Thinking in English

My boy now has ting xie or Chinese Spelling at his kindergarten. The other day, I was helping him to prepare for it.

However, I noticed that he thinks in English or uses English to learn Mandarin.

MG: Baby, write "huo"

My Boy: What is huo in English?

MG: Fire

My Boy: Oh Ok. (Writes the Chinese Character for "huo" or fire)

MG: Now, write shui.

My Boy: What is shui?

MG: It is water.

My Boy: Oh Ok (Writes the chinese character for "shui" or water)

After a while........

MG: Hey, you can't do it like this you know. Mummy cannot tell you the words in English. You have to listen to the Chinese words then write it.

Eventually........

He received a 6/6 for his ting xie.

MG: Wow! Thats good. Well, done. Did you listen to the Chinese words?

My Boy: No. Teacher told us "Huo" is fire. "Shui" is water.