I insisted on speaking to my girl in Mandarin at home and encourage to speak and reply me in mandarin as well. Her Chinese language teacher also provided guidance and told us encourage her to converse in mandarin, expose her to Chinese books and game play i.e. To the supermarket and teach her fruits and vegetables in English and Mandarin.
Use life size item i.e. Bicycles parked at the void deck and encouraged her to point and count in Mandarin. Identify shapes and sizes in Mandarin too.
Keep trying, encouraging and exposing to Chinese educational stuff and converse in Mandarin helps a lot. Avoidance results in reduced exposure. Whenever I asked in mandarin and she replies me in English, I will correct her and remind her to reply me in mandarin.
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