Improve your mastery of French in a professional context.
Discover our new course offering available completely online.
Modules offered
- Module 1: Language at work
April 19 to 23, 2021
Registration deadline: April 9, 2021 - Module 2: The new spelling
June 28 to July 2, 2021
Registration deadline: June 18, 2021 - Module 3: Customer relations
September 27 to October 1, 2021
Registration deadline: September 17, 2021 - Module 4: Management of conflicts at work
November 15 to 19, 2021
Registration deadline: November 5, 2021

This course is specially designed for workers whose native language is not French and who want to improve their knowledge of French in a professional context.
To register, participants must be at the high intermediate level (B1+, B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) in their knowledge of French. A participant may register for module 1, 2, 3 or 4, since the modules are independent of each other.
Module focusing on oral and written comprehension, as well as vocabulary development.
Topics covered:
- Awareness of the work culture in Québec
- Effective oral and written interactions at work
- Formal interactions with a superior, a partner or a customer, and more informal interactions with colleagues
- Awareness of the values and behaviours encouraged and valued in the Québec working world
- Familiarization with the structure of various types of texts (memos, reports, minutes of a meeting, emails, complex telephone messages)
- Ethics and hierarchy at work
The written expression component will be studied in a discussion forum, while oral expression will be covered in Friday’s class.
This module is intended for both non-native French speakers and Francophones who want to put the new spelling into practice at work and in their daily life. Module focusing on comprehension and written expression.
Topics covered:
- Overview of the reform dealing with all the changes made to spelling
- The following four elements will be studied more specifically: accents, hyphens, plurals, dropping of certain unpronounced vowels or consonants
A discussion with the teacher dealing with special cases and participants’ questions will take place in Friday’s class.
Module focusing on oral and written comprehension and vocabulary development.
- Approaching customers, making contact and the levels of language
- The non-verbal attitude to adopt with a customer
- Active listening and predicting the needs of the clientele
- Presenting a product or service, its advantages and disadvantages
- Negotiation, sales and after-sales service
- Managing opposition or a complaint
- Clientele loyalty
The written expression component will be studied in a discussion forum, while the oral expression component will be explored in Friday’s course.
Module focusing on oral and written comprehension, and vocabulary development.
- Mediation, negotiation in the event of a conflict at work
- Discovery of the role and objectives of each person on a work team
- Identification of the verbal and non-verbal elements that indicate a conflict situation
- Intergenerational and intercultural issues at the heart of the conflict
- Diplomacy when expressing criticism
- Exploration of pacific practices and behaviours in managing a conflict
- Searching for solutions at the various stages in resolving a conflict
- Non-violent communication
The written expression component will be covered in a discussion forum, while the oral expression component will be explored in Friday’s course.
Each module is 10 hours in length. The work is spread over a period of five days, from Monday through Friday.
From Monday through Thursday, the candidate has two hours of work per day autonomously (asynchronously). During that period, a discussion forum will be made available to participants for discussions among themselves and with the teacher.
The module will conclude on Friday from 12 p.pm to 2 p.m. with two hours of synchronous courses (in real time) with the teacher and the other participants.
The candidate must have internet access in order to participate in any of the modules. The asynchronous courses will be accessible on an online learning platform and the synchronous courses will be available on Zoom. The École de langues will give access to the platforms.
Participants must complete a self-evaluation form to determine their level of knowledge of French. Subsequently, the candidate will be called to a short interview (10 minutes) by video conference.
Regular price: $297 per person.
Preferential price: -20% for Université de Montréal students, graduates and employees.
Register for the four modules and receive a discount of $70.
The price includes the self-assessment, the interview, access to the course and the material.
Our courses are eligible for the Québec government’s PACME financial support program.
How to receive the preferential price?
Please email proof of your status to the following address: info-elncfep.umontreal.ca.
Students can email us their permanent code; graduates can email us their diploma and employees can email us their employee number. Upon receipt of your proof, we will email you the information required to obtain the discount.
Do you have questions? We are always there to assist you!