This week’s mailbag:

a learner understands his mother-in-law at the worst moment,

a tone mistake turns into a workplace disaster,

and a four-year-old becomes the teacher.

Plus: how to ask to camp in Taiwan without sounding like a tourist.

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What does real bilingual development actually look like?

In this episode of Mandarin Monkey, we talk about one of the biggest concerns parents have when raising bilingual children:

“My child understands Mandarin… but won’t speak it. Is that normal?”

We explore:

• What children usually understand first

• Why mixing languages is a sign of competence

• Whether silence means failure

• How long it realistically takes to become conversational

• Why input matters more than early output

Ula shares personal stories of growing up with Taiwanese and Mandarin, and we reflect on our own children’s bilingual journey.

If you’re raising a child in a mixed-language household, this conversation will reassure you.

Mandarin Monkey is a bilingual podcast where Mandarin and English are used naturally, just like in real families.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode started as a simple idea:

list 100 very specific things to do before you die.

We didn’t get to 100.

We talked about sharks, Lapland, Route 66, Disney parks, cherry blossoms, tequila in Mexico, collecting memories, and why “someday” is a dangerous word.

Mandarin and English.

Travel, goals, family, and that quiet feeling of wanting more life in your life.

If this episode sparks an idea for you, tell us what you’d add to the list.

Mandarin Monkey is a bilingual podcast in Mandarin and English.

We speak naturally. No scripts. No lessons. Just real conversation.

Support the show or join the hangouts:

mandarinmonkey.com

patreon.com/mandarinmonkey

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.