Part of that adaptation includes the approach to discipline.

"In France if a student does not work hard and hands homework in late, I deduct a mark and criticize them," she says. In China she asks teachers not to punish students but always to encourage them.

"When a Chinese student submits work in time or ahead of time, we add a point to the final score. They look forward to getting praise and then do better and better."

However, the most important prerequisite to learning is passion, she says.

When China Daily visited a classroom recently, 20 students, all aged about 20, were busy at their desks drawing a shirt pattern on white paper. It was a lesson about colors, said the teacher, Aurelien Lecour.

Lecour, who has more than 10 years' experience of pattern making and fashion marketing, said the work is arduous, but he does not mind being tired because producing good work demands time.

"I think my students are motivated. They know their ideal, and they are making an effort to achieve their goals."

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