FR119 Module Outline
TERM 1 .
Week 1:
Presentation of the module / general introduction / bibliography / explanation of end-of-year exam.
Images, clichés about France and French society. List of business vocabulary.
Week 2:
Chronology of the 5th Republic / Presentation of the French political parties and of the French Unions.
Writing business letters (la lettre générale, la lettre d'offre).
Week 3:
Positive and negative aspects of the French economy.
Writing e-mails;more commercial correspondance. Press review.
Week 4:
The 35 hour week law (its origins, its aims) .
Telephoning and roleplays. Translation passages based on business vocabulary.
Week 5:
The 35 hour week law : François Hollande and the position of the Socialist party in 2011.
Making an appointment. Discussion of business situations.
Week 6: READING WEEK.
Week 7:
The 35 hour week law : various positions/ the pros and the cons.
Writing business letters ( la lettre de commande). Translation exercise with business vocabulary.
Week 8:
France and Globalisation: analysis of Jean-Claude Beaujour. The place of France in the world.
Presentations: Module A
Week 9:
La désindustrialisation en France / The French and la démondialisation. Arnaud Montebourg.
Presentations: Module B. Discussion of business situations.
Week 10:
The French social model: a definition. Its origins, its cost. An impediment to French competitiveness?
Business press review. Presentations. Module C
TERM 2.
Week 1:
Unemployment in France (1974 : Giscard d'Estaing's presidency; the oil shock)./ Le R.M.I./ Le R.S.A./ The situation nowadays (employment/unemployment). Presentations: Module. D. Translation exercise with business vocabulary.
Week 2:
Poverty in France. La précarité économique. Book by Florence Aubenas: Quai de Ouistreham. General comment on the book, and study of a few excerpts.
Images of Business in France: part 1.
Week 3:
6 May 2012: election of François Hollande: analysis of his platform/ his vision for France.
Images of Business in France : part 2.
Week 4:
Le contrat de génération / le contrat d'avenir / tax reforms… More work on Florence Aubenas's book.
Writing letters of complaint (la lettre de réclamation).
Week 5:
Le Rapport Gallois / competitiveness in France / the law on flexi-security: April 2013.
Example of a French company / organisation chart / Presentation of a French company by the students.
Week 6: READING WEEK.
Week 7:
French Young people and apprenticeships / What industrial future for France? September 2013 : les 34 plans dans l'industrie.
Meetings: Module A./ Letter writing.
Week 8:
France and Europe. A European identity for the French? Example of E.A.D.S.: A European partnership.
Meetings: Module B./Business situations practise.
Week 9:
The Franco-German relationship: its history, its evolution…François Hollande: a new approach?
C.V. writing and practice.
Week 10:
The Euro crisis. The Europeans and austerity, le repli sur soi …
Meetings. Module C./ la lettre de motivation.
TERM 3.
Week 2:
General revision on the different topics studied.
Prepare a job interview. Applying for a summer job.
Week 3
Revision work on commercial correspondance.
More practice on business letters and e-mails. Work with video documents.