"Hey, sweet pea," Adrian said, his voice softer than usual. "I was thinking... for your Chinese revision this weekend. How about I learn with you? We can try to read a comic together. In Mandarin."

Last week, she pointed at a bird outside the window and said, “Look, Daddy! 鸟 (niǎo).”

On the other side was the Chinese textbook, filled with essays about filial piety and the four virtues. I had to write compositions about my mother’s cooking. But my mother cooked instant noodles with egg. How was I supposed to romanticize that in classical phrases?

"My Lifelong Challenge: Singapore's Bilingual Journey" by Lee Kuan Yew outlines the 50-year effort to implement a bilingual policy aimed at economic survival and social cohesion. The book highlights the political, cultural, and personal challenges in balancing English proficiency with Mother Tongue education. You can preview the book on Google Books .