My Respond with "Mandarin Education in Jakarta : Waste Potential?"

Nowadays, many international schools in Indonesia teaching the other language, besides English and Bahasa. They also teaching Mandarin.  This language is from china and has there own characters like japan and Korean. Each character has two or more meanings. Many students taking a course so that it could help them to learn this language.Last time, I was read some articles from my e-book on unit 6. they talk about "Mandarin Education in Jakarta: Wasted Potential?". How could the writers think like that? The writer gives some opinion that mandarin got a different method from the other language. For example in Bahasa and English class, they could speak with that language even just respond to what is the teacher said in the class/ Many students forget the numerous characters after long periods of disuse. And another problem is many students taking mandarin courses only to passing exams.And it really happens to me. I have learned mandarin since I was in Kindergarten. And still, learn it until junior high school. And all of the statement editor's wrote was true with my experience. I got the same problem, could speak when asking permission to the toilet only, say thanks, and say goodbye.  But we could not able to take a conversation with each other. And after we passing the exam, we didn't remember again. It is a bad thing.

So the solution from me, we should practice it day by day. Start reading many articles, try to taking a little conversation with friends or teachers, listening to how it should be to say, and practice writing word by word to more remembering the characters of mandarin.