Learning Chinese does not end after mastering composition writing for primary 3. Since there are over 50,000 Chinese characters and only 20,000 are used in daily life, one must educate themselves.

In that case, consider enrolling your child in a secondary Chinese tuition centre in Singapore to hone their Mandarin language skills. Here are other things your child should also do.

1. WATCH CHINESE TV SHOWS & WRITE THINGS DOWN

At first, every word is hard to understand. But as your child watches several Chinese TV shows with subtitles, your child will become more familiar with each word and understand its meaning. Afterwards, your child can write down any words they do not understand in their Chinese composition book so they can write each character several times.

2. LISTEN TO CHINESE SONGS

The same goes if your child listens to Chinese songs. Since Mandarin is a tonal language, memorising the way it sounds will help them remember it by heart and understand what each word means.

3. CONVERSE WITH OTHERS

As your child leverages their Mandarin vocabulary, they should also put themselves to the test. Conversing with others will help them practice what Chinese characters to use as a reply. That is what the secondary Chinese tuition centre in Singapore does. They ask students to speak Chinese with one another.

4. WRITE 10 CHINESE CHARACTERS FROM MEMORY

Even though writing 10 Chinese characters from memory does not seem like much, it can help your child remember them so they can use them in daily conversation.

5. ADD LABELS TO THINGS AT HOME

Another way your child will become more familiar with Chinese characters is by adding labels to things at home. Whenever they need something, your child will see the tags and will unconsciously read them before using them.

After mastering a Chinese composition book and doing all of these, the next step your child needs to take is to attend O Level Chinese classes at a tuition centre like Edugrove. The tutors there can help leverage their Mandarin vocabulary.

Joyce Laroche