Students with:
1) extremely short concentration span that is less than 15 minutes
2) Attention deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD)
3) Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), excessive attention on handwriting causing the child to not be able to finish his/her work on time.
4)Autism
5)Inferiority complex
6) Phobia towards Chinese which may be triggered by abuse from a Chinese teacher in the past
7)Extremely strong foul towards Chinese
8)Extremely poor memory
9) Stuttering speech disorder
10)Foreign students struggling with Chinese
Normally if you suspect that your child may have any of the syndromes above, a professional Psychiatrist or pediatrician from the Child Guidance Clinic (CGC) is required to make a proper diagnosis and decide on the treatment to follow which may include medication, workshops and counselling sessions. As for what I can help as a tutor, i can offer patience and counselling to your child if he/she is under me.
In the past ten years, I have met with numerous students that fell under the above category. My 30+ years of expertise was severely tested. I have learnt that these students can only be treated with love, patience and the will to help them improve.
1)Love would produce acceptance, which means accepting the child for who they are despite its imperfections.
2)Patience require me to explore all sorts of methods to cater to that child's special needs.
3)The will to help them improve is important because many times I would feel like giving up. But just reminding myself that they are not hopeless and can be changed would keep me going. Only if I choose not to give up them can they have the will not to give up on Chinese.
I will always aim to build a friendship with the student. Learning about his hobbies, chatting about things under the sun and even lending a listening ear to his problems if he is open enough would put me in a better position to encourage him not to give up on Chinese. Winning the child's heart, this I feel is more challenging than teaching Chinese itself.However at the end of the day, seeing these type of "challenging" students accepting me as a friend and mentor, seeing that my patience and determination in helping them pass Chinese has paid off, and seeing them grow from primary school to their completion of secondary school is what keeps me going in this job for 40 years.
