The French as a Foreign Language quality label

The State has set up a system to guarantee the quality of schools teaching French as a Foreign Language in France.

"More than 100,000 people come to France each year to learn French. Nearly 300 schools of all kinds - public, private, community - offer this service. So a justified need was felt, both by individual users and by French diplomatic bodies which advise foreigners, for a complete register based on valid criteria to help in the choice of course. For this reason the Ministries of National Education, Higher Education and Research (board of higher education), Foreign Affairs (board of international co-operation and development) and Culture and Communication (general delegation charged with French and French languages) resolved to ask the CIEP (Centre international d´études pédagogiques) to create a label for schools teaching French as a foreign language in France.

This system enables us to identify, recognize and promote those schools whose teaching and services are guaranteed to meet the required standard." Since 2007 all language schools in France which teach French to foreigners and meet a set of objective criteria have the label “Qualité français langue étrangère”.

The SOUFFLE member schools undertake

1. TO PROVIDE CLEAR, TRUTHFUL, COMPLETE AND PROMPT INFORMATION ON :

1.1. The conditions of enrollment and cancelation

  • The minimum age.
  • Monitoring and legal cover for minors.
  • The administrative requirements for entry into and residence in France.

1.2. The courses offered

  • The objectives.
  • The teaching method.
  • How the lessons are run.
  • The duration and timetable of sessions.
  • The number of teaching hours.
  • How a student’s level of language skills is assessed.
  • The composition of the groups (maximum and minimum numbers).
  • The teaching teams.
  • The methods of validating achievement (certificates, diplomas, tests…).
  • The materials available to students.
  • The costs, including exactly what is covered.

1.3. Accommodation options and the additional activities on offer

2. To extend the warmest welcome to students

To inform them of the complaints procedure and to be ready to do everything possible to help them facilitate their stay in France.

3. To provide high-quality teaching by means of :

3.1. Assigning students to a group appropriate to their level after initially evaluating their language skills.
3.2. Strictly respecting the pledges in the center documentation (see paragraph 1.2).
3.3. The monitoring of students by qualified specialist teachers.
3.4. Classrooms and equipment adapted to up-to-date methods of modern language teaching 3.5 An appropriate system of evaluating achievement.

4. Regarding accommodation :

4.1. To offer selected and inspected accommodation options at the students’ request.
4.2. To send students details of their accommodation before they arrive.
4.3. To specify the terms and conditions (tariffs, services provided, methods of reservation, cancellation, payment and the settlement of any disputes) .

5. To inform students of local options and/or to offer them cultural, leisure and sporting activities, specifying whether each of these is free or liable to an extra charge

6. To observe current health and safety regulations

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Student testimonials

Shelby (USA)
"Everyone at Eurocentres La Rochelle is very knowledgeable and helpful. George and Valerie are super nice and are willing to help you with anything."
Carol (Brazil)
"The teachers are well prepared, the lessons are very interactive and the students are really nice. I have met people from all over the world. I am having the best time here in Paris and would strongly recommend Eurocentres for anyone who wishes to learn french."
Vaishnavi Kumar (India)
"IFALPES is definitely the best place to learn & appreciate the language and the people."
Harry & Janice (USA)
"We have had several immersion language experiences, and the ILP is by far the best we have encountered. We appreciated the friendly staff, small size of classes, and the flexible modular schedule adaptable to our ongoing outside profes-sional commitments."
Eva (Sweden)
"I’m content with my 2 week stay at Millefeuille and I think that I’ve made good progress."
Juan (Colombia)
"Planète Langues is probably the best place to learn a new language, make friends and have a totally cool experience!"
Carlos
"My stay in Amboise was excellent, the inhabitants are very friendly and it is a great opportunity to learn the French language in a charming town."
Anastasia ( Russia)
"The lessons were excellent. These French lessons in Paris were really what i was looking for. Hope to come back soon!"
Jenny (Australia)
"My experience at CREA-Langues has been outstanding, not only from the language point of view, but for the opportunity to engage with staff and other students informally. The organisation and attending to detail is simply superb. I have every intention to return. "
Pavel (Russia)
"I've had the best experience at Regency School because the teachers were very professional and i thank them all."
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