LA CARTOGRAPHIE MENTALE DANS LES LANGUES ÉTRANGÈRES SUR OBJECTIFS SPÉCIFIQUES : ÉTUDE DE CAS SUR LE FRANÇAIS DES AFFAIRES/ MENTAL MAPPING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES ON SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES: A CASE STUDY ON BUSINESS FRENCH

• Main Authors: Felicia Constantin, Carmen Avram
• Format: Article
• Language: deu
• Published: University of Oradea 2021-03-01
• Series: Journal of Languages for Specific Purposes
• Subjects: mind map; conceptual map; mental mapping; foreign languages for specific purposes; french business
• Online Access: http://jlsp.steconomiceuoradea.ro/archives/008/5.pdf

The influx of information makes it more and more difficult to learn. The use of tools that could optimize intellectual activity therefore becomes a necessity. Mental mapping or the graphic representation of information is an instrument used in scientific research, in professional fields that involve project management, but also in the field of personal development; its main role is to illustrate communication, organize information or optimize analyses. Despite its proven utility for learning, there are only isolated attempts to introduce mind mapping into university economics education. Economics students use it especially at the end of their initial training, in the professional environment, using specific software. Our article reports on experimental work carried out in a faculty of economics, in business French class. This work aimed at the graphic representation of the definition of a notion of economic vocabulary, by students in the second year of study. The business French course is not intended for training in mind mapping, but it can use it. The students’ productions are rather hybrids between mind maps and concept maps, and they keep the main elements: nodes, links or qualified relations. They are improvable, but the results obtained give us confidence that concept mapping may well prove to be an effective technique to help students move from mainly rote learning to predominantly meaningful learning. Mind mapping has a positive effect on the organization and retention of information in foreign languages ​​for specific purposes, being at the same time a lexical inventory and an information exploitation tool.