Learning Bahasa, Learning Foreign Language

Many of you might have chances to learn other foreign language. Spanish, French, Dutch, Deutch, Mandarin, Yiddish, ... Those who commuting between countries, having a regular contact with foreigner, I believe, will have a self motivation to learn the related foreign language(s). It takes not only time, but also dedication to learn. And said, having a clear idea of why we are learning a language can help to motivate us in our studies.

English is (almost) always useful, but probably you will found out that speaking English doesn't mean everything. In meetings for example, the people on the other side can discuss things amongst themselves in their own language without the English speakers understanding, and using interpreters slows everything down. In any socializing after the meetings, the locals will probably feel more comfortable using their own language rather than English.


{Found in Youtube a funny 'play' of Australian students in Bahasa. I just realize that the word aduh and asik could be something 'matter' too. Haha.}

Thanks to technology called internet, and globalization, nowadays we could easily pick up some new understanding of other languages. Practical tips to learn the language, how to's, vocabulary & materials, translation service offers, and even reasons on learning other languages are abundantly available to be use.

Although learning resources available both online and at many learning centrals, lack of confidence in practicing the language could hold you back from not speaking out loud the new language. If you are learning any foreign language now, keep on practicing though, and do not mind others laughing on you, I would suggest. And don't let yourself entrapped in an instant-translation-software, available online or in your gadget. Once I have been dealing with a Chinese from Taiwan that does not speaks English or Bahasa, and I do not speaks any Chinese languages. Can you imagine, it was very frustrating hours of meeting, exchanging instant-translated-messages? You bet! Glad, there was something called 'body language' that could be very useful. I was unable to talk deeper, until I met someone else to interpret.

You know, if we do not want to learn the language, we won’t. If we do want to learn the language, take control. Choose content of interest, that we want to listen to and read. Seek out the words and phrases that we need to understand our listening and reading. Do not wait for someone else to show us the language, nor to tell what to do. Discover the language by ourself, like a child growing up. Talk when you feel like it. Write when you feel like it. A teacher cannot teach us to become fluent, but we can learn to become fluent if we want to.

Relax and enjoy yourself! That's what I believe. I myself still learn and keep on learning by listening to foreign language radios, and sometimes read foreign books. And well, do not worry about what we cannot remember, or cannot yet understand, or cannot yet say. It does not matter. We are learning and improving. The language will gradually become clearer in our brain, but this will happen on a schedule that we cannot control. So sit back and enjoy. Just make sure that we spend enough time with the language. That is the greatest guarantee of success.