My Child Dislikes Learning Chinese. What Can I Do?
Does your child dread learning Chinese?
Is your child refusing to do his or her Chinese homework?
Finding out the underlying reasons behind his or her negative emotions will give you a better idea of how you can solve the problem. From our years of experience in teaching Chinese, we have found the top 3 reasons why students are not motivated to learn the language.
1. Students are Afraid of Using the Language Outside of Class
Even as your child learns Chinese in school, you may notice that he or she struggles to speak the language in everyday conversations.
Building your child’s proficiency in Chinese has a lot to do with his or her confidence in using the language. Language confidence is not only about being able to articulate thoughts and opinions with confidence, but also about using the language in a way that others can understand.
2. Students Find Chinese Lessons Uninteresting
Mastering the Chinese language is not just about learning the precise order of strokes (笔画 bǐ huà) and pronunciations (音调 yīn diào).
In school, teachers may have limited time and capacity to include fun elements in lessons. At home, you may take the chance to explore creative ways to foster a genuine interest in the subject with your child.
3. Students Can’t Score Well in School
Getting poor results for an exam can be disheartening — it’s no different with Chinese exams too. Without a good foundation, mastering the Chinese language can be challenging.
Xin Zhong Wen’s Recommendation: Build Your Child’s Confidence in Chinese with Ample Practice
Encourage the use of Chinese language at home
Using the language at home serves as additional practice for your child to apply what he or she has learnt in class in a comfortable environment.
It is important to let your child know that it is okay to speak imperfect Mandarin in informal conversations. When conversing at home, first allow your child to use English for terms that he or she does not know how to express in Chinese, then teach them the correct Chinese term for it.
Help your child manage each subject component with a systematic approach
Composition
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Framework For every composition, we will guide students to write it using a structured framework Descriptive Techniques We teach your child descriptive techniques to help vary his or her sentences |
Encourage crafting stories at home.
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Comprehension
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Comprehension Workshops Workshops focusing on specific question types are conducted periodically to help students master the correct answering techniques |
Begin revision from simpler questions before progressing to more difficult questions.
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Oral
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Oral Presentation Allow students to express themselves in topics that are of interest to them For example, an introduction to an attraction in Singapore |
Encourage using Chinese during daily activities.
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You Are Invited: Xin Zhong Wen’s Back-to-School Seminar
From learning new words in preschool to the preparing for the PSLE, learning Chinese in Singapore is truly a unique journey with unique challenges.
We’ve asked parents what challenges their children face when learning Chinese and designed targeted seminars to offer you and your child our best practices and solutions.
If you have any questions about our programmes, please email us at [email protected] or call us at 6500 8111 and we will be happy to assist you.