French as an African Working Language: Rethinking Business French Curricula for Intra-African Commercial Contexts
Abstract
This review examines the evolving role of French as a practical working language within intra- African commerce and evaluates how Business French curricula can be redesigned to reflect the communicative realities of African markets. Using a critical review approach, the study synthesises scholarship on multilingual business communication, French for specific purposes, curriculum design, intercultural competence, experiential learning, digital pedagogy, work- integrated learning, and university–industry collaboration. The analysis shows that conventional Business French programmes frequently remain overly general, Eurocentric, grammar-centred, and insufficiently connected to the tasks, sectors, and multilingual environments in which African professionals operate. It further identifies growing demand for functional French across trade, logistics, banking, tourism, telecommunications, procurement, retail, customer engagement, and regional mobility. The review finds that more effective curricula should integrate authentic African commercial cases, sector-specific vocabulary, intercultural negotiation, task-based learning, virtual exchange, digital collaboration, and performance-based assessment. Institutional partnerships with employers, professional bodies, Francophone universities, and trade organisations are also shown to be essential for curriculum relevance, implementation, and graduate employability. The study concludes that Business French education in Africa should move from language instruction centred primarily on formal competence toward an Africa-centred model that treats French as an operational resource for commercial participation and cross-border cooperation. It recommends systematic workplace needs analysis, employer- informed learning outcomes, stronger lecturer development, regionally grounded materials, expanded experiential learning, and longitudinal research measuring proficiency, employability, and workplace transfer. Such reforms would strengthen the alignment between language education, continental economic integration, and the practical demands of an increasingly interconnected African marketplace. They would also support multilingual professional identities and inclusive participation in regional value chains.
Keywords
Business French; Intra-African Trade; Francophone Africa; Intercultural Communication; Curriculum Reform; Multilingualism.
References
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