Commentaries and a share of Experience *EDITED*

I was once educated – somehow – by my lovely parents in such a way that before I was even weaned, the first and subsequent words produced by my larynx - although muffled and sounded rather gibberish – were downright E.N.G.L.I.S.H.

Chinese only came to my knowledge when the act of registering me to Yuk Chai school – a school that looks more like an office now – was brought about by my mother. As a young kid who hasn’t any idea of the real world, I wasn’t thrilled nor I was sad. I just went to school like any other kids on the first day itself.

I must admit that when the language, my supposed-to-be mother tongue – Mandarin was first introduced to me, it was a moment to remember for the rest of my life. I was way too enthusiastic to learn Mandarin at that moment that I was picking up fast and was able to converse with some basics after only a few weeks of exposure to it.

What’s worst is that Mandarin had since became and has been the medium of interaction amongst my family members. Fortunately enough for me, English has not been replaced by that language literally (My father is an English-ed (: ).

Obviously, Mandarin was easy and comprehensible at the start, but it gradually complicates as I progressed into higher standards. My grades were plummeting tremendously until miracles happened. I was at a point, where my grades shot up to a solid A and eventually stayed there. I was shocked and speechless, quite uncertain what had happened.

Maybe it was my well-known tuition teacher who successfully helped me out of the “labyrinth.” Or maybe it was my impalpable passion towards Chinese writings. And Yes, I was Yuk Chai’s best student in Chinese writings with pencil, not with the Chinese brush, which I suck badly at. Maybe that motivated me to breakthrough the “sophisticated” language.

And of course, with the courteous aid of my teachers by holding extra classes and giving out extra, seriously EXTRA and MOUNTAINOUS amount of homeworks, which I managed to complete them only by staying up late every single night and with much grumblings and complaints, I got 7 solid As for UPSR.

I was being placed in one of the best classes and was encouraged by my mother to take up Mandarin during Form 1. I never liked language subjects and when friends from Chinese schools are dropping that subject, I was hesitating, reluctant to sign up for it as I felt discouraged at first. My mother reiterated the benefits of taking Mandarin and of course she managed to coerce me into it. After much endurance and in the company of my best friend, I managed to pull it through.

See? Friends are important! So you, YOU friends of Rina, please encourage her and not to bring her down with your words. The urge of giving up is strong, especially during this point of time, where an important decision has to be made. Besides that, you people must understand that she couldn’t relinquish her grips on Mandarin because of some reasons, mother, like me. You will only make things worst if you ask her to give up. In this case, GG.

I was in the same situation as you, Rina. Idioms? I mastered it in primary school. I remember writing an essay with more than 20 idioms and gosh I was so proud of myself. A long break after UPSR had got me forgotten everything, literally everything. I couldn’t express myself well when writing descriptive essays but that’s not the end of the world.

I told myself that there must be a solution to that problem. I started writing factual essays. And hey, throughout high school, I’d only written not more than 10 idioms, believe it or not and my grades weren’t bad.

As for the summary, it’s been hard for me as well. Every time when I was confident enough of getting it summarized without mistakes, the paper would be returned to me with a result merely half of what I’d expected. That shoved me into great despair. But that did not mean that I have to give up, instead, that taught me how to do better next time. I learnt from mistakes and I learnt how to analyze the question before the summarizing starts. I asked myself whether that’s what the question requires when I carefully read through the passage. Or, I would try to do better in other sections.

I always tell myself that the standard set forth by the government will be way lower than the ordinary school standard. Maybe that’s how I lower down my stress level.

I am glad that my best friend was alongside with me when I was struggling to get through the tough times. Until after PMR it was that he decided to quit, and then he ultimately dropped Chinese. I was pissed and felt discouraged once more. So it was only me attending Chinese tuition and it was only me who had to study for Chinese when the finals came and it was only me who had to write an extra essay when other students have the extra time to do the things they like.

And mind you, SPM is way harder than PMR and the standard is inconceivable. I was being put under great pressure when my grades were getting into the B zone. My hands were literally shaking after every exams and I would be dreaming of getting a bad grade when the results were announced.

What motivated me was my tuition teacher. I always know that my Chinese is not really good compared to others and my vocabulary is so limited. But she baffled me every time she told me that the essays I wrote were very matured and good. I don’t get it at all. Ironically, I don’t feel proud but humiliated. She looked up on me and said that I could get an A1 for my SPM and great, more burden and I almost fainted. I studied hard for Chinese and I managed to write a good essay on the day itself. Of course, I passed with a satisfying grade.

Thinking back now, my mother decision was correct after all, as Mandarin is gradually getting prevalent among people of different ethnicities, races, and cultures across the planet. I never regretted taking Chinese as a subject (:

Good Luck, Rina! I have faith in you.