Patrick de Bouter is the president of Groupement FLE, a group of French language schools that work together to guarantee quality services to French learners. The PIE caught up with him to discuss the group’s evolution.
The PIE: Patrick, can you explain briefly how the Groupement FLE came to be?
PdB: In the beginning, in 1994, we had the sole ambition of listing the addresses of schools or centres for French as a foreign language (FLE) corresponding to certain quality criteria.The schools listed came together to form an association, with a code of ethics and the first draft of a quality charter.
From one year to the next, the required quality standards have been increasingly fine tuned and reinforced, and at the same time, the practice of pooling information and resources has become a fundamental pillar in the spirit of the Groupement FLE.
Rapidly, thanks in large part to a vigorous campaign of promotion directed towards institutions and agents, Groupement FLE increased its reputation and came to be considered as a legitimate, credible partner. In 2010, Groupement FLE became an active member of the steering committee for the French ministerial accreditation project. The Management Board is composed of six members, all volunteers, and today there are 32 member centres.
The PIE: How is Groupement FLE evolving and adapting?
PdB: The Groupement FLE is now a key actor in a process of quality which can be found throughout all areas of working life in France. Previously French schools worked individually, each in their own corner; the first idea of the Groupement FLE was to help people to get to know each other better and to work together on promoting their centres.
Working on quality was the logical extension to this. The Groupement FLE was the first group in France to have a code of ethics and a charter of quality. The “Label Qualité FLE” now proposed by the French government is an internationally recognised accreditation label, and Groupement FLE is a key and respected actor in ongoing discussions on this national accreditation process.
“Groupement FLE is a key and respected actor in ongoing discussions on this national accreditation process”
We work closely with the CIEP as a source of ideas to promote the “Label Qualité FLE”, giving our centres better promotion and a return on their investment. The Groupement FLE represents not only its members but also the whole of the profession through its membership of and active participation in the “Conference” – an informal structure regrouping the Groupement FLE, ADCUEFE, Souffle and UNOSEL.
The PIE: Why do you believe members choose to join the Groupement FLE?
PdB: For three things: mutualisation (pooling information and resources), quality, promotion. We are a very active organisation, not just a shop-front. We always aim to transform our ideas into actions – we are obviously rivals, but above all we are colleagues. We have a website and directory which promote our member centres. [more>>]
PdB: The annual ‘Journées Professionnelles’ are an ideal opportunity for all of our member centres to meet and exchange on what has been achieved in the previous year and on what needs to be done in the future. Our ‘Memento’, a booklet containing advice and legal information on the many different aspects of running a language centre, is a reference document used by our members throughout the year. The constant aim, recognised by more and more people, is to raise the profession to ever higher levels.
The PIE: To what extent does the French government get involved with the industry and help promote it?
PdB: With the French presidential elections approaching, we can only hope that the French government will in the near future listen to the profession and participate more in the promotion of the French language.
It’s a shame that the current visa restrictions have resulted in many students choosing Switzerland or Canada rather than France to learn French, but as you know only too well we are obviously not alone in suffering from visa problems.
The PIE: Do Groupement FLE members work with education agents and to what extent can these relationships be improved?
PdB: Yes they certainly do, even though working with agents is still relatively new for some centres which have in the past traditionally worked more through the network of French embassies and cultural institutes. We have increased our presence and visibility at agent workshops. We have a stand at ALPHE London and ICEF Berlin, and are currently investigating the possibility of attending more workshops in the future.
Our emphasis on quality is a guarantee for agents and this reassures them when they decide to start working with one of our member centres. At our annual meeting in Lyon in January one of the workshops was a very fruitful discussion on what is important for an agent when working with a language centre. Our ultimate aim is to produce a guide on mutual good working practices for centre-agent partnerships.
The PIE: Which are France’s best source countries across GFLE membership?
PdB: They are incredibly varied! Each centre has its own target countries, this depends on the destinations and the relations the centres have with their agents. But for some there are also obvious geographical implications, for example our centres in the south of France tend to attract students from neighbouring countries such as Spain and Italy, particularly in the summer months. Each centre has developed partnerships with agents in specific countries or is present in certain niche markets.
“It’s a shame that the current visa restrictions have resulted in many students choosing Switzerland or Canada”
The PIE: How do you think the Français comme Langue Etrangere (FLE) market is faring in general?
PdB: In the last few years the French language has suffered from the increasing importance of other languages such as Spanish, and the language market in France has faced competition from other countries, notably Canada. But France is still the number one tourist destination worldwide, renowned for its quality of life and variety in so many different ways, and this attractiveness means that large numbers of people still want to learn to speak French. So the general feeling among our members is that they are still very optimistic about the future.
