French 451 (French for Business and the Professions); MWF 11-
11:50 PM. Successful completion of French 212 or departmental permission required.
Prof. TennesseeBob Peckham (427E Humanities -Tel. 7424. Home 881-6562. e-mail:
bobp@utm.edu).
Successful completion of this course will add 3 of the 21 semester hours in courses numbered 300 or
above required of a French major.
In addition, the course offered partly fulfills 4 of the departments "MISSION" points:
1. Providing undergraduate instruction in certain important world languages and cultures
2. Improving the literacy & communication skills of the non-major (reading, writing, pronunciation,
grammar, listening and vocabulary building)
3. Improving cross-cultural understanding and international awareness
4. Preparing advanced-level students for careers or graduate study in which these skills, knowledge
and awareness are valuable.
The course web site is your point of departure for all relevant assignments, so come frequently
to the address below::
MEDIA: French-language www sites, videotaped French business interviews, TV5,
selected software from the MTLRC collection, French periodicals, maps. No materials are
GOALS: "French for Business and the Professions" is a course refocused to meet more
precisely the needs of students wanting to incorporate a knowledge of French language and culture into a
variety of future workplaces. Students will advance linguistically and culturally through an active
study of the the economies, business practices, labor, consumer habits and the professions in two
corners of the francophone world, France and Quebec. They will personalize this knowledge through an
articulation of their own career plans, comparing what they will face with the career paths of their
counterparts in France. Our target proficiencies for attendees of physical classroom sessions are an
ACTFL oral "Intermediate High" to "Advanced Plus" (depending on entry level), a real skill in
gathering and synthesizing information from authentic sources and a true learning independence to
facilitate professional growth. . It is designed with a mostly online format for attendance flexibility to
accommodate those whose class and/or work schedules will not allow them to attend all classes. Yet,
there will be relevant and effective activities for all physical classroom participants.
OBJECTIVES: (referred to by abbreviation Ob+number in lesson list)
1. Read assigned basic web sites on French and Quebec economies, answering all questions (for
testing).
2. Follow economy regularly in newspaper articles, or radio/TV reports.
Find and summarize one consumer, business, economic
report every two weeks.
3. Learn general business vocabulary and personal professional vocabulary.
4. Learn (by doing) the techniques of standard business and professional communication.
5. Follow one company on the Paris or Montreal stock exchanges (also through the company web
site).
6. Find and summarize 3 substantial French-language reports on your field .
7. Pass a test in Québec and French geography (minimum grade of B).
8. Give sevaral 30-second factual reports on your field.
9. Give a 5-minute oral report on your field, teaching the class 10 field-specific vocabulary and 2
sentences on the function of and work in the field.
10. Prepare to sustain a 5 to 7 minute extemporaneous conversation about your profession.
11. Submit for testing, and be tested on 30 important vocabulary words unique to your chosen field
12. Participate in a class French email discussion list
3 meesages/week for those attending all physical class sesseions
2 additional messages/week for each class missed
ATTENDANCE: Student attendees of physical classroom sessions are allowed 3
unexcused absences without penalty. EACH additional absence will result in the subtraction of half a
point from their course grade (on 100 scale). For perfect attendance, 1 point will be added to the final
grade. Those who will have regular absences because of scheduling difficulties must see me during the
first two days of class.
ASSIGNMENTS will be specified in the lesson list below. All of those to be handed in
will be typed or will be submitted in electronic form, as a Microsoft Word attchment or in the text of
an email. All late assigignments (not officially excused) will cary a penalty to be determined by the
situation and importance of the assignment.
GRADE SCALE & DETERMINATION: 90 -100 = A; 80 - 89 = B; 70 - 79 = C; 60 - 69
= D; below 60 = F. I use a 1000 point scale, so divide by 10. Best 4 tests of 5 (France, Québec,
Geography, Vocabulary, Europe) = 400, assignments and all participation (class and/or online, Ob 1,
2, 5, 12) = 200, elements of your profession (Ob 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11) = 200, comprehensive final =
200. There are a number of opportunities for extra credit. Besides the cultural events, conversation
tables and extra TV5, I will offer 100 extra points on my 1000-point scale to anyone who will sign up
for, study for and take (showing evidence for all 3) an appropriate CCIP (Chambre de Commerce et
d'Industrie) exam, which will be offered this Spring at Vanderbilt. Also, for this I will provided the
van for travel and a free meal.
GENERAL & ETHICAL EXPECTATIONS: We expect students to demonstrate a solid work
ethic, and to conduct themeselves as ladies and gentlemen, with the
UTMartin University Policies and Procedures for Students
as a base-line minumum for their behavior. Anything else is unacceptable to this instructor.
CULTURAL EVENTS: The department strongly encourages those who will make use of a
foreign language in their professions to reach an acceptable level of general cultural awareness. To this
end, we have a CULTURAL EVENTS POLICY. Students qualify for extra credit by attending approved
cultural events. They will be penalized for not attending a prescribed number of cultural events.
PLEASE SEE DEPARTMENT'S CULTURAL EVENTS POLICY, on the handout or @ the following
address:
Foreign Film Series evenings are cultural events (I insist you attend the French one):
COLONEL CHABERT (French): January 25
SHALL WE DANCE? (Japanese): February 15
AY CARMELA (Spanish): March 01
RAISE THE RED LANTERN (Chinese): March 22
MEN (German) : April 19
HELP! Be honest with yourself and with me. If you have difficulty in this course, use
your resource materials, and contact me ASAP. I want you to succeed.
CONVERSATION HOUR: You must attend three of the weekly conversation hours
organized by the French Faculty. You will earn extra credit if they attend four or more
sessions.
FRENCH CLUB: All interested students are encouraged to join the CERCLE
FRANCOPHONE and to enrich their understanding of the French language and francophone culture by
participating in its activities.
Since the approach to this course is experimental and catered in part to the talent, preparation and
interest profiles individual students, you can expect changes in the lesson list. There will be an
alteration of schedule for whatever our Spring videoconference necessitates.
F20 -- Les institutions financières au Québec (all objective & vocabulary
exercises)
F22 -- La
publicité au Québec (all objective & vocabulary exercises) + aid
M20 -- Professional correspondence with FRANCE - Ecrivain
Public Virtuel, finsished CV, cover letter, TBA
M22 -- Other professional correspondence TBA
M25 -- most common office tools and procedures vocabulary (TBA)
M29 -- most common transportation and travel vocabulary its practical context and an exercise
A01 -- Good Friday holiday
A03 -- Lexique
bancaire (Banque populaire des alpes). Vocabulary & geography tests
available (to be taken in H427, when semonitor available). Begin work on L'Europe
A05 -- Continue study of European Union, Ob6
(report 3)
A08 -- Continue portfolio work
A10 -- TBA, Ob2
A12 -- TBA
A15 -- TBA
A17 -- TBA
A19 -- TBA, Ob9 oral reports
A22 -- TBA, Ob9 test
A24 -- TBA, Ob2
A26 -- TBA, Ob11
A29 -- Last day of class
Final is May 7 (7:45 AM)
Here are some personal career resource starting points. Are any of these career areas yours?
For France (métropole), I want all major rivers (fleuves), all regions, all mountain ranges,
coutries boardering France and cities of over 100,000 population.
*NOTE: "Any student eligible for and requesting academic accommodations due to a disability is
requested to provide a letter of accommodation from P.A.C.E or Student Academic Support Center within
the first two weeks of the semester".
Online French-English-
French Dictionary, online French Grammar Help,
online Business
dictionaries.
