OVERVIEW

The teaching unit focuses on the analysis of authentic documents and the study of current economic issues within the context of Francophone culture, with particular attention to linguistic and cultural aspects relevant to the economic field.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The teaching unit contributes to the educational objectives of the degree programme by providing students with the tools to deepen their written and oral knowledge of the French language and to acquire solid skills in the field of business and economic French through listening, reading, understanding and commenting on authentic specialised documents.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

1. Knowledge and understanding: At the end of the course, students will be able to understand specialised texts in the field of economics, explain the main concepts of economic and business language in French, recognising the specific terminology and characteristics of economic texts and discourse, using authentic materials provided during the course.

2. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding: At the end of the course, students will be able to produce written and oral texts in the field of economics and solve practical cases in the economic field in French, using the specialised terminology learned in simulations and guided activities.

3. Autonomy of judgement: Students will be able to independently assess the appropriateness and correctness of the use of French in economic contexts, applying the knowledge acquired to new or complex situations proposed during the exercises.

4. Communication skills: Students will be able to communicate clearly, convincingly and unambiguously, using the technical language of economic French, in presentations and simulated classroom discussions.

PREREQUISITES

Students may choose this teaching unit also as beginners, being aware that they will need to devote greater commitment to the study of grammar and vocabulary in order to adequately deal with the specialty language and reach the final B1+ level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

TEACHING METHODS

The teaching unit is conducted in a face-to-face mode through official lectures (24 hours per semester, i.e. 48 hours in total) and bi-weekly tutorials (40 hours of lettorato per semester, i.e. 80 hours per year), from the end of September to the end of May, according to the teaching calendar of the current academic year.

The content of the lectures and tutorials, along with all details about the teaching unit, are provided on AulaWeb.

Attendance is not compulsory but strongly recommended.

Students with certification of disability, specific learning disorders (DSA), or special educational needs should contact, at the beginning of the course, both the instructor and the Department's disability liaison, Prof. Serena Scotto (scotto@economia.unige.it), to agree on teaching and examination arrangements that, while respecting the objectives of the teaching unit, take into account individual learning methods and allow the use of any compensatory tools

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The official lecture programme includes:

- fundamentals of specialised languages

- elements of economic and financial terminology in French

- basics in the world of economics and business in the French language

- elements of français des affaires et de l'entreprise

The lettorato programme includes the main components of the French language at B1+ level and notions of economic terminology.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

For Lettorato: Grammaire progressive du français des affaires, A2>B1, Jean-Luc Penfornis, CLE INTERNATIONAL, 2018.

Materials will be provided for the official lectures.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Annual course - start September 2025. The timetable is available at: Portale EasyAcademy.

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The examination method (for all types of students) is as follows:

Official lessons: written exam at the end of the teaching unit, graded out of 30. The exam will include a multiple-choice section (comprehension of specialised texts in French in the field of economics) and the writing of a short text (related to a topic/case study covered during the teaching unit) containing the specialised terminology covered during the teaching unit.

Language course: Oral exam on grammar and business knowledge at level B1+Pro (economic and business language). Graded out of 30.

The final mark is the arithmetic mean of the marks obtained in the official lessons and the language course.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Official lectures: the examination aims to test knowledge of specialized terminology and skills on economic notions and texts acquired during lectures. The ability to organize and communicate effectively in French the knowledge acquired will also be assessed. Assessment criteria include: terminological accuracy, clarity of exposition, ability to analyse and apply knowledge.

Lettorato: the oral test assesses knowledge of French grammar and the use of specialist economic vocabulary. Assessment criteria include: grammatical accuracy, lexical appropriateness, and oral interaction skills.

FURTHER INFORMATION

The teaching unit of French Language 60909 is annual; therefore, once the subject is included in the Study Plan at the beginning of the academic year, it will not be possible to take the exam before the summer session.

Skipping exam sessions is not allowed.

Students holding an official DELF B1 or B2 or ESABAC (level B2) certificate are kindly requested to send a copy by email to the responsible teachers a few days before the exam. On AulaWeb, the equivalence table between French grades (out of 100) and Italian grades (out of 30) is available.

For further information not included in the teaching unit description, please contact the teachers.