EAQUALS – Press conference (Tuesday 15th September 2009)
Press release
PROLINGUA, accredited member of “Eaquals”
On the 15th of September 2009, Prolingua Language Centre invited the press to its premises at 61 rue de Strasbourg to announce its membership of EAQUALS, The European Association for Quality Language Services.
Nelly Perrotte, Director of Studies, welcomed the press and introduced Richard Rossner, Chief Executive of Eaquals.
Mr. Rossner then presented his association with emphasis on the importance of quality and quality control in language training.
EAQUALS, a pan-European quality association for language training providers, is the only organisation to offer independent and widely-recognised certification for language schools. Thanks to its formal inspection scheme, EAQUALS is able to guarantee the quality offered by its accredited members.
Its aim is to offer or supply guarantees of quality to foreign language learners and to those who pay for the learners (individuals or companies), to guarantee that courses offered are effective, of good quality and correspond to the clients’ needs.. Each member school is inspected and audited every 3 years for 2 days by 2 independent inspectors.
Eaquals only awards its guarantee of quality to organisations which respect its quality standards.
An EAQUALS member guarantees its clients :
- Tranparency: EAQUALS members are committed to providing clear, accurate and complete information about all aspects of the courses and services offered.
- Quality teaching: Effective, well-planned and enjoyable teaching by well-qualified, trained staff with access to extensive teaching resources and teacher development programmes.
- Curriculum: A tried and tested teaching/learning system with a clearly defined curriculum. Objectives and assessment are based upon the Common European Framework of Reference. Balance and variety in the programme are assured.
- A balanced and varied study programme : The teaching system offers clearly defined content and the objectives and evaluations are directly linked to the CEFR , Common European Framework of Reference.
- Appropriate standards: The standards used as inspection criteria are specific to language teaching. The main aim of the EAQUALS scheme is to assess the actual activity of language schools. The focus is on the school-in-action and the experience of its clients.
- External quality control: The existence of internal quality assurance systems is verified and all aspects of the school are rigorously controlled during EAQUALS inspections which take place every 3 years.
EAQUALS, founded in 1991 by a group of European language schools who wanted to establish norms in language training, has 102 accredited members in 22 countries and 20 associate members.
The press conference ended with a question and answer session and an aperatif during which Fernand Wolter, Director of Prolingua Language Centre, thanked the press for coming and Mr. Richard Rossner for his participation.
For more information go to www.eaquals.org.
