Business French students have different needs from general learners, and treating the two the same is where most tutoring goes wrong. If you're learning French for work — client calls, negotiations, relocation, or simply to function in a Francophone office — here's what I focus on with professional students, and what I deliberately skip.
Prioritise: Functional Vocabulary Over Grammar Perfection
Business students rarely need subjunctive mood mastery in month three. They need to confidently handle: introductions, meeting vocabulary, email register (formal vs informal “vous” conventions), numbers and dates under pressure, and industry-specific terms for their field. I build vocabulary lists around a student's actual sector — finance, logistics, aviation, luxury retail — rather than generic textbook topics like “at the market.”
Prioritise: Listening Comprehension at Real Speed
French spoken in a business meeting is faster and more clipped than textbook audio. Early exposure to real-speed French — podcasts, news clips, meeting recordings if available — closes the gap between “I can read French” and “I can follow what my colleague just said.”
Prioritise: Email and Written Register
Business French has specific conventions — formal openings and closings, the difference between “cordialement” and “bien à vous,” how directness is handled differently than in English business writing. This is teachable in a handful of focused sessions and has an immediate, visible payoff.
Skip (For Now): Exhaustive Grammar Tables
Full verb conjugation mastery across every tense is a long-term goal, not a prerequisite. I introduce tenses as they become functionally necessary — past tense for reporting what happened in a meeting, conditional for polite requests — rather than front-loading grammar theory that won't get used for months.
Skip (For Now): Literary or Cultural Tangents
Fascinating as French literature and cinema are, they're not where a business student's limited weekly hours should go in the first six months. I bring these in later, once functional competence is solid, as enrichment rather than a distraction from the goal.
The Realistic Timeline
For a working professional doing 2–3 hours a week, I typically see functional workplace competence (comfortable emails, following meetings, basic client small talk) in 6–9 months — faster than general fluency because the scope is narrower and the motivation is usually sharper. Full negotiation-level fluency takes longer, but most professionals don't actually need that; they need to function confidently, which is a much closer target.
Ready to make consistent progress? Send a short enquiry via the booking page and Mr Paul will reply personally — usually within 24 hours — to confirm availability and agree the right structure for you.