Nothing can describe this 7-year-old homeschooler aside from she is “gifted”.
At a young age, Tan Xi En conducts three Chinese-language classes a week that last for an hour for students of a similar age, as featured by The Strait Times.
This 7-year-old homeschooler teaches one-on-one lessons in a room of a Housing Board flat in Ang Mo Kio, where she currently has four pupils.
Xi En helps her mother who is a home-based Chinese-language tutor, who is also the reason this young child loves speaking Chinese.
Learning Mandarin
Since she was born, Xi En was exposed to the Chinese language as it is her family’s main medium of communication at home.
In fact, her mother spoke Mandarin to Xi En exclusively until she turned two.
“Once it’s your dominant language, interest is just a natural part of it, ” Xi En’s mother said.
Her mother also added that Xi En grew very quickly in speaking Mandarin and realised to enjoy the beauty of the language.
When Xi En turned three, she could actually understand the language up to the Primary 6 level.
Presently, Xi En enjoys borrowing around 60 books from the library every six weeks.
She loves reading Chinese history books, and not the kid’s version. Xi En was able to advance her Chinese language skills by reading books from an adult section.
In fact, she recently completed a 400-page biography of Tang dynasty empress Wu Zetian, shared by Ms Tan to The Strait Times.
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Teaching Chinese-language lessons
Just like anyone else, Xi En started as a student in her group class; however, her skills developed and advanced quickly.
“We thought it made more sense for her to learn the skill of teaching or professional management instead,” explained her mother.
“Children are absorbing things around them all the time. Xi En and I have a very close relationship, so she’s always eager to get into what I’m doing.
She would check in with the students and make sure they were on track. She picked up the skill just by observing and being a part of the process.”
“Sometimes it feels easy, sometimes it does not.” This is what Xi En said when asked about her being a teacher.
“At times, I will feel tired, but I see it as one of my responsibilities and a mission I want to complete.”
“I like to teach… and I am happy that more people get to learn Chinese.”