Cheering on Miki

Miki continues to make no progress, and it's mostly because of her refusal to try. The task in front of her is daunting, and she's choosing to give up rather than to struggle and eventually succeed. And I know she'll succeed if she tries. She's still young enough to pick up a second language easily, at least more easily than it would be for adults, even if she's too old to ever lose her accent (I've heard the cut-off for that is around 10-12 years old). She's completely immersed in the English language. Even though she has almost no knowledge of it to begin with, from here she can only sink or swim. And if she chooses to swim, she'll begin progressing rapidly. I just know it.

I want to pressure her to try, but I know if I do that, it'll likely do more harm than good. Her mother nags her enough for both of us anyway. I want my role to be more of a mentor or at least a helping hand for when Miki decides to start trying. Until then, I'll just continue trying to help her as she sinks, as unrewarding as it is.