Meeting other parents at school: Small talk while waiting
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Key Phrases
Vous attendez aussi ?
Are you waiting too?
Oui, j'attends ma fille.
Yes, I am waiting for my daughter.
Vous habitez dans le quartier ?
Do you live in the neighborhood?
Skills You'll Learn
Ask and answer simple questions while waiting outside a school.
Poser et répondre à des questions simples en attendant devant l'école.
Talk about your child, their class, and their teacher.
Parler de son enfant, de sa classe et de son enseignante.
Discuss where you live, walking to school, and the weather.
Parler de son quartier, venir à pied et commenter le beau temps.
Lesson Roleplay
Imagine you are a parent chatting politely with another parent while waiting outside a primary school in France to pick up your child.
Bonjour, vous attendez aussi devant l'école ?
Hello, are you waiting outside the school too?
Oui, j'attends ma fille. Et vous ?
Yes, I'm waiting for my daughter. And you?
J'attends mon fils. Il est en CE1.
I'm waiting for my son. He's in second grade.
Ah, ma fille aussi ! Elle aime beaucoup sa maîtresse.
Ah, my daughter too! She really likes her teacher.
Mon fils aussi. Il parle souvent de la classe à la maison.
My son does too. He often talks about class at home.
Lesson Vocabulary & Phrases
Bonjour.
bohn-ZHOOR
Hello.
💬 Classic all-purpose hello. Pronounce it roughly like 'bohn-ZHOOR'.
🇫🇷 At school in France, saying bonjour first is important. It feels polite and friendly right away.
See breakdown →Vous
voo
You
💬 Vous means 'you' for one person politely or for several people. Very useful with other parents you don't know well.
🇫🇷 In school small talk, start with vous, not tu, unless the relationship becomes more informal.
See breakdown →Attendez
ah-tahn-DAY
Are waiting
💬 From attendre = 'to wait'. Attendez can mean 'you wait' or be part of a question like 'vous attendez ?'
🇫🇷 A simple waiting-related verb is handy at the school gate—everyone is doing exactly that.
See breakdown →Aussi
oh-SEE
Also / too
💬 Aussi means 'also/too'. Easy conversation glue word: moi aussi, ma fille aussi, etc.
🇫🇷 Repeating aussi is a natural way to build friendly connection in short parent chats.
See breakdown →Vous attendez aussi ?
voo ah-tahn-DAY oh-SEE
Are you waiting too?
💬 Literally 'Are you waiting too?' A simple, natural opener while standing together. The rising intonation makes it friendly.
🇫🇷 At pickup time, light questions like this are common and low-pressure—perfect French small talk.
See breakdown →Devant
duh-VAHN
In front of
💬 Devant means 'in front of/before'. Very useful for places: devant l'école, devant la porte.
🇫🇷 French school routines often happen physically outside the gate, so location phrases matter a lot.
See breakdown →L'école
l ay-KOL
The school
💬 École = school. The l' appears because école starts with a vowel.
🇫🇷 You'll hear école constantly in parent conversations: à l'école, devant l'école, après l'école.
See breakdown →Devant l'école
duh-VAHN l ay-KOL
In front of the school
💬 A practical place phrase. Note the link: devant + l'école.
🇫🇷 In France, parents often wait devant l'école rather than going far inside the building.
See breakdown →Oui
wee
Yes
💬 Short and essential. Pronounced like 'wee'.
🇫🇷 A warm oui with a little smile goes a long way in French small talk.
See breakdown →Learn this vocabulary list the easy way
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