Follow us on Telegram for the latest updates: https://t.me/mothershipsg

When you first meet Tan Xi En, it's hard to wrap your head around the fact that she's only seven.

Confident and mature, the girl articulates her words like a newscaster and looks you straight in the eye as she initiates a bright greeting.

That's just a prelude to what makes this kid so remarkable.

Despite her young age, Tan's standard of Mandarin is good enough to school even the most bilingual of adults.

Affinity with Chinese language

In the Tan household, Mandarin is the main medium of communication.

Certain that Tan would be adequately exposed to English in the outside world, her parents made home a space dedicated to Chinese.

From the minute Tan was born up till her second birthday, her mother spoke to her exclusively in Mandarin.

"Once it's your dominant language, interest is just a natural part of it, " Tan's mother said.

"Since there was [an] immediate use for it, there was an obvious purpose for Xi En to learn Chinese. She grew very quickly in it and came to enjoy the beauty of the language just because it's part and parcel of her life."

It got to the point where her parents likened Tan to a "kid from China", to whom English was more of a struggle.

In fact, Mandarin became such second nature to Tan that when she first started learning to write in Chinese, she "took off like a rocket".

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by XiEn Seven YearOld Tutor (@xienhappy)

"Once we hit 200 characters, I couldn't keep up anymore," her mother laughed.

She reads a lot

When asked what we turn to to unwind, most adults would still cite something like a TV show or video game.

For Tan, it's "non-fiction historical Chinese books".

The young prodigy started off with simple picture books and soon graduated to more complex literature.

"Children take to stories better than textbooks," her mother explained.

Instead of grappling with the abstract concepts in textbooks, Tan was able to better digest information presented as riveting narratives.

While some of us might struggle to even read the menu in a Chinese restaurant, Tan recently breezed through a 400-page biography of the Tang dynasty empress, Wu Zetian.

In the face of our disbelief, the young girl schooled us by reading out the following passage with flawless intonation.

Even Tan's father can no longer keep up with his daughter's vocabulary bank — he has to consult Baidu.

"She's long surpassed me," he confessed.

Apart from such "light" reading, Tan also admitted to watching "Onegai My Melody" for fun.

From student to teacher

Tan's mother is a Chinese tutor.

Tan used to be a student in her group class, but her ability fast outgrew what was being taught.

"We thought it made more sense for her to learn the skill of teaching or professional management instead," said 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."

Tan became a role model for the rowdy kids in class, eagerly guiding them through activities like singing and doing worksheets.

That was when Tan's mother knew she was ready to take on students of her own.

Lesson with a dollhouse and imagination

Although she was enthusiastic about the idea, the 7-year-old admitted that she felt the jitters while conducting her first class.

"I was very nervous! After all, I'd never taught before. But after the first class, I realised there was absolutely nothing to be scared of."

Tan's students are introduced to a unique curriculum guided by spontaneity and play.

"I love to come up with my own stories and act them out," Tan shared excitedly.

Channeling this passion into her classes, Tan typically begins each lesson with a game of role play.

The setting? A handmade dollhouse and a playroom strewn with miscellaneous toys.

"We're starting the lesson now! Can you speak like this from now on?" Tan asked her student, 6-year-old Charissa Kwok, in Mandarin.

When Kwok replied in kind, the lesson officially began.

Each handling a doll of their choice, the girls launched into an improvised slumber party skit.

"我可以进来吗？(Can I come in?)" Tan inquired politely, walking her doll the the front of the dollhouse.

To this, Kwok answered, "当然可以，这是我的房间。(Of course you can, this is my room.)"

It was rather nostalgic, watching the two kids lost in their own world of make-belief.

According to Kwok's mother, her daughter used to shy away from speaking in Mandarin at home.

After classes with her friend-teacher, however, the 6-year-old now jumps at the chance to make conversation in Mandarin, flaunting whatever new vocabulary she's picked up from Tan along the way.

Learning as part of life

Since young, Tan has been taught that "education is not just about the subjects, it's also about doing life."

Whether it's counting cash to pay for food or taking some time to buy tissue from "tissue aunties", the young girl grows both intellectually and emotionally from her everyday interactions with the world.

Aside from helping her friends excel at Chinese, Tan's compassion extends far beyond her immediate social circle.

According to her mother, the girl donates all her tuition earnings to "a charity that helps needy children in Africa".

All images by Julia Yee