Business French: Beginner. Start Speaking French at Work.

Business French: Beginner is a B2B course for professionals in Finland who are new to French and need to build a practical foundation for workplace communication. The course is taught in Finnish and covers the core essentials of the French language in the context of the most common professional situations: introducing yourself and your company briefly, using the most common greetings and courtesy expressions, asking for and providing basic information, agreeing on simple practical matters. Available as B2B group courses, 1:1 coaching, or onsite programs at the company's premises, including Helsinki, Espoo, Tampere, Turku, Oulu, Jyväskylä, Vaasa, Kuopio, Lahti, or fully online.

Business French from day one — without wasting time on what doesn't matter at work

Getting the basics right matters more than getting through a lot of content fast. For professionals starting French from scratch, a course that rushes towards complex communication before the fundamentals are in place creates gaps that are hard to close later — uncertain pronunciation, grammar patterns that don't feel natural, and vocabulary that hasn't been practised enough to be reliable under pressure. Business French: Beginner is built to avoid this: the scope is focused, the pace is deliberate, and every element is practised until participants can use it — not just recognise it.

There is a business reason to start. France is one of the European Union's largest economies and a significant trading partner for Finnish industry, and French is a working language of the EU institutions. Beyond France itself, it is a business language in Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Canada and much of West and North Africa. Expectations also differ from what a Nordic professional is used to: in French-speaking markets, meetings, correspondence and contract discussions are more often conducted in French, and the level of English among counterparts varies. A client, supplier or colleague addressed in their own language — even briefly, even imperfectly — starts the relationship differently.

The course covers the French that matters most at the start of a professional relationship with French-speaking clients or partners: how to introduce yourself and your company, how to make and confirm simple arrangements, and how to write a short professional message. All instruction is in Finnish, so explanations are clear and participants always understand what they are doing and why.

• Introducing yourself, your role, and your company in French
• Using common greetings and professional courtesy expressions correctly
• Understanding and producing simple everyday workplace phrases
• Asking for and providing basic information in French
• Writing short, simple messages for professional contexts

This course is designed for participants starting at A0–A1. All instruction is in Finnish. Content is customised to the organisation's industry and the specific business situations participants face.

Professionals who are new to French and need it for work

This course is for professionals who have little or no French and need to reach a functional beginner level (A1–A2) for business use. It is not a general language course: every session is built around professional communication situations. Instruction is entirely in Finnish.

What participants walk away with

Flexible to fit your team

Frequently asked questions

Interested in Business French: Beginner training?

Language training is not the goal. Professional impact is.

Maria Kunz · Director of Studies · +358 (0) 40 5877 142 · iwginstitute.com