Thomas Chaurin
Director of Languages for All

Address
- Street
-
Paterson’s Land, room G26
Holyrood Campus - City
- Edinburgh
- Post code
- EH8 8AQ
Availability
Monday - Friday 09:00 - 17:00
Background
Thomas Chaurin holds a Master’s degree in French as a Foreign Language from the University of Rennes 2. He has an extensive experience in language teaching, language teachers’ training, curriculum development, the Common European Framework of Reference for languages and its applications (e.g. European Language Portfolio, Reference Level Descriptors, international language qualifications, European Profiling Grid), quality processes, and management of academic teams and of organisations.
Prior to joining the Centre for Open Learning, Thomas was a Research Associate at Moray House School of Education and Sport taking part in a research project analysing the factors of successful language learning in Scottish schools. He was previously the Scotland based Education Attaché of the French Embassy in the UK (2014-2018), the Executive Director of the Alliance Française of Washington DC (2010-2013) and of the Alliance Française of Calgary (2007-2010). Thomas has also held academic roles in France, Spain, Chile, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Slovakia.
Responsibilities & affiliations
- Treasurer and Scottish members representative on the Executive Committee of the AULC, the Association of University Language Communities in the UK and Ireland https://aulc.org/
- Treasurer of FLEUR, the Association of French Teachers in Further and Higher Education in the UK https://fleurnetwork.org/
- External Examiner for Certificate of Higher Education (Languages) in Lifelong Learning at Cardiff University https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/part-time-courses-for-adults/courses/qualifications
- Board Member of the French Film Festival UK https://frenchfilmfestival.org.uk/
Undergraduate teaching
Thomas teaches on the CAHSS Access programme for adults returning to education: Access Programme | Centre for open learning
He also teaches French Lifelong Learning courses: French | Centre for open learning
Project activity
Thomas contributed to TILES, a self-evaluation tool designed to drive improvement in languages learning and teaching in schools:
https://www.tiles.education.ed.ac.uk/
Thomas contributed to various AULC and FLEUR reports:
- FLEUR 2024 Survey on Teaching French as a Foreign Language in UK Higher Education: 2024-Survey-on-Teaching-French-as-a-Foreign-Language-in-UK-Higher-Education.pdf
- AULC survey of Institution-Wide Language Provision in the Universities in the UK (2022-23): AULC-survey-report-2022-23-final.pdf
- AULC survey of Institution-Wide Language Provision in the Universities in the UK (2021-22): AULC-UCML-survey-report-2021-22.pdf