In this class (in French only), you will have an overview of how we do business in France while also discussing your internship in France. We will study not only vocabulary of business (la « langue des affaires »), economy, law, and finance…but also what we call the firm culture (attitudes, behaviours, etc.). You will be able to read economic and financial press, analyze different types of business documents and communicate in the business world.
Prerequisites:
Placement in FR 301 Emerging Independent Abroad I or above
Additional requirements:
Economic and financial articles from daily (Le Monde, Le Figaro), weekly (L’Express, Problèmes économiques, Courrier International), and monthly (Capital) papers
Learning outcomes:
At the end of the semester, you will be able to:
• read specialized press;
• analyze business documents;
• communicate (oral and written) within a company;
• understand cultural differences in firms
Method of presentation:
Simulations, discussions, oral presentations, exercises. During each session, we will discuss your internship journal and/or report and use your experiences to approach each subject we will be working on.
Required work and form of assessment:
Evaluation :
Internship journal (35%)
Internship report (35%)
Final oral presentation (10%)
Feedback from your supervisor and work at the office (10%)
Participation (10%)
Absences: In accordance with IES policy, one unexcused absence is permitted. Every other absence must be justified. After more than one unexcused absence, your final grade will decrease a fraction of a grade with every additional absence as such: A = A-, A- = B+, B+ = B, B = B- etc.
Lateness: If you are more than 30 minutes late, you will be considered as absent. If you are late more than 3 times, it will be considered as an absence.
To get an idea of how we grade, you can see below the French grades and their equivalents in the USA:
< ou = 20 = 16 A
< 16 = 14 A-
< 14 = 12 B+
< 12 = 10 B
< 10 = 9 B-
< 9 = 8 C+
< 8 = 7 C
< 7 = 5 C-
< 5 = 2 D
Internship Journal: During your internship, you will write a journal about your work (activities, missions, problems you encounter and your solution(s)…). This will help you to gather enough information to start your internship report. During each session, we will discuss your internship journal and report and use your experiences to get into each subject we will be working on.
Internship Report: You will introduce your company, discuss what you were doing, the difficulties you faced and the solutions you found… Your report will be at least 10 pages (bibliography, and other titles… not included). Format: 1-inch margin, Times New Roman, size 12, 1.5 spacing.
Work on Moodle: in the BIA Website, you will have access to Moodle (https://parb.elearning.iesabroad.org/) where you will find all the documents we will work with (documents to print, links to websites, training exercises …).
Rules:
• Cell phones, smartphones and laptops are strictly forbidden
• No eating in class (drinking water is permitted)
• Avoid leaving the classroom unless absolutely necessary
What I’m expecting:
- Participation in class and preparation after class (work on Moodle, print the documents before class).
- Know what we have talked about during the previous class.
- What is written on the whiteboard is important, so copy what you see and memorize it.
- For the homework, look for the vocabulary you don’t understand (and write it down in your notebook).
- As in life, mistakes can be made, and this is one way to progress, so I will not ask you to answer correctly all the time, but to think first and to participate.
content:
Session 1
Introducing and welcoming a visitor (documents provided)
Presentation of the syllabus and Moodle
Internship journal methodology
Session 2 & 3
Looking for a job (documents to be found on Moodle)
Understanding a job offer
Writing a CV and cover letter
Interviews for employment
The working world
Session 4
Presentation and communication in the firm (documents to be found on Moodle)
Dress code
Communicating and working with your colleagues
How to greet people
Writing an email
Session 5 & 6
Presentation of the firm and its environment (documents to be found on Moodle)
Different firms (size and sector)
Functions of the firm
Partnerships
How to create a firm
Sectors and activities
Procedures
The CAC40
Present a CEO from a CAC40 firm (oral presentation)
The French educational system (different options, degrees etc.)
Session 7
Internship report
Methodology of writing a report:
- Bibliography
- Organizing information
- Transition
Session 8
Working conditions (documents to be found on Moodle)
First experiences in the workplace
The situation for women
How to negotiate your tasks
Confidentiality in the workplace (the example of keyloggers)
Religion
Unions and French labor law
Session 9 & 10
Marketing and market research (documents to be found on Moodle)
Understanding and writing a questionnaire
Intercultural aspects
Community management
Ethics
Session 11 & 12
Sales department (documents to be found on Moodle)
Communicating with clients
Answering a claim
Advertising and sales promotion
Analyzing advertisements
General conditions of sales and payment
Methodology for oral presentations
Final Individual oral presentations
Internship Journal and Final Report due
Required readings:
Dictionnaire d'apprentissage du français des affaires, Ed. Didier, 2001 (ISBN: 2278046322) (you will find one in the BIA Center): Very useful for business terms
A French dictionary such as le Robert Micro or le Dictionnaire de Le Robert et Clé International
Brief Biography of Instructor:
Trúc Long VÕ TRÂN earned a « DEA de didactique des langues et des cultures » from la Sorbonne Nouvelle University (Paris) et a « licence de droit » from Nanterre University. He has taught French as a second language for more than ten years in different schools (la Mairie de Paris, l’Alliance française de Paris, Nanterre University…) and as a freelancer in different firms. His experience at South Orange Middle School (New Jersey), as a French teacher and assistant cheerleading coach and by doing other activities (cooking lessons, chess club) in 2000 allowed him to see the country and its population differently. He’s been teaching Business French at IES Abroad Paris since 2003.
