Photo: Annabel and Grandpa

Looking back on my childhood, I realized that I gained proficiency in English and Mandarin not through constant drilling and memorization of phrases and words from school worksheets. Instead, my parents provided me with constant exposure and opportunities for interaction with the other caregivers which created for me a rich language environment.  

I was very fortunate to have my grandparents around me when I was growing up, and it was not till later when I realized they had played an important role in how I acquired English and Mandarin Chinese.  

While both of my parents were busy working, it was my paternal grandfather, otherwise known as 爷爷 (ye ye), who would pick me up from kindergarten and primary school daily, and we would take the bus home together. Looking at the buildings and scenery on the way home, we would naturally converse in Mandarin as I told him about my day. When I reached home, it would be my paternal grandmother, whom I call嫲嫲 (ma ma), who would help me with my English homework and spelling, making sure that I would score well in my spelling test the next day. She had been educated in English. During the weekends, I would go over to Tiong Bahru and spend the evenings with my maternal grandmother whom I remember fondly as麻嫲 (ma ma), as we would converse in Mandarin while watching her favourite Taiwanese dramas such as 《爱》 and 《夜市人生》 together.    

It was through daily interactions with my grandparents that I managed to become proficient in both languages at a young age, and I am very grateful to have them around. Having two grandparents who speak Mandarin and a grandmother who speaks English has enabled me to learn both languages simultaneously as I constantly had to switch between languages when conversing with them.  Although I now take the bus home from school on my own, no longer need help in with my homework and have switched to watching Netflix and Youtube videos – sometimes, I find myself reminiscing about those days. They will forever remain as simple but beautiful memories.  

To me, the best way to learn a language is through experiencing it in your daily lives, with your family and loved ones.  

This piece was written by our #SGUnited Intern, Annabel Loh. Annabel is a fourth-year Chinese major.