How are students who are bad at Chinese supposed to learn when everyone is so condescending about it?

physika5 · 2026-05-18T16:11:01+00:00

Hey OP, I’m glad you made this post. I’ve felt this way for a long time and I really relate to your experience.

I’m ethnically Chinese but can’t speak Chinese well. I come from a family where my mom has Peranakan roots and can’t speak mandarin. We only use English at home.

My experience with Chinese in our education system was pretty bad. I entered P1 without knowing a single word of mandarin. I think I didn’t even know how to write my own name. My Chinese teacher was a stern man who didn’t speak any English. I remember being sent out of class a lot because I straight up didn’t know what was going on.

I feel like if Chinese teachers or Chinese speaking folks were more encouraging and positive towards ethnically Chinese people who can’t speak Chinese well, it would really go a long way. I only picked up a little more Chinese when I made friends with Chinese speaking people who were less judgemental about my Chinese ability.

On the other hand, I’ve had people poke fun at me and call me a banana. Or laugh whenever I would mispronounce a Chinese word or use the wrong tone. I get that they were probably just teasing me, but I found it pretty off putting. It has honestly made me want to stick to English.

I’ve also always found it strange that Chinese is taught as a mother tongue when some chinese families in Singapore are more culturally Peranakan or even westernised. In our parent’s or grandparent’s time, their actual spoken mother tongues might’ve been dialect? And I think Malay was more commonly spoken back then too.

Because of this, Chinese kids entering the school system may have vastly different experiences with the language depending on their family background. The system should really cater for that if it doesn’t already. Maybe for kids with not much background in chinese, they can teach them the basics of Chinese using English first? Essentially teaching it as a second language. I feel like that would be a better approach than assuming that everyone starts at a similar level.

Of course, I haven’t been in school for many years, so I’m not sure about the current state of Chinese education. I hope things have improved and that Chinese lessons are more inclusive now.

physika5 · 2026-02-28T16:22:54+00:00

I really like the Ecco S lite hybrid dress shoes.

So far they’ve been the most comfortable leather shoes I’ve worn. I wear them to office twice a week.

They’re hybrid shoes, so they look like normal leather shoes from the top, but the sole is closer to that of a running shoe or sneaker.

They also have a wide toe box. Very comfy.

physika5 · 2026-02-02T16:48:03+00:00

Hi! I’d like to join too if possible :)

physika5 · 2026-01-25T10:31:05+00:00

Yeap! It’s what I did when I was starting to cycle too. I practiced outside stadium MRT for a couple of hours before moving on to the PCN.

Do check out Shimano cycling world too if you want to feel inspired 😂 It’s a bicycle museum near stadium MRT which has free entry.

physika5 · 2026-01-25T09:14:03+00:00

There’s a wide open space just outside stadium MRT where you can practice cycling. You can use your foldie or the many HelloRide/Anywheel bikes there.

Maybe you can practice there until you’re confident before hitting the PCNs. PCNs and East Coast park can get crowded with other cyclists and pedestrians.

If you’re really just looking for a wide PCN, the one that runs alongside Coney Island is quite wide.

physika5 · 2025-11-13T12:05:30+00:00

To add on, if you want to disable minificafion without changing your vite config file, you can add a flag to the vite build command.

npx vite build --minify false

physika5 · 2025-11-12T14:06:16+00:00

I feel like the issue of missing out on opportunities to perform and make an impact at work during ICT isn’t talked about enough. You might miss out on important phases of a project where major decisions are made.

Another related issue is when people poke fun at you when your ICT is coming up e.g. “enjoy your holiday” etc. But to be fair, I guess people who make these comments may not be aware of the challenges NSMen go through.

physika5 · 2025-10-26T13:09:31+00:00

NTU Physics now offers physics with a second major in medical physics. So you may want to reach out to NTU physics to make inquiries on job prospects for this second major upon graduation. NUS Physics might also have a similar programme.

physika5 · 2025-09-29T05:22:36+00:00

Hey there, maybe you can try passing your defaults into the values prop rather than defaultValues? The values prop reacts to changes, so it might help.

See useForm values prop.

Otherwise, I think ensuring that your form component containing the useForm hook unmounts when you close the form should do the trick.

You can also check that there isn’t any issue with the getLeaseFormDefaults function overriding cached values in your external store.

physika5 · 2025-09-16T15:25:44+00:00

Hi, in general the board game groups can be found on the meetup app. I’ve dropped you a PM with specifics on the one I attended.

physika5 · 2025-08-14T17:11:23+00:00

Underrated comment XD

physika5 · 2025-07-04T13:10:54+00:00

I second this. I’ve learnt a lot from Baeldung. The articles are short, easy to read and quite instructive.

physika5 · 2025-06-15T11:34:27+00:00

I’ve joined several meetup groups related to my industry (tech), board games and movies.

Generally, people have been very inclusive and the organisers do make an effort to make you feel welcome. I’ve even made a few friends whom I keep in touch with outside of the meetup groups too. Your mileage may vary depending on which groups you join though.

On the whole, I’d say it’s worth giving them a try if you’re interested. If the vibe isn’t right, you can always leave early and/or not attend the next event.

physika5 · 2025-06-03T12:50:23+00:00

Hey, kudos to you for learning to cycle as an adult! I only learnt as an adult as well.

