Mandarin Classes

I'm at my wits' end. Both Joshua and Joanne are not keen on learning their mother tongue. Oh, they used to be multi-lingual back in KL. They spoke to their grandparents and dad in Hakka and Mandarin, me in English and the maid in Malay.

Now, they seem only proficient in one language. While I'm glad they have absolutely no problem with English - in fact, Joshua is so good in English he's apparently one year ahead of his expected level - I think I may have failed them when it comes to learning Mandarin or Hakka.

I'd tried teaching them Mandarin at home. I actually brought along some books from KL. But after a few attempts, I gave up. I didn't have enough time and the kids just wouldn't take me seriously. So Alex and I did what good parents do - we enrolled them in a Chinese school.

Well, this is not the Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan you see in Malaysia. Most Chinese schools in Melbourne only run on weekends and they usually rent their premises from existing secondary schools. Joshua's and Joanne's "school" is only from 9.30am to 12.15am. So you can imagine how much one can learn in such a short time.

Still, it's better than nothing. At least the trained and skilled teachers will be able to drill something into their heads. And it helps that I can supervise their work. I wonder how non-Mandarin speaking parents deal with their kids' homework. It's not easy. You actually have to sit next to them to make sure they do their work correctly. No wonder my nephew Andrew dropped out after a few terms. He's a bright boy but having parents who were English-educated didn't help him much.

Anyway, Joshua and Joanne were not happy about their Chinese school at first. But they didn't have a say in this. They are learning. Joshua is quite fast. Not surprising since he went to a Chinese kindergarten in KL. Joanne is a little slower but she's picking up. I have to give my mother-in-law credit here. She spent quite some time teaching them the basic strokes way back in KL and when she visited recently.

The thing is, they still refuse to answer me in Mandarin. I have to cajole, threaten and reward them to get them to do that. But this is not a problem unique to them. Most Chinese kids here display the same reluctance. I know that because almost ALL the kids at the Chinese school speak among themselves in English! Makes you wonder if this is working at all!

I don't expect my kids to be able to read, write and speak the language the way I do (I went to both primary and secondary Chinese schools, after all). It's just not realistic with the kind of time they spend learning it. But at least, I hope, they won't be completely clueless when someone speaks to them in Mandarin.

Now I'll just have to consciously switch to Mandarin every now and then to get them interested.