People always say the best way to learn a language is by moving to a different country where you are forced to speak the language. That way you will eventually learn and master the language. That is true. Same thing happen to me. I barely speak any English back in Malaysia, so when I moved to Canada with all the "Ah Mo" speaking English, I had to speak English with them in order to survive. Everything you see or encounter is English, not Chinese or Bahasa Melayu. The only place you can escape is Chinatown, where majority of people is Chinese or Taiwanese or Hong Kongese.
The sad thing is...
I eventually get very good at English to a level where I even get a bit uncomfortable at speaking Cantonese or Chinese as I tend to mix it with English. I avoid any possibility to hang out at Chinatown. Now I only speak Mandarin to my parent and sister on the phone. I don't even have any Chinese friend speaking Chinese!
I used to be very good at Bahasa Melayu even though it is my second language. I wasn't very good at it until I won a second place for essay writing competition on a "kebangsaan" level. Hey, that was a big deal back in 2005. I won RM1000 okay. From then on, I got attention from every teacher and even the principle! Woohoo! I was so proud of myself. Now...I can't even get the "tatabahasa" correctly. I have never speak or read or write any Melayu ever since 2006. I have no friends who I can practice my Melayu.
Eventually....
Yup, I lost it. Not completely as I still understand and read Bahasa Melayu, just partially losing the writing skills. If I were to asked to write an essay, I think I can write like a Grade 6. That is not a good right? I know, but what can I do. I speak, listen to English ALL THE TIME, so there is no way not to be fluent in English. There was one point in my life where I felt like I have completely given up this language.
Sayangkan, saya sudah hampir lupa Bahasa Melayu/Bahasa Malaysia. Minta maaf Cikgu Tamil!
Lesson 19 = You learn, but you do not give up any language. Keep practicing.
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