Internship Seminar
In this class (in French only), you will have an overview of how we do business in France while also discussing your internship in France. We will study not only vocabulary of business (la « langue des affaires »), economy, law, and finance…but also what we call the firm culture (attitudes, behaviours, etc.). You will be able to read economic and financial press, analyze different types of business documents and communicate in the business world.
Placement in FR 301 Emerging Independent Abroad I or above
Economic and financial articles from daily (Le Monde, Le Figaro), weekly (L’Express, Problèmes économiques, Courrier International), and monthly (Capital) papers
At the end of the semester, you will be able to:
• read specialized press;
• analyze business documents;
• communicate (oral and written) within a company;
• understand cultural differences in firms
Simulations, discussions, oral presentations, exercises. During each session, we will discuss your internship journal and/or report and use your experiences to approach each subject we will be working on.
Evaluation :
Absences: In accordance with IES policy, one unexcused absence is permitted. Every other absence must be justified. After more than one unexcused absence, your final grade will decrease a fraction of a grade with every additional absence as such: A = A-, A- = B+, B+ = B, B = B- etc.
Lateness: If you are more than 30 minutes late, you will be considered as absent. If you are late more than 3 times, it will be considered as an absence.
To get an idea of how we grade, you can see below the French grades and their equivalents in the USA:
< ou = 20 = 16 A
< 16 = 14 A-
< 14 = 12 B+
< 12 = 10 B
< 10 = 9 B-
< 9 = 8 C+
< 8 = 7 C
< 7 = 5 C-
< 5 = 2 D
Internship Journal: During your internship, you will write a journal about your work (activities, missions, problems you encounter and your solution(s)…). This will help you to gather enough information to start your internship report. During each session, we will discuss your internship journal and report and use your experiences to get into each subject we will be working on.
Internship Report: You will introduce your company, discuss what you were doing, the difficulties you faced and the solutions you found… Your report will be at least 10 pages (bibliography, and other titles… not included). Format: 1-inch margin, Times New Roman, size 12, 1.5 spacing.
Work on Moodle: in the BIA Website, you will have access to Moodle (https://parb.elearning.iesabroad.org/) where you will find all the documents we will work with (documents to print, links to websites, training exercises …).
Rules:
• Cell phones, smartphones and laptops are strictly forbidden
• No eating in class (drinking water is permitted)
• Avoid leaving the classroom unless absolutely necessary
What I’m expecting:
- Participation in class and preparation after class (work on Moodle, print the documents before class).
- Know what we have talked about during the previous class.
- What is written on the whiteboard is important, so copy what you see and memorize it.
- For the homework, look for the vocabulary you don’t understand (and write it down in your notebook).
- As in life, mistakes can be made, and this is one way to progress, so I will not ask you to answer correctly all the time, but to think first and to participate.
Session 1
Introducing and welcoming a visitor (documents provided)
Session 2 & 3
Looking for a job (documents to be found on Moodle)
Session 4
Presentation and communication in the firm (documents to be found on Moodle)
Session 5 & 6
Presentation of the firm and its environment (documents to be found on Moodle)
How to create a firm
The CAC40
Session 7
Internship report
- Bibliography
- Organizing information
- Transition
Session 8
Working conditions (documents to be found on Moodle)
Session 9 & 10
Marketing and market research (documents to be found on Moodle)
Session 11 & 12
Sales department (documents to be found on Moodle)
Methodology for oral presentations
Dictionnaire d'apprentissage du français des affaires, Ed. Didier, 2001 (ISBN: 2278046322) (you will find one in the BIA Center): Very useful for business terms
A French dictionary such as le Robert Micro or le Dictionnaire de Le Robert et Clé International
Trúc Long VÕ TRÂN earned a « DEA de didactique des langues et des cultures » from la Sorbonne Nouvelle University (Paris) et a « licence de droit » from Nanterre University. He has taught French as a second language for more than ten years in different schools (la Mairie de Paris, l’Alliance française de Paris, Nanterre University…) and as a freelancer in different firms. His experience at South Orange Middle School (New Jersey), as a French teacher and assistant cheerleading coach and by doing other activities (cooking lessons, chess club) in 2000 allowed him to see the country and its population differently. He’s been teaching Business French at IES Abroad Paris since 2003.