Dr John Chew, the retiring Bishop of the Anglican church in Singapore, made this statement in a recent interview.  He turns 65 years old very soon.

I keep wondering if it is really all that possible.  He was brought up in a Chinese-speaking home.  He attended Chinese-speaking schools and university.  He learned English along the way.  He can speak, read and write in English fluently.  And yet, he says he is still uncomfortable with English.

I grew up in an English-speaking home, went to English schools all the way to university.  I studied Mandarin because I had no choice.  I took on Japanese in university to fulfill my language requirement for graduation.  I actually went all the way to graduate level.  But I never used it once I stepped out of the university, so I am embarrassed to say that I ever spoke Japanese!

The other languages I now speak, read and write (to some degree) were all learned voluntarily. I am more comfortable in some than others.  But, I can't say that I am uncomfortable all my life with a second language.  Mandarin has become almost 2nd nature to me, as with the other languages I speak.  I no longer have to translate from English in my head before I speak out the sentence.  I sometimes do think in the foreign language.

To me, how comfortable one will be in a language all depends on the person himself.  Do you choose to function in it wholly?  Or do you choose to still cling to a "comfort" language of your childhood?  Indonesian foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong are sometimes more comfortable conversing with each other in Cantonese, rather than in Indonesian!  My Indonesian visitor friend was quite upset at that.  I think she felt left out of the conversation, more than anything else.

Keep on using the new language you are learning.  Don't give up.  You may feel overwhelmed at first, but soon you'll be swimming along and enjoying yourself.

Enjoy your learning process!

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