of financing
The different forms of investment
Financial fraud (documents to retrieve from Ganesha)
Dossier n°1: Men and women in the business world (in France and the USA) Dossier n°2: Present a French business (2 dossiers)
Session 8: Marketing and the study of the market (documents to retrieve from Ganesha)
Understanding and composing a survey
Composing an accompanying letter to a survey
Multiculturalism
Letter n°2: Writing an accompanying letter to a survey that you created in class
Dossier n°3: Presenting an American business located in France (2 dossiers)
Dossier n°4: La Bourse (le Palais Brongniart)
Sessions 9 & 10: Results of the business and process of manufacturing (documents to retrieve from Ganesha)
Understanding and composing a report
Commenting on the results
Understanding a financial report
Session 11: Regulations (documents to retrieve from Ganesha)
Types and conditions of payment
Understanding invoices, checks, and « lettres de change »
Session 12: MID-TERM
Sessions 13 & 14: Rules of competition (documents to retrieve from Ganesha)
Different types of business beliefs
Examples of fraud
Dossier n°5: Presenting an American state
Sessions 15 & 16: Business and customer service (documents to retrieve from Ganesha)
Line of command
Responding to a complaint
The meaning of a contract
General conditions of sales and payment
Letter n°3: writing a letter of response to a complaint letter (the subject of the complaint will be given in class)
Sessions 17 & 18: Commercial service: Sales (documents to retrieve from Ganesha)
Marketing and promotion of sales
Advertising Sales
The sales pitch
Site Visit
Dossier n°6: Advertising campaigns (2 dossiers)
Sessions 19 & 20: The import-export industry (documents to retrieve from Ganesha)
The constraints of exportation
Identifying a distribution circuit
Establishing a business in France
Modes of payment
Guest speaker
Session 21: Transportation (documents to retrieve from Ganesha)
Delivery
Complaints
Insurance
Letter n°4: Writing a letter of complaint (the subject of the complaint will be given in class)
Dossier n°7: The offer call
Sessions 22 & 23: The relations between businesses and public powers (documents to retrieve from Ganesha)
Taxes and payroll
Public aid
Fraud
The law (creation and text types)
FINAL EXAM
Dictionnaire d’Apprentissage du Français des Affaires, Ed. Didier, 2001 (ISBN:2278046322)
This dictionary will be very useful for you, especially to find the definitions of terms in the glossary.
A French language dictionary
Good examples are the Robert Micro or le Dictionnaire de Le Robert et Clé International
Extracts from the economic and financial press including:
Daily (Le Monde, le Figaro)
Weekly (L’Express, Problèmes Economiques, Courrier International)
Monthly (Capital)