French for work

• Do you need to speak French in the workplace or on the phone?
• Would you like to interact more with French-speaking colleagues?
• Do you need to draft letters or summaries in French?
• Do you want help building the confidence to give a presentation in French?

Le français des affaires

For the last few years, I have been working at a multi-national company in Dover providing lessons to their Directors and staff as individuals, pairs and in small groups. These lessons have combined French for Business purposes and more conversational French. They help those in regular contact both in person and remotely with French clients and colleagues at work.

A variety of lesson types for French at work:

Some lessons have been aimed at those with very little school French wanting to better welcome French clients onsite. Many have been in pairs or small groups for staff and managers in daily email contact with French colleagues. All wanted sufficient confidence in French to visit the French sites and be able to contribute effectively in meetings and establish a good working relationships.

Other students have had more intense 1-2-1 lessons in practical French as they prepare to move their jobs and lives to France. As I studied, lived and worked in France for many years, I have been able to draw on genuine personal experience. I supplement my own experiences by keeping in touch with several former students and regularly request feedback from the current ones, here are some of their thoughts about learning French for work purposes with me:

NEEDING FRENCH FOR MY WORK

“I want to be able to have a fluent professional conversation and find our very relaxed sessions don’t pressure me at all, I enjoy the time spent at the lessons.”

FA, QA Manager, does 1-2-1 Business French lessons which is proving useful in her trips to North Africa

An interpreter speaks
“I love and work with languages. Learning with Kathi gives me the possibility to practice, to talk in French. Content is given in a logical progressive sequence and it is fun!”

A G-M, Saltwood, learning French 1-2-1 for work

Building the confidence to use French at work

I visit S’s company once a week to teach her in a joint lesson. She feels creating her own sentences is still difficult, but really enjoys working in partnership. S loves getting things right (which is more often than she thinks!). In the past, S had learned French at school with little enthusiasm. Now, she is listening to podcasts and has progressed from getting the gist to understanding the majority of what’s going on and being able to react in French to what’s she’s heard.

“We work alongside French colleagues and I wanted to be able to communicate with them and understand them… You are encouraging, keep the lessons interesting. I don’t feel (too!) bad if I don’t know or get something wrong!”

I’m very happy to come over for a chat if your company wants to offer staff French lessons. Contact me on 07747 053588 or by email.