Course Syllabus

Syllabus for French 3164
Advanced Business French, Le Français des affaires
Professor Johnson
Fall 2016

 

CRN: 84124

MWF 1:25 - 2:15

McBryde 223

 

Office: 317 Major Williams

Office hours: Mon.: 2:30-4:00 and by appointment.
Office phone: 231-9859: It is best to e-mail me instead of leaving a message on my office phone's voice mail.
Home phone: 961-1262 I welcome your calls, but please do not phone me past 9:00 p.m. or before 8:00 a.m.
E-mail: spjohnson@vt.edu

Prerequisites: French 3105 and 3106 or the equivalent.

Advanced French for Business does count toward the French major. It can in some instances count toward the French minor if you have already taken one 3000-level French civilization course (3205, 3206 or 3314) and one 3000-level French literature course (3304, 3305, 3306 or 3314).

Course goals:
In this skills-based course, Le Français des Affaires, students learn appropriate technical vocabulary for different business contexts, work on translation, write professional correspondence, prepare a cover letter and CV, learn about French institutions, and study cross-cultural differences between French and American societies. Each student does one oral presentation, summarizing a current article either on an issue in the field of French/EU commerce, finance, economics, marketing etc. or interculturality.

Special sessions will be arranged if you are interested in taking one of the exams administered through the Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie de Paris Ile de France. The work we do in this course will give you the necessary background to do well on the exam; however, 3164 has not been designed strictly as a preparation for the CCI Paris Ile de France exams.

The French program offers a wide variety of options combining the study of French language with business.

For majors, you might consider doing our Certificate in French for Business, issued by the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures upon successful completion of

• 1) French 3164, Advanced Business French (this course)
• 2) French 4164, Topics in Business French (offered next semester, spring 2014 and every other even-numbered spring term: 2016, 2018 etc.)
• 3) Achieve the level of "Diplôme de Français Professionnel B1", or higher, on the Chamber of Commerce and Industry exam administered by la Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie Paris Ile de France (CCI).

For non-majors, we offer a French for Business Minor and an Advanced French for Business Minor. French 3164 is required for both.

Required Texts:
Berg, R. J. Parlons affaires!: Initiation au français économique et commercial. 3rd. Ed. Boston: Heinle Cengage learning, 2014
Scanned photocopies on-line or distributed in class. Principal texts:
Dahan et Morel. Pratique du français des affaires. Paris: La Maison du dictionnaire, 2008.
Hubbell, Amy L. A la recherche d'un un emploi. Newburyport: Focus Publishing, 2011.
Le Goff. Le nouveau French for Business: Le Français des Affaires. Paris: Hatier, 2000.
Minaudier, Jean Pierre. Connaissez-vous la France? Paris: Société éditrice du Monde, 2009.

Grade distribution for 3164

Participation, homework, quizzes, thèmes et versions, web activities, 6 email exchanges &/or face time conversations with Télécom Management	20%
Business correspondance letters, CV, cover letter (lettre de motivation)	25%
Exams (Contrôles)	25%
Oral Presentation in groups of 2 (Résumé d'un texte)	10%
Final written project or research paper (in lieu of a final exam)	20%

 

 

Letter grade percentages for 3164

100%-94%	A	77%-75%	C
93%-90%	A-	74%-70%	C-
89%-88%	B+	69%-68%	D+
87%-85%	B	67%-65%	D
84%-80%	B-	64%-60%	D-
79%-78%	C+	59% or lower	F

Attendance policy:

You are allowed three "unexcused absences" during the semester. Reasons for missing class abound: work in another class, oversleeping, car problems, romantic turmoil, a special event you wish to attend, etc. Use these "absences" judiciously, for, you are only allotted three. Your final grade will be lowered one percentage point every additional time you have an "unexcused absence." Note: repeated tardiness might be counted as absences.

EXCUSED ABSENCES: You must phone me or e-mail me EACH DAY you are ill if you wish your absence to be considered "excused." If your car is unreliable, take the bus. "Excused absences" are for illnesses and personal/family tragedies. If extenuating circumstances arise, please let me know in general terms about these difficulties.

PARTICIPATION AND BEING PREPARED FOR CLASS:

I take roll every day and you are given oral participation grades regularly. I expect you to be prepared for class. This means you have completed all exercises assigned to you with the greatest accuracy possible and are therefore ready with specific questions when you haven't understood some aspect of your assignment. It is my hope that you will feel comfortable to bring up what facets of the texts you are unsure about. Any time you do not understand part of your assignment, it is important for you to ask me questions so that I may try to clarify any information you find confusing.

Notice that I grade on not only how often you might participate in class, but how successfully you communicate (will to speak, accuracy, grammatical control) and the degree to which you have thought about the texts assigned. It is important to provide answers to written exercises, to be able to summarize the main points of the texts we read as well as to think critically about the implications of what you are reading--in French of course!

