… As a beginner to Translate Chinese to Malay
Most language courses are structured so that you first learn the basics needed for day to day interactions. If you are in Singapore, and are learning Chinese, English or Malay, you will have plenty of opportunity to put your newly learnt vocabulary to use.
So on week 2 of your learning streak, prepare yourself and order a drink in your new language. You know that these conversations always play out similarly. For example:
- “One coffee please”.
- “Sugar and milk?”
- “Yes, please”
- “Ok, that’s S$ 3.00″
Prepare yourself beforehand by imagining how the conversation will go and then just fire the question! There are always aids you can fall back on, like:
- The menu
- If you can not hear the price: just pay with a note that is surely large enough, look at the number at the cash counter, or ask the waiter for the bill.
- Listen closely to how the people around you order, and imitate them
If you can handle this simple and structured conversation without falling back on any other languages, it will give a major boost to your confidence! Later you can put yourself in progressively more difficult situations that are still relatively predictable. You are the customer! So do not worry about being slow or inaccurate.
… At an intermediate level to Translate Chinese to Malay
As a beginner, you may be too slow to interact with people in a more informal way, but once you get beyond the basics, it becomes really important to have friends to speak with in the language you are learning. Ideally, you make new friends that do not have any other language in common with.
This often goes wrong in immersion programs: if you travel to Spain to learn Spanish, attend Spanish classes in the morning, but spend the afternoon just interacting with people from your own country, you are missing out on the most valuable part of the immersion experience.
If other speakers of the language you are learning are not readily available, you can try getting in touch with people virtually by keeping a blog, through Twitter or through language learning communities such as translation services.
You can also try to pick up magazines and newspapers, and watch TV, especially when you have come a bit further into the intermediate stage. Just try and see how much you already understand. If you are learning a language with a different writing system, such as Japanese or Chinese, reading may have to wait until you are at an advanced stage.
… As an advanced speaker to Translate Chinese to Malay
You have learnt the language up to near-native fluency. Congratulations. But you will need to maintain it. Try writing in the language, follow the media and keep in touch with friends who you used to speak the language with! If you do not use it, your ability will die. And what is the point of learning the language in the first place if you are not going to use it?
