The Qualité français langue étrangère certification was created by decree in 2007 with a view to identify, recognise and promote French foreign language centres whose language teaching and services presented assurances of quality.

Objectives of the certification

The aim is to put in place a quality assurance process to give the target audiences the confidence they need and assist diplomatic missions and the network of French Institutes and Alliances Françaises to develop a reliable offer of French classes that reflects the demand, the needs of the target audience and the profile of the students concerned.

The aim is also to support centres in developing an approach for gradually improving service quality, regardless of whether or not the centre in question has applied for certification, to the extent that all tools are available and suitable for the purposes of self-assessment.

Target audience

All language centres located in France that provide teaching in French to foreign nationals and meet a series of objective criteria can obtain Qualité français langue étrangère certification, regardless of their status - public, private or association-based.

In order to be able to apply for certification the centre must meet a series of admissibility criteria.

Commitments on the part of the State

The State agrees to recognise, by means of this quality assurance process and in the form of a certification, the quality of the services provided by French centres and to promote all certified centres through the network of diplomatic missions and French Institutes and Alliances Françaises.

The State also agrees to circulate information pertaining to the certification and to make it an instrument for promoting the French language in the framework of student and professional mobility.