COURSE TITLE: FRENCH - Social and Business Culture, Language and

Civilization

INSTRUCTOR : Lakshmi Suryanarayanan

COURSE PHILOSOPHY :

In todays academic and professional world, traveling to, studying in and

working in a country other than ones own is a common practice. What
makes the move easier is familiarity with the social and professional
culture of the host country and language is an integral part of any culture.

French is spoken today in many parts of the globe, and it is the most
widely spoken language in Europe. Besides France, French is spoken in
Belgium, parts of Switzerland, in Canada, in many African countries, French
Polynesia, French Guyana, islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans and in
the Caribbean and across countries in the Arab world. Clearly, knowledge
of French would be an enormous advantage in todays corporate scenario.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

It must be understood at the outset that a 30-hour course in any language

cannot assure complete fluency. What this course therefore aims to give
students is the basic tools for communicating in French and more
importantly, managing in one of the oldest and richest cultural contexts in
the world. It will enable them to better adapt to professional and social
situations in Francophone countries. It also provides the students with a
basic platform for pursuit of linguistic interests, should they choose to do
so.

Specifically, the course seeks to

Provide students with basic, communicative skills (written and

spoken) in French.
Enable students to understand and to speak basic French in face to
face or telephonic conversation settings.
Understand basic written French: in short texts, signboards, simple
instructions and importantly, to write notes and emails in simple
French.
Additionally, it seeks to familiarize students with some aspects of French
culture and civilization. It will

Give them an exposure to business and social etiquette when

interacting with the French.
Provide information on acceptable codes of behavior when visiting
France/ Europe.
Familiarize them with aspects of French history and regions of
France
Give them an understanding of French social and culinary habits

COURSE CONTENT:

The following three skills will be worked upon in class:

a. Listening comprehension
b. Reading comprehension
c. Spoken expression

Most modules will have THREE major components:

1. Listening and reading comprehension

2. Key sentences, grammar and vocabulary
3. Activities based on the speech act

A COMMUNICATIVE APPROACH will be used. Global comprehension of

situations and communicative objectives will be given importance.
Basic grammatical structures will also be taught.

The course content :

1. Brief introduction to France:

-Brainstorming on perceptions about the country: a current-day
perspective, historical background, some cultural aspects.
2. Introducing one self, greeting someone and taking leave. Asking them
for similar information.
3. The French alphabet, accents, introduction to French phonetics.
4. Numbers 0-1000 and more
5. Nationalities and countries (identifying nationalities, adjectives of
nationality). Country names and genders (yes, countries have
genders in French), how country names are used in the language, the
modifications necessary.
 6. Filling forms (for example, visa application forms)
7. Days of the week, months of the year, time indicators.
8. To hold a conversation in social contexts
9. Asking for and giving personal information
10. Making a request formally
11. Over the telephone: making and receiving phone calls
1. standard expressions used
2. taking telephonic messages
12. Making appointments: Making, confirming, cancelling written
and verbal appointments
1. fixing time and place for meetings
2. accepting/expressing regret
13. To ask for, to buy and to pay for an object:
1. In a store/railway station/airport shop/department store
2. To buy/reserve a ticket
14. At a restaurant: to understand a menu/to order/to pay
15. Emails- understanding and sending simple professional and personal
messages, fixing and confirming appointments, sending invitations and
thank you/regret messages in reply
16. Expressing likes and dislikes- speaking of ones activities, hobbies
17. Audio visual inputs:
- Paris
- Some French cities and places of interest.
- Food
- Mini films featuring dining etiquette

While the above is a broad outline of the course content, the order in which
the topics are introduced in class will vary depending on the requirements
of the participants.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FRENCH COURSE:

Maximum number of students admitted to the course: 40

Course duration: 30 hours

Duration of each class: 1.5 hours x 2 days (total of 3 hours per week).
TEACHING METHODOLOGY:

Course material: Modern French language teaching methods are used

and the course material (text book with accompanying DVD) will be
provided for the same.

Study material will be provided to reinforce all grammatical structures

taught in class and practice exercises will be given. Relevant
grammatical and lexical inputs will be provided for each class and
study material provided for the same.

Exercises for practice of both grammatical and lexical content of the

course will be given to the students, to be completed outside class hours.

Every class will include a written and/or oral French comprehension

component. Phonetic exercises, practice of spoken and written French will
also form a part of the learning process.

Active participation is expected from the students- participation in class

and well as a commitment to complete all assignments given during the
term. This is to ensure ease of verbal and written expression on their part.

Evaluation: 1 written mid-term test (40 marks)

1 written end-term test (40 marks) + 1 oral end-term viva (20
marks)
All tests will be based on IIM-B evaluation guidelines.
Tests will mainly have objective type questions.
Simple written and spoken skills in French will be tested

The course has an attendance requirement of 75%.

The criterion for passing the course is 50% marks in both the written
exam and the oral/viva exam individually.

A participant will have to pass both the written and oral exams to be
eligible to get an attestation from the instructor for having
successfully completed the course, should it be needed.

INSTRUCTOR PROFILE:

Lakshmi Suryanarayanan is a qualified language teacher, having over 23

years of experience in teaching French. An accredited professor at the
Alliance Franaise de Bangalore for nearly 15 years, she has been actively
involved in teaching the language and in conducting corporate language
training and inter-cultural corporate seminars for the Alliance Franaise.

She is also an accredited examiner for DELF examinations, conducted

internationally and considered to be standard European Union norms for
language learning.
She has conducted both 3-credit courses and non-credit courses for
students at IIMB for well over 15 years.
Earlier, she taught French at the KKRM (Woodlands) College of Hotel
Management, affiliated to the University of Bangalore for nine years.

Widely travelled, she has been to France repeatedly for updating her
professional skills and training and for personal travel, too.