CUEFUniversity Centre for French Studies

The new CUEF Management Board took office in September 2021:

Director Anne-Cécile Perret has worked at the CUEF as a teacher since 2014. She has coordinated many projects, such as Mooc2Move and Self FLE. Between 2006 and 2013, Anne-Cécile worked with the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs in Nigeria and Mauritania on educational projects in connection with French teaching.
Gaëlle Karcher, deputy director, joined the CUEF in 2007 as a teacher and trainer. She was the head of exams and is currently still director of studies for the LLFC DU - Linguistics, French Language and Communication diploma. Between 1999 and 2006, Gaëlle worked at the Ministry of Immigration in Montreal, Paris CCI and Hanoi University of Science and Technology, all in connection with educational projects and teacher training.
Eve Terrein, administrative director, has been working with the teams since 2019. Eve is particularly attentive to ensuring that the structure’s administrative and financial operations run smoothly.

You know the Centre well, you have been working closely with the teams for several years and you have held multiple roles. How is this an advantage?

Knowing the CUEF team and its history is an advantage as it allows me to be operational more quickly for the missions entrusted to us. I have the trust of my colleagues, which makes it possible to move forward smoothly.

The CUEF joined Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA) in 2012. How is the CUEF currently positioned?

The CUEF is an entity that is somewhat separate from the university. Its economic framework and student population is different to other units. The CUEF organises its work around two areas:
classes aimed at international students, who come for an immersion experience to learn French at the CUEF, and courses aimed at FLE professionals who wish to develop their skills.
Our public service mission allows all international students starting studies at UGA to access FLE classes.
Being part of the university allows international students to pursue their studies at a French university, once they have reached the required level of French.
A lot of the ties between the university and the CUEF are also created through research teams in the FLE section, DILIPEM and LIDILEM at UGA. These exchanges, between teaching practices and research into education, allow for mutual enrichment.

For nearly two years, international travel has been reduced due to the pandemic. How is the CUEF handling it?

The international pandemic had an impact on the CUEF’s activity, like it did on most FLE actors in France. Overnight, we had to move all our classes for our students online. This period demonstrated our team’s ability to structure our range of courses for remote learning and develop our digital skills quickly.
A digital unit was created at the beginning of the pandemic, to support teachers as well as to steer various digital projects: UGAFle and eFle were reorganised; a phonetics platform was modelled last summer.
The teams also made use of this period to create new course plans to respond to the needs of partners and students. At present, we are seeing things pick up slowly again, which is very motivating.

Where do you see the CUEF in 10 years?

More long-term, we would like the CUEF to be identified as a reference institution for certain skills: phonetics, digital, assessment and the entire “teacher training” area.
The aim is also to strengthen our connections with university units, to develop new bridging pathways for students.

The CUEF is 125 years old this year. How does that inspire you?

It’s very exciting to be part of history! For the occasion, we took the plunge into the CUEF archives. Looking back on 125 years made us realise that such difficult times are only passing. Over the years, the CUEF has always been able to bounce back!