天下

Nadine has been complaining that she didn't understand anything in Chinese class, that Chinese is tough, and she didn't like Chinese. Getting her to learn her 听写 is a pain, but surprisingly, she has been doing well for her 听写.

But, a month ago, her Chinese teacher wrote a note in her journal, in English, saying that Nadine didn't seem to understand anything in class, and didn't even respond to her Chinese name. Teacher suggested that we could try and help her by speaking Mandarin to her at home.

So I tried, but the stubborn girl wouldn't respond to any of my Chinese, and was even angry with me. Didn't talk to me for a whole night. Next evening, I explained to her that she really needed to improve her Chinese, and it's either I speak Mandarin to her at home, or she goes for enrichment class. She chose enrichment class.

So since then, she's been going to 天下, the closest school to our home that has a suitable time for us.

She came out of the first class saying that she enjoyed herself. And after a few lessons, she brought back a pretty good assessment report.

However, as warned by friends, 天下's syllabus is tough. Their 听写 includes short sentences!

Yesterday, she refused to learn her 听写 and refused to go for class. Wailed and kicked up a fuss. After 20 min of scolding, nagging and coaxing, we finally struck a deal - she would finish the term, try to improve her Chinese, and then we're done with 天下. It was that, or quit immediately, but no tv, music in the car (she loves playing dj in the car) and playing downstairs for 2 months.

Well, she does seem to want to keep her end of the deal. This morning, the moment she woke up, she took out her Chinese vocab file and started reading! I sure hope she keeps up with that!