You should have one or two classmates' phone numbers and e-mail addresses as you're expected to be prepared for class, even when you have missed class the previous day. I also occasionally give take-home quizzes. If you plan on missing class, contact a classmate ahead of time so s/he can pick up extra copies of such assignments/quizzes for you. Changes to the course may be communicated in class.

LATE WORK, MAKE-UP WORK AND EXAMS:

• I do not give make-up exams.
• Late homework is not accepted unless you have an excused absence or have made arrangements with me.
• I do accept late papers (your business letters), but they are graded down each 24 hour period they are handed in late (e.g. A ==> A-; A- ==> B+ etc…). If a paper is due on Monday Sept. 5 at 12:20 p.m., it is lowered a half-grade starting at 1:30 p.m. Monday Sept. 5. It is marked down an additional l/2 grade if it is submitted any later than 1:30 on Tuesday Sept. 6. Each 24-hour period lowers your grade by another half grade. The weekend does not count at "one" day as Saturday and Sunday represent 48 hours combined. In these circumstances I accept electronic copies in word format.
• Usually, no extra credit activities are given in this course in that I want you to put all of your effort into learning what is required, which already represents a tremendous amount of material.

MY GRADING SYSTEM WITH CHECKS:

When I use my check system, this is how I will calculate your grade. I start you all off with an A-(90%). Each time you receive a check on your assignment that means you have completed it successfully--following the instructions, being mindful of your French, using dictionaries when you don't know words instead of writing English/Spanish/German/Russian words in place of a French word. With a check, your 90% remains as is, I neither add nor take away points. If your work distinguishes itself (which is often the case) you most likely will receive a check plus or perhaps a plus plus. A check plus (adds one point to your overall percentage, a plus adds two points, a plus plus (very rare) adds five points to your score. A check minus takes away one point, a minus takes away two points, a double minus takes away 4 points. If you receive a 0 (not having done an assignment) it is calculated as -5 points. At the end of the semester, for the portion of your grade where I use checks to grade your work (especially your participation grade representing your homework), I tally all these checks (points) together to convert them into a percentage grade.

You'll have greater success in this course if you keep up with your reading, homework, and studying of vocabulary. Refer to your weekly grid to know what material you will be responsible for each week. It will help you organize and pace yourself.

I am very available to help you if you're having difficulties. If there is a lot of material you regularly don't grasp, you should look into a tutor.

 

THE HONOR CODE

The Undergraduate Honor Code pledge that each member of the university community agrees to abide by states: “As a Hokie, I will conduct myself with honor and integrity at all times. I will not lie, cheat, or steal, nor will I accept the actions of those who do.”

Students enrolled in this course are responsible for abiding by the Honor Code. Ignorance of the rules does not exclude any member of the University community from the requirements and expectations of the Honor Code.

For additional information about the Honor Code, please visit: https://www.honorsystem.vt.edu/I take this policy seriously.

All assignments submitted shall be considered “graded work” and all aspects of your coursework are covered by the Honor Code. All projects and homework assignments are to be completed individually unless otherwise specified. All work submitted with your name on it must contain your French and your level of expression, not someone else's. Asking tutors, native French speakers, or more advanced French students for "help" with your business letters, CV, or cover letter, final project or exam etc. is unacceptable. The use of on-line translators is also considered a violation of VT's honor code. You are allowed to consult dictionaries and other grammatical sources (Le Bon Usage, Le Français pratique, previous textbooks of yours).

Special Accommodations: If you have a learning style that requires special accommodations, you need to contact the Office of the Dean of Students. A staff member from that office will provide a form to make available to all your instructors that includes a written description of the necessary specified accommodations. If you have already been through our university's system, please make an appointment with me before the end of August so I can assist you in all ways possible.

Cell Phone policy:

Please turn off your cell phones, unless you are using them to access texts for class. If they ring in class they create a disturbance, interrupting our work together.

 

Other opportunities to use your French

The more contact you have with the French language, the better your abilities will be. In two weeks there will be an organizational meeting for our French Club, Le Cercle Francophone. Every Thursday at 6:00 p.m. students and professors get together at a downtown establishment. (It is possible that the location might change this year). It is a wonderful opportunity to speak and listen to French in a more relaxing, natural context. In addition, the Le Cercle Francophone often organizes films and parties.

You can watch same-day broadcasts of French news via the internet or on television. Off campus, if you have cable, you can also receive same-day French news on the International channel at 7:00PM. The International Channel also offers French films on the weekends and other French-language programming.

Getting in the habit of watching the French news nightly will increase your listening skills while bringing you up to date with the political, economic and social debates that presently are gripping France and Europe, providing you a very important, unmediated presentation of European perspectives.