By Kor Kian Beng and Goh Chin Lian

Finance manager Catherine Tan had to work frequently with her China-based colleagues in her previous company, but often found herself struggling to communicate with them in Mandarin.

This, and China's rise as an economic power, made her realise the importance of giving her children a strong foundation in Mandarin.

Mrs Tan, 41, sent her son Ray, seven, for Chinese classes last year and plans to register daughter Gail, four, next year. She also tries to use Mandarin at home when speaking to them, even though she and her copywriter husband Eugene, 36, are more conversant in English.

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Their approach is what Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew encouraged Chinese Singaporean parents to do when he launched this year's Speak Mandarin Campaign last Tuesday.

He said parents who use Mandarin as the home language are laying a solid foundation for their children. It will help them stay connected to their roots and add value in dealings with China.

But Mrs Tan was concerned that her limitations with the language would cause her to 'impart wrong things' to her children.

So she attended workshops at the same language centre as her son to pick up pointers on how to improve his Mandarin-speaking ability and raise his level of interest through games and storybooks.

Chinese-language centres contacted by The Sunday Times have received enquiries from parents about classes they can attend to improve their own proficiency so they can converse properly with their children.

Ms Eva Chang Mei Hsiang, who runs the Eduplus Language Centre chain, said four parents have expressed interest. But she needs at least 10 interested parents to sign up before she can start lessons.

Mrs Chew-Wong Ngiap Hua, who runs the Hua Language Centre, also had similar requests.

Said Mrs Chew, 58, who started her centre in 1992: 'Maybe after what MM Lee said, more parents or even grandparents will want to take up Mandarin classes to connect better with the children.'

But such parents will be rare in the predominantly English-speaking society here, both Ms Chang and Mrs Chew said.

Their centres have around 2,000 students. The bulk of them - at least 75 per cent - are attending primary school.

And around 90 per cent of these students - who pay an average of $100 a month and attend lessons weekly - come from an English-speaking family environment.

'Actually, some parents can speak Mandarin. But whenever they try, their children tell them 'Mummy, Daddy, it's so funny when you speak Mandarin', or they simply respond to their parents in English,' Ms Chang said. 'After a while, the parents give up.'

Ms Natalie Mah, 39, a stay-at-home mum who also runs a public relations firm, can relate to this. She and her husband tried speaking only in Mandarin to their children - Joshua, nine, and Jade, seven - after noticing that both were not doing well in Chinese at school. Said Ms Mah: 'We can speak Mandarin, but it doesn't come naturally. We kept it up for only a week. Our natural instinct was to nag at the kids in English.'

But Ms Chang urges parents like Ms Mah to persevere, even if they may not be proficient in Mandarin.

Mrs Chew said it is important to speak Mandarin with children when they are young.

While most of her students usually enrol at the age of four, she sees a handful of parents each year seeking help for children already in Primary 1. In such cases, the parents usually use only English at home.

'Those who join us at a young age tend to breeze through Primary 1 Chinese classes, while those who join later struggle with hanyu pinyin and simple characters,' said Mrs Chew.

National Institute of Education visiting associate professor Julian Wheatley, 61, who specialises in Chinese language teaching, suggested how parents can help pique their children's interest. He said: 'Parents can encourage children to speak more Mandarin when their children are playing with their friends at home.'

One mother willing to try harder after hearing MM Lee's call is Madam Nancy Mak, 39, who works in the tourism line.

She tries to speak Mandarin with her children Brendan, nine, and Cherise, eight, because she wants to help them enjoy and appreciate the Chinese language and culture.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.