“Such a Gentleman”: Brilliant Boy Goes Viral for Teaching Mom Hard and Soft English Sounds, SA Moved
- A young learner impressed thousands of people after a video surfaced of him explaining the complexities of the English language to his mother
- The clip was shared on TikTok, showing a calm and patient child breaking down the difference between specific letter sounds
- Social media users praised the boy for his articulation and noted that his ability to think before speaking is a sign of high intelligence
Source: TikTok
A mother shared a fascinating educational moment with her son after he provided her with free English lessons at home.
The video was shared on TikTok by @zandimendu21 on January 15 2026, where it garnered 107k views along with 2.7k comments from an impressed online community.
The clip shows the mother asking her son questions about a previous conversation they had regarding the pronunciation of his new teacher’s surname. Based on a post from the previous day, the mom questioned if there are hard “r” pronunciations in English since the boy previously claimed that the “r” in Ms Condroy is a soft “r”. The boy confirmed this was correct and provided the word "ring" as an example of a soft "r" sound.
Young boy explains the different “r” pronunciations
When TikTok user @zandimendu21 asked for further examples, the boy explained that the “r” in “raw” was an example of a core strong “r”. He noted that there are many different kinds of soft and hard "r's in the English language, leaving his mother feeling gratified by the private tutoring.
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Source: UGC
SA reacts to the young boy's impressive English lesson
The clip garnered 1.4M views and thousands of comments from an online community that reacted with massive praise for the boy's articulation and his ability to express himself so clearly. Many viewers were impressed by how patient the little one was with his mom throughout the explanation. Some called the child brilliant and noted that he thinks carefully before speaking in the same way smart adults do. One user mentioned that as soon as the boy said the phrase “many different kinds,” she felt compelled to sit up and listen to his wide words. Others celebrated the child's academic confidence and joked that he is officially the head of the English department in his household.
User @Chumie_n🇿🇦 said:
"😭 Immediately when he said 'many different kinds' I got up from my bed to listen 🥺."
User @Kgosi Makoko commented:
"He is trying all the strategies not to sound disrespectful 🤞♥️."
User @Zandile BigZeti Mahlasela added:
"He is technical with his responses, does not wanna sound rude. Very polite, this one."
User @phumezamajikela shared:
"He is such a gentleman. When he said “yes”, deep down he knew he was supposed to say absolutely, but chose to spare your feelings👌🏽."
User @Nhasie Manzana said:
"Many different kinds, in speaking of English, we don't pronounce it like that. What a brilliant young boy ❤💕."
User @bhut_dopla commented:
"Very smart. Patient and thinks before he speaks. Impressive 🩵."
Watch the TikTok video here.
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Source: Briefly News
