Meng Teng was already in high school in Wuhan when she heard her first French words. It was an epiphany. One day, she would speak the language well enough to come and live in France. Today her dream has come true, even if there is a pretty baffling nuance of French that she has yet to master: the colloquial language!

The first time Meng Teng heard French, she was immediately won over. “I was in high school in Wuhan (China), and one of my teachers spoke a few words of French. It see- med so different from English!".

The curious student pushes further her exploration of this exotic language and its culture.

“I discovered that the Wuhan University had an exchange program with a school in France. It was then that I really started French lessons, to stack all the odds in my favor”.

In 2016, Meng finally set foot in Rouen to continue her studies at a business school. She didn’t really have time to get used to her new life; almost immediately, she got a job in the banking sector and settled in Paris.

Confusing expressions

“Once I got there, I knew that I really had to improve my French. Not only for work, in order to communicate better with customers, but also, quite simply, to make my daily life easier! To improve my professional vocabulary, I watch the news and listen to the radio, but that's not enough to really express myself in everyday life“.

Especially since the informal language can be somehow confusing to those who learn French, however rigorous they may be. “For example, I had a lot of trouble understan- ding the expression 'n’importe quoi’*. You use it a lot and… ‘n’importe quand’!**”

A pun in another language that speaks volume about Meng Teng’s progress.

I have the classes with the Alliance française de Paris to thank for. When I decided that I had to extend my knowledge of French, they were my immediate choice. On the one hand, because there is an Alliance française at the University of Wuhan and it has a very good reputation. And on the other, because my friends in France told me that the level there was very high’’.

Tailor-made courses

And within days of practice with the Alliance française team, Meng immediately felt she was gaining confidence. “The lessons are really great because the number of people is limited, which allows each person to be able to express themselves, to speak, to be lis- tened to and corrected by the teacher. And then, the contents are interesting because the teachers ask us what interests us, our hobbies, and they build the course around that. I, for example, asked to be able to chat casually with work colleagues when, in fact, we are not talking about work. At the coffee break, right? Little by little, I am lear- ning everyday French, which is very different from the one we learn in books ”.

An unfailing motivation

Meng Teng is now in Lyon, where she is starting a new chapter of her life, with a new job at a bank. But she insisted on continuing her commitment to the Alliance française de Paris - Ile-de-France, which she joins every week thanks to the remote-learning pro- cess.“There is a benefit to that, because it allows me to be part of a group and to exchange with people who connect from all over the world. For example, I admire a friend in the group who joins us every Saturday from Rio, Brazil. What it means is that, when the classes start at 9:30 am, she has to get up at 5:00 am to attend. That’s what I call dedication! ".


* ‘N’importe quoi’ can mean ‘anything’, ‘nonsense’, or ‘whatever’ depending on the context.

** ‘N’importe quand’ means ‘anytime’.