Originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, born in Kinshasa, I grew up in Toulouse in the South of France. I’m married with three children, who are my greatest joys and motivation in life. I did my initial schooling in France: after studying French literature, I graduated high school specializing in administrative communication. After obtaining my Brevet de Technicien Supérieur in tourism sales and production, I started working in the aeronautical sector, with Air France at Toulouse-Blagnac airport and at the Air France Jean Jaurès travel agency. In 2007, I left my “ville rose” (Toulouse) to move to London, England. I lived in London for 5 years and it was there that my teaching career began. The pleasure of teaching grew in me over the years, and I took the training route and gained the “National Vocational Qualification”, at Redbridge Adult College.
In 2012, my family and I left England for the United States and the city of Portland, Maine, where, as a volunteer in a local elementary school, I set up early reading activities in English for the children. This American school helped me discover an educational system different from that of England.
In 2015, back in Toulouse, I obtained a Master 1 “Métiers de L’Enseignement, de l’Éducation et de la Formation” and a Master 2 “Enseigner à l’Étranger”. Between 2016 and 2022, I taught at the secondary school level in the region of Toulouse, and passed the Capes exam as an English teacher and became a qualified teacher with the French Ministry of Education. Since March 2023, I’ve been living in Maine, a state historically and culturally linked to France. So, as a Frenchwoman, I’m happy and honored to be a link in the chain that connects Maine to France through the Alliance Française du Maine.
Ariane Meno Kobo
