Teaching Chinese in Egypt

Passant Sayed Khalil is a Chinese teacher at the Confucius Institute of Cairo University in Egypt. She won the 18th "Chinese Bridge" World University Chinese Language Competition in 2019. From being a shy girl to becoming the world champion of the "Chinese Bridge" competition and then a young teacher at the Confucius Institute of Cairo University, Passant Sayed Khalil has completed the transformation from a student to a teacher. She has realized her lifelong dream of becoming an excellent Chinese teacher and fostering more cultural exchanges between China and Egypt.

From learning Chinese to teaching Chinese

Speaking of her experience learning Chinese, Passant Sayed Khalil said that she embarked on the journey of learning Chinese at the suggestion of her father. Her father believed that the relationship between Egypt and China was becoming increasingly close, with many Chinese companies setting up operations in Egypt, making learning Chinese very beneficial for future development.

However, her journey of learning Chinese was not without challenges. Passant Sayed Khalil recalled facing pronunciation difficulties in the first week of learning Chinese at Cairo University. "Chinese is completely different from my native Arabic language. So I needed to put in extra effort to learn."

Through continuous hard work, Passant Sayed Khalil's Chinese proficiency improved over time. In 2019, after intense competition, she won the global championship of the 18th "Chinese Bridge" World University Chinese Language Competition.

"Learning Chinese has made me a better version of myself," Passant Sayed Khalil said.

In September 2019, after graduating from Cairo University, Passant Sayed Khalil went to Beijing Normal University to pursue her master's degree. In July 2021, after two years of study and internship at the Confucius Institute of Cairo University, she successfully obtained her master's degree and became a Chinese teacher at the Confucius Institute of Cairo University.

"There are many people studying Chinese in Egypt now, and the numbers are increasing," Passant Sayed Khalil said.

Today, she often tells her students stories about China and its culture in the classroom. Her students, like she once was, face challenges with Chinese pronunciation, sentence construction, and writing. In these moments, she shares her secrets of learning Chinese with her students—practice more, face challenges, and also shows them places of interest in Beijing such as the Great Wall to experience Chinese culture.

Teaching experience in rural China

Winning the "Chinese Bridge" championship gave Passant Sayed Khalil great encouragement. At the same time, a seed began to sprout in her heart—to become a Chinese teacher and help more people learn Chinese. An experience during her third year of university further solidified her dream.

In 2018, she had the opportunity to study at Shandong University. During her studies, she served as the only foreign student in a volunteer teaching team and went to Ji'an, Jiangxi province, for a 10-day teaching mission.

Reflecting on this experience, Passant Sayed Khalil said that before joining the teaching project, the interviewer told her that she might be the first foreigner the children in the rural areas had ever seen, and it was hard to predict how they would react. However, in Jiangxi, she felt the warmth of the children. Many children cried when she left. Passant Sayed Khalil exchanged contact information with some children's parents, and even now, the parents occasionally message her, updating her on events in the village.

She said this teaching experience in rural areas truly strengthened her belief in becoming a Chinese teacher.

The 'Tiangong Dialogue': Women can do anything

In September 2022, as a young teacher, Passant Sayed Khalil engaged in the "Tiangong Dialogue" through a video call with Chinese astronauts at the Chinese space station. She sought advice from Chinese female astronaut Liu Yang on women's career development, to which Liu Yang responded, "As long as we have dreams in our hearts, we will have the strength under our feet."

Passant Sayed Khalil was deeply impressed by Liu Yang's response. "Liu Yang has delivered encouragement from space to women around the world, especially African women. The 'Tiangong Dialogue' was a wonderful experience, and we were all greatly inspired by it. Especially for young people, this experience will help them build great dreams."