"I don't care if I'm right or wrong. I just speak out. Somebody will come and correct me." This was the very good advice one of my Khmer Customer Service students gave me on learning a new language. In her few years working at the Front Desk of a 4-star business hotel, she managed to learn several languages and communicate with the international guests. Her "thick skin" also landed her a Malaysian husband.
In contrast, my Filipina roommate's attitude was: "What's wrong with them? Why can't they try to understand my Khmer? I hate it when they laugh at me! I can speak their language!" 8 years of living and working in Cambodia, and a stubborn refusal to learn the language. She ended up adopting a Cambodian baby boy and brought him home to the Philippines. The now-teenage boy remembers his home country but nothing of his language.
Asians tend to laugh when they're happy, embarrassed, fearful (sometimes), don't know what emotion to show ... When a foreigner speaks my language, I laugh! Not because I think he's funny, but because it's completely unexpected. No offense intended. The laughter didn't bother me one bit. I just rattled on, correct or not. I can speak the language - hard work and thick skin. Many thanks to all my "teachers' along the way - students, colleagues, teachers, market folks, taxi drivers, ...
I still do the same with learning Indonesian. I just rattle on, and lots of people correct me along the way. They've stopped laughing, knowing that I want to learn. Anyone and everyone can be my teacher, if I will allow them to teach me. Thank you. I am learning every day.
Have fun learning a language!
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