About us
The Language Centre of the University of Fribourg opened its doors at the start of the September 2008 academic year, bringing with it the body of knowledge and know-how of the former Centre for Teaching and Researching Foreign Languages (CERLE).
CERLE was composed of six major units: German as a Foreign Language (DaF), French and Italian as Foreign Languages (FLE and ILS), English as a Foreign Language (EFL), Plurilingualism, Bilingue Plus, and the Multimedia Centre (Médiathèque/Mediathek) for self-study.
CERLE had a triple mandate: Training, research, and development.
Development and research are now the responsibility of the university’s new Department of Plurilingualism and Foreign Languages and the Institute for Plurilingualism.
The Language Centre’s job is to provide training in foreign languages. Thus, the teaching and learning of English, French, German, and Italian as foreign languages as well as bilingueplus and the self-study centre, formerly the médiathèque, have been regrouped into a single entity, the Language Centre, to allow a new synergy.
The Language Centre’s mission is primarily language teaching and learning in the spirit of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Its mission also includes continual reflection on and observation of practices and advances in teaching and learning methods with the aim of offering students the best possible learning environment. The principal objective of the Language Centre is to allow the greatest possible number of students and researchers at the University of Fribourg to learn one or more foreign languages in such a way as to foster their mobility within the university and also beyond it.
Last, this centre is a living structure with secretaries, librarians, media centre specialists, teachers, a director, and users. None of these people who constitute the centre can be neglected if the centre is to grow and develop in harmony and mutual respect.
Catherine Blons-Pierre
Director of the Language Centre