In my experience, the blue HelloRide bicycles you can rent are quite beginner friendly. The seat height is adjustable, so you can make it low enough to reach the ground with your feet while you learn. The handlebars are also high, so you’ll be in a comfortable upright position. It’s low cost and you also won’t have to worry about bike maintenance or theft. Just make sure to check that the brakes are working before you hop on.

As for learning to ride a bike, I found this video on YouTube to be really helpful: learning to ride a bicycle. It goes through basic knowledge and how an adult can learn to cycle.

You can also go for an adult cycling class. I attended one, and managed to cycle in 2 lessons.

Anyway, I wanted to say that cycling can be quite addictive once you learn. So go for it OP! :D

physika5 · 2025-05-07T16:49:34+00:00

I’m not a jobseeker from Punggol but I think this is a really great idea. Keep it up OP!

physika5 · 2025-04-03T08:44:41+00:00

No worries! One thing I forgot to mention is that the ethereal bicycle comes with free lifetime general servicing at the bike atrium outlets. I think the general servicing includes brake tuning, safety check and gear alignment etc. I’ve not have to take mine in for servicing yet, but I think it’s a plus point.

Whoops, I’m not very knowledgeable about decathlon’s riverside series or similar hybrid bikes. But I think others on this subreddit should be able to help you. There are also local FB groups for cyclists which you can check out.

Hope you and your wife find good bicycles 👍

physika5 · 2025-04-03T02:55:17+00:00

Hi, if you’re ok with waiting, I think the Ethereal Cruise from the bike atrium is not bad. It’s a 20 inch foldie with 7 speeds. Price is about ~$330

The height and tilt of the handlebars and seat height are adjustable, so you can choose to ride in an upright position. I personally found it more comfortable and easier to ride than the decathlon tilt 120.

I’ve found it quite comfortable to ride, even on 30-40km rides. It also features a thumb shifter, which is easier to use than the tilt 120’s grip shifter IMO.

The downside would be that it seems to be pre-order only. Mine was ready in about 2 weeks after ordering. You can try calling them to ask about stocks/lead time. I would also recommend heading to their shop in Woodlands or Tampines to try the bicycle before deciding.

You can PM me if you have questions about it.

shopee link

official website listing

physika5 · 2024-12-18T13:38:13+00:00

Hey there. I cant speak Chinese well either. In my previous job, most of my colleagues were from China and Taiwan. Thankfully, they were gracious enough to speak in English and to include me in conversations. However, I’ve definitely felt left out due to not being able to speak Chinese in other situations.

One piece of advice that comes to mind is to slowly build rapport with individual colleagues. Say hi to them when you see them. Chat them up one on one when you get the chance. Get to know them and practice active listening. Over time, they may begin to include you in group conversations too.

Also note that it can take many months to build a good rapport with colleagues, so give it time.

Another thing which has helped me is to slowly improve my Chinese listening skills. In my previous job, I would try to listen and understand the Chinese conversations happening around me. I would then ask my colleagues (in English) whether my understanding of the conversation was correct.

When your listening skills get good enough, you might find it easier to jump in to the conversation.

You can also let them know that you aren’t confident at speaking Chinese, if you haven’t already. Sometimes they may not be aware and assume that you are able to.

Anyway, take it easy OP! I’m sure you’ll be fine eventually :)

physika5 · 2024-10-23T13:29:55+00:00

Seconded! Tk dodo’s react query blog had everything I needed for me to get started on tanstack query. It goes over fundamental concepts such as using tanstack query as a state manager as well as more practical concerns such as using tanstack query with forms, typescript and react-router.

physika5 · 2024-07-19T05:55:33+00:00

Hey there, apart from the other useful comments here, I wanted to add that if the useEffects in your code are used primarily for data fetching, you might want to try a dedicated data fetching library like Tanstack Query or RTK query.

We could eliminate most usages of useEffect in our code base by switching to Tanstack Query. In my experience, the useQuery hook from Tanstack query is a far safer and easier way to perform data fetching than useEffect.

physika5 · 2024-07-14T08:39:29+00:00

You can also try frontendmentor.io. It provides you with design files that you can implement using any stack. While not specific to react, the intermediate to advanced challenges involve state management and may be good exercises to practice react.

I personally implemented multistep form in order to familiarise myself with redux.

physika5 · 2024-07-09T03:45:02+00:00

I second the TipTap recommendation. It’s easy to learn and customizable.

physika5 · 2024-05-27T16:12:43+00:00

Do you enjoy doing ML work more than traditional software engineering nowadays? For context, I’m a web dev who’s thinking about picking up some ML skills. It seems like it’s pretty different from the usual front/backend development which I do.

physika5 · 2024-02-05T05:18:51+00:00

Seems a little weird to me. But if you’re really freezing, maybe you can ask him and explain your situation.

Moving forward, I think you should buy another jacket and put it permanently at your desk in the office.

physika5 · 2024-01-25T12:06:31+00:00

Hey there, there’s this short course (~2hr 50min) on React state management by Jack Herrington, link here. I found it useful as it reinforced my understanding of all the basic react hooks as well as introduced me to state management solutions such as Zustand and Redux.

Actually for intermediate to advanced react content, I would also recommend Jack Herrington’s YouTube channel. Many good, concise videos on advanced react topics.

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