Dr Catherine Chabert
BA, MA, SFHEA, PGCE-HE, PhD
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Teams and roles for Catherine Chabert
Emeritus Reader
Overview
My academic career spans over three decades and has strongly been associated with the internationalisation of higher education. I have held senior leadership roles in university lifelong learning, with the institution-wide language programme, Languages for All, and the Cardiff Confucius Institute. Until I retired from Cardiff in summer 2024, I worked with Xiamen University, with European language centres, and with French speaking university partners. My teaching of French language has been deeply shaped by the principles of andragogy and the international standards of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
I currently hold a number of positions, including membership of editorial boards and external examining. I would welcome consultancy work in fields related to areas mentioned above.
Publication
2021
- Chabert, C. and Worne, J. 2021. Catherine Chabert on the importance of the CEFR. The Linguist 60(6), pp. 30-31.
2020
- Chabert, C. 2020. UNILANG workshop. Presented at: 21st AULC Annual Conference January 2020, Maynooth, Ireland, 9-10 January 2020.
2018
- Chabert, C. 2018. UNILANG - a case-study from the UK. Presented at: 15th International CercleS Conference, Poznan, Poland, 6-8 September 2018.
2017
- Chabert, C. 2017. The political dimension of the CEFR. Presented at: 6th Bremen Symposium On Language Learning And Teaching At Universities, Bremen, Germany, 24-25 February 2017.
2016
- Chabert, C. 2016. How to promote exchange and share experience to further improve Confucius Institutes’ teaching quality. Presented at: 8th Xiamen University Confucius Institute Partnership, Kunming, China, 8 - 9 December 2016.
2015
- Chabert, C. 2015. Supporting outward mobility- The role of Languages for All. Presented at: Go International 2015: Innovation and Motivation Conference, London, UK, 29 April 2015.
2014
- Chabert, C. 2014. De la place stratégique des politiques de 'Languages for All' dans l'enseignement supérieur britannique. Presented at: XXIIe Congrès RANACLES, Boulogne-sur-Mer, France, 27-29 November 2014.
- Chabert, C. 2014. Reshaping modern languages at Cardiff University – a case study. Presented at: Reshaping Languages in Higher Education conference 2014, Southampton, 9 -10 July 2014.
2012
- Chabert, C. and Eckart, H. 2012. Language provision for non-specialists in HE: Are we getting it right?. Presented at: Language Futures: Languages in Higher Education conference 2012, Edinburgh, UK, 5-6 July 2012.
2010
- Chabert, C. 2010. Higher Education Policy-Making in France and in the UK. Presented at: SRHE Annual Research Conference 2010, Newport, UK, 14-16 December 2010.
2006
- Chabert, C. 2006. L’Université Virtuelle Britannique. Distances et Savoirs 4(1), pp. 23-40. (10.3166/ds.4.23-40)
Articles
- Chabert, C. and Worne, J. 2021. Catherine Chabert on the importance of the CEFR. The Linguist 60(6), pp. 30-31.
- Chabert, C. 2006. L’Université Virtuelle Britannique. Distances et Savoirs 4(1), pp. 23-40. (10.3166/ds.4.23-40)
Conferences
- Chabert, C. 2020. UNILANG workshop. Presented at: 21st AULC Annual Conference January 2020, Maynooth, Ireland, 9-10 January 2020.
- Chabert, C. 2018. UNILANG - a case-study from the UK. Presented at: 15th International CercleS Conference, Poznan, Poland, 6-8 September 2018.
- Chabert, C. 2017. The political dimension of the CEFR. Presented at: 6th Bremen Symposium On Language Learning And Teaching At Universities, Bremen, Germany, 24-25 February 2017.
- Chabert, C. 2016. How to promote exchange and share experience to further improve Confucius Institutes’ teaching quality. Presented at: 8th Xiamen University Confucius Institute Partnership, Kunming, China, 8 - 9 December 2016.
- Chabert, C. 2015. Supporting outward mobility- The role of Languages for All. Presented at: Go International 2015: Innovation and Motivation Conference, London, UK, 29 April 2015.
- Chabert, C. 2014. De la place stratégique des politiques de 'Languages for All' dans l'enseignement supérieur britannique. Presented at: XXIIe Congrès RANACLES, Boulogne-sur-Mer, France, 27-29 November 2014.
- Chabert, C. 2014. Reshaping modern languages at Cardiff University – a case study. Presented at: Reshaping Languages in Higher Education conference 2014, Southampton, 9 -10 July 2014.
- Chabert, C. and Eckart, H. 2012. Language provision for non-specialists in HE: Are we getting it right?. Presented at: Language Futures: Languages in Higher Education conference 2012, Edinburgh, UK, 5-6 July 2012.
- Chabert, C. 2010. Higher Education Policy-Making in France and in the UK. Presented at: SRHE Annual Research Conference 2010, Newport, UK, 14-16 December 2010.
Teaching
Some of the modules I have taught
- High-level Proficiency in French Language (Final year UG)
- French for Professional Purposes (Final year UG)
- French for Professionals in the EU Context (Final year UG Business School)
- Developing Oral and Aural Skills (Year 2 UG Business School)
- Higher Intermediate B1 (Languages for All)
- Advanced B2 (Languages for All)
Programmes I have developed and taken through Quality Assurance validation
- Languages for All (in the first six languages, from A1 to B1)
- Business School UG degrees with a minor in a Modern Language)
- BA Chinese Studies (the language side from HSK1 to HSK5)
Other Quality Assurance roles
- 2020: University of Sussex (External Academic on the Validation pannel for BA Languages and Intercultural Studies)
- 2017: University of Liverpool (External Reviewer on the 3-Year Minor Subject Components in Chinese, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish)
- 2016: University of Manchester (Periodic Review of the Faculty of Humanities, LEAP - Language Experience for All Programme)
- 2014 and 2015: Aberystwyth University (Lead External Examiner at the School of Education and Lifelong Learning for Modern Languages, Humanities, Sciences and Arts)
Recent External Examining roles
- University of Sussex (2023-2027)
- University of Surrey (2018-2022)
- Technological University Dublin (2018-2021)
- University of Sheffield (2017-2018 )
- University of Manchester (2013-2017)
- Aberystwyth University (2012-2017)
Biography
A graduate of Lyon and Cardiff, I have held different postions in Cardiff University for nearly three decades.
Honours and awards
- 2019 Xiamen University's Best Confucius Institute
- 2016: I was awarded Xiamen University’s 2016 Confucius Institute Individual Performance Excellence Award from Hanban-Southern Base
- 2016: Languages for All was shortlisted in the Outstanding Support for Students category for the Times Higher Education Awards
- 2015: Languages for All was awarded the Cardiff University Celebrating Excellence Award for Outstanding Contribution to the University’s International Activities
Professional memberships
- Chair of UNILANG (this is a recognition scheme which serves to help UK university students articulate and translate their language learning outcomes in terms of the CEFR) until 2022.
- Member of AULC's executive committee (Wales Representative) until 2023.
- Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
- Member of CercleS's executive committee (Deputy Secretary General) until 2019
- Member of the UCML's executive committee (Wales Representative) until 2018
- Accredited Assessor and Trainer for the French diplomas of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (DELF-DALF), A1 to C2 (Centre International d’Etudes Pédagogiques), three successive accreditations since 1999 (Current accreditation: 2022-2027)
- Accredited Assessor for the Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie de Paris CCIP – DFP B2 (Diplôme de Français Professionnel B2)
- Practical Leadership for University Management – ILM (2009)
Supervisions
- International education policy-making
- Comparative education
- Language standards (CEFR, etc.)
- Virtual education, virtual university