Why I Teach: Growing Up Bilingual, Studying at NUS and Helping Students Gain Confidence

A background, and a place to start

I was raised and educated in Singapore, and I am fluent in English and Chinese. I attended a mainstream junior college and participated in Basketball CCA. I study Business at NUS, have stayed in Hall, and have participated in Hall and school sports. I also have part-time tuition experience. How can a learner show what they understand when the explanation is still incomplete?

In this essay, I set out a teaching approach for discussion: begin with the learner’s explanation, work out what is uncertain, and make the next task specific enough to attempt. Helping a student gain confidence is the purpose explored here, rather than a result I can promise. A child need not arrive with a neat account of a difficulty. A page of unfinished working, a question about a word, or uncertainty about where to begin can provide a starting point.

Separate understanding from expression

Being bilingual is part of my context. It does not mean that English and Chinese work in the same way, or that every learner should use them in the same proportions. Begin by asking what a learner understands. Then ask how to express that understanding in the language the task requires. Keeping those questions separate gives the discussion a clearer direction than treating every hesitant answer as the same kind of problem.

Consider this general language-learning example. A learner can explain a character’s action in ordinary speech but cannot yet write a supported answer. The next task could be to locate the relevant passage detail, then connect it to the explanation in one sentence. If the action itself is misunderstood, sentence polishing would begin too early. First return to the passage and check who did what. The choice of support should follow the uncertainty actually present.

An explanation in a more familiar language can be a temporary aid when appropriate. It still needs a return to the target language: which word fits this context, what relationship must the sentence express, and does the final wording preserve the meaning? Understanding an explanation and being able to produce an answer are different tasks. Translation alone should not be treated as evidence that the learner can use the expression independently.

Response A reverses the direction of the lending. The phrase 借给 means lend to; 向同学借 means borrow from a classmate. Before polishing that response, ask the learner to show who had the umbrella and who received it. Response B identifies the recipient and keeps the original direction. If the learner can explain that relationship in English but cannot yet express it in Chinese, focus on the Chinese phrasing. If the relationship is unclear in both languages, return to the sentence meaning first. The comparison separates a misunderstanding of the event from difficulty expressing an understood idea.

Leave room for an incomplete question

Let a learner point before asking for an explanation. Asking which line became confusing is more concrete than asking why the whole subject is difficult. There is room to answer with a word, an unfinished sentence, or a marked part of the page. The adult can then check the meaning of that response without supplying a complete solution immediately. A pause need not be filled with more instructions before the learner has had space to respond.

A useful follow-up checks the explanation rather than guessing at the feeling behind it. If the learner identifies an unfamiliar word, look at the surrounding sentence together. If the difficulty is choosing a method, compare the question’s target with the information given. Where the explanation remains unclear, say so and narrow the task further. Avoid turning one answer into a fixed label such as careless or weak. There is still a piece of work to understand.

Discuss confidence in concrete terms

Discuss confidence through what a learner can do and ask about. Can the learner say what help is needed? Can they explain a choice, or identify what remains uncertain? Those questions give an adult something specific to notice. A correct answer copied after a full explanation is different from an answer the learner can justify. Neither should be inflated into a claim about lasting progress on the basis of one attempt.

The next attempt need not be longer. It might involve explaining one word choice, setting up one equation, or checking one sentence against the passage. Agree on what the task is meant to reveal before starting it. Afterwards, discuss what was attempted and what support was needed. A family can use that description to ask a more focused question about future support, while recognising that progress and confidence may vary across tasks and over time.

Let background provide context, not a shortcut

My Business studies at NUS, Hall and school sports participation, and investment-sector internship experience belong in a brief introduction to me. They should not stand in for an explanation of teaching choices. An institution name cannot show whether a learner understands a fraction or can support a reading answer. A learning conversation needs to get that detail from the work itself. References to my education and internship do not imply endorsement of this article or PAIRO by an institution or employer.

I support animal protection, especially cats. Attention also matters in a learning conversation: pause to notice what is needed before deciding how to respond. Make that attention concrete. Ask what is unclear, listen to the answer, and check the work before choosing a task. A response should leave the learner room to say when the explanation still does not make sense.

A next step worth discussing

To begin a learning conversation, invite the child to choose something they want to explain or ask about. An incomplete question is enough to begin. Check that the adult has understood it before moving towards an answer. Confidence has a practical place in that conversation: the learner has room to ask for help, explain a choice, and say when more clarification is needed.