Five-year-old Liam lives in Hong Kong with his family. His parents don’t speak Mandarin, but they know how important it is for him to learn the language while living there. To help him, they signed him up for eChineseLearning’s online classes. After a few months of study, Liam had learned basic characters and simple phrases. His parents received positive feedback from his teacher about his progress and decided to work together with the teacher to further encourage him.
One day, Liam proudly introduced himself in Mandarin at home. When his mom heard about this, she excitedly said, “Liam, you can introduce yourself in Mandarin now! How about trying to greet our neighbors next? I’m sure you can do it!” Hearing his mom’s encouragement, Liam felt more confident and decided to give it a try. When he greeted the neighbors in Mandarin, they responded warmly, and they even managed to chat a bit. This small success gave Liam a huge sense of accomplishment.
Liam’s teacher suggested that his dad prepare some more advanced flashcards for him, so Liam could start learning more complex sentences after mastering basic vocabulary. Each time Liam completed a new set of flashcards, the teacher would update his dad, who would then tell Liam, “Look, you’ve learned another set of characters! Let’s try making sentences with them next time.” With these steadily increasing challenges, Liam not only consolidated his knowledge but also continued to make progress.
One weekend, Liam showed his parents how much he had improved. Previously, his handwriting was shaky, and his pronunciation was far from perfect. Now, he could write neatly and tell stories in nearly flawless Mandarin. His mom said, “Your teacher mentioned how quickly you’re improving in Mandarin,” and Liam, seeing how far he had come, felt a renewed sense of confidence and motivation to keep going.
At one point, Liam’s teacher invited him to participate in a Mandarin speech competition at school. Although he felt a bit nervous, he remembered his mom saying, “You’re ready for this! It’s a great chance to show everyone how much you’ve learned.” Determined to rise to the challenge, Liam started practicing even more diligently.
To motivate him to prepare well for the competition, his parents provide him with exceptional emotional support. Whenever Liam completes his weekly Mandarin assignments, they promptly praise his achievements, and his teacher gives him positive feedback. Additionally, his parents share his learning progress on social media, encouraging him to tackle more challenging material. By celebrating small wins at each stage, Liam always feels confident about his Mandarin learning journey.
After the competition, Liam and his parents went to a restaurant. Liam confidently ordered the family’s meal in Mandarin, earning a thumbs-up from the waiter. Liam realized that learning Mandarin wasn’t just about doing well in school—it also brought real-life benefits. His parents told him, “What you’re learning isn’t just useful in class; it’s also important in daily life.” Understanding this, Liam felt even more motivated to keep improving his Mandarin.
This story illustrates how parents can leverage their child’s sense of accomplishment to inspire continued learning. By celebrating small wins and gradually increasing the challenge, a child’s sense of accomplishment grows stronger, leading to even greater progress. Harnessing a child’s achievements is an easy yet highly effective way to motivate them, leading to more significant results in their learning journey.
If you are interested in having your kid learn Chinese, sign up for a free trial class via the form on this page, and we will be happy to help.