The Franco-English double degree master's FLE (Français Langue Etrangère)/PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education) was set up in 2005. It originated from the double degree maîtrise FLE/PGCE created in 1992. Around 2002, the maîtrise FLE/PGCE degree evolved into a master's FLE/PGCE involving 10 partners: nine French universities (Paris 8, Paris 5, Paris Ouest-Nanterre-La Défense, Pau, Lyon 2, Aix-Marseille, Le Mans, Nancy and Strasbourg) and one English university (the University of Cumbria, UoC, on three sites – Lancaster, Carlisle and Greenwich). In 2007, a Scottish partner joined the existing consortium: the University of Glasgow. A Franco-Scottish double diploma master's FLE/PGDE (Postgraduate Diploma in Education) is now offered to the master's FLE students of the French universities, who therefore have the option of two different routes (an English PGCE or a Scottish PGDE) to become qualified teachers of modern foreign languages (MFL). These Franco-British double diplomas are undertaken mainly by French graduates (a cohort of about 30 every year) but they are also open to British graduates.

The first part of the chapter is devoted to the setting up of the Franco-English diploma and the way it is presently working at the UoC, well known for its distinctive methodology for teaching foreign languages. The second part focuses on the University of Nanterre, which joined the consortium in 2004 and which provided in 2009/10 around 60 per cent of the entire French cohort (16 students out of 28 on the Greenwich site of the UoC).