French for Professional Contexts II (A1→A2 Pre-Intermediate)

Building on FRN 107, this course extends French language competence from A1 to CEFR A2 with increasing focus on professional administrative communication. Students expand vocabulary across a wider range of workplace topics, develop ability to participate in simple professional conversations, handle telephone and reception tasks in French, and produce a variety of short professional written texts including emails, memos and simple business correspondence. Grammar is extended to include past tenses, modal verbs and prepositions.

Extend French communicative competence to CEFR A2. Develop the ability to handle predictable professional interactions in French including phone calls, appointments and simple requests. Build written production skills for short emails, memos and professional messages. Expand grammatical range to include past tenses, modal verbs and common prepositions.

1. Professional vocabulary expansion: appointments, meetings and office operations in French
2. Telephone communication: making and receiving professional calls in French
3. Reception tasks: welcoming visitors and providing directions
4. Passé composé and imparfait: professional narrative contexts
5. Modal constructions: pouvoir, devoir, vouloir, falloir in requests and instructions
6. Prepositions of time, place and direction in French
7. Professional writing: emails, memos and short formal messages in French
8. Reading comprehension: short articles, notices and professional correspondence
9. Numeracy in French: invoices, prices and scheduling documents
10. Professional culture in Wallonia and Brussels: bilingual workplace contexts

1. Handle predictable professional telephone interactions in French at A2 level.
2. Perform reception tasks including welcoming visitors and providing information in French.
3. Use past tenses (passé composé, imparfait) and modal verbs accurately in professional French.
4. Write clear short professional emails, memos and messages in French.
5. Read and understand professional correspondence, notices and short texts in French.
6. Apply numeracy skills in French to administrative scheduling and documents.

Course materials and exercises assigned by the lecturer. Recommended: A1–A2 French professional language materials appropriate to Belgian workplace contexts.

The central basis of the course is to consolidate students' academic approach to thinking, reading, speaking and writing and language usage. In addition, the course also aims to develop the students' abilities to synthesize and evaluate information and conduct basic, independent research.

This course is designed for students who have their business and management courses entirely in English. Its primary goal is to teach students to cope with input texts , i.e listening and reading in the discipline. It will equip students with key vocabulary, expressions and phrases used in academic and technical English. it also focuses on academic English language and communicative skills required for students to successfully accomplish their academic assignments in Business English class and other fundamental courses of Business major.

1. Students develop core business vocabulary and functional language skills necessary for participating in meetings, negotiations, presentations, and professional discussions.
2. The course introduces students to the fundamental principles of professional business communication, including audience awareness, tone, register, and the 7 C’s of effective communication.
3. The course strengthens written communication skills through practice in business correspondence, emails, reports, memos, and proposals.
4. Students enhance their oral communication competence by learning strategies for effective presentations, meeting management, and collaborative workplace interaction.
5. The course builds intercultural communication awareness, preparing students to operate in global and multicultural business environments.
6. Students develop employability skills by preparing professional CVs, cover letters, and participating in simulated job interviews.
7. The course examines ethical and digital dimensions of business communication, including online professionalism, email etiquette, and responsible use of digital tools in the workplace.

1. To Improve and enrich the relevant Business terminology to succeed in advanced theoretical courses of the field
2. To Further develop analytical . reflective and critical reading, writing, speaking and listening skills by entire exposure to authentic sources in Business English
3. To Present confidently and professionally in English language the practical cases of doing business
4. To Gain confidence in communicating in English for economic/business purposes
5. To construct and consolidate the functional academic and technical vocabulary to be be applied in academic business settings and real job perspectives.

The main textbook of this class will be "English for Business Studies in Higher Education Studies" by Carolyn Walker & Paul Harvey in Series Editor Terry Philips, published by Garnet Education 2022, UK. This book is WINNER of The Duke of Edinburgh English-Speaking Union English Language Award.