So Many Languages

Last night Principal, her daughters and I went to the beach for dinner. Delicious food + a beautiful sunset = my favorite place to eat in KK. While enjoying the view and the sunset we had an interesting conversation about what it's like growing up learning three languages as Principal's daughters, Jennifer, Ivy and Kristy did. After living here for almost seven months it still amazes me to hear someone quickly switch from speaking Malay, to Mandarin and then to English. It's something I hear pretty regularly so I feel I shouldn't be so awe struck anymore, but as I struggle to learn one foreign language the fact that everyone I'm around regularly speaks three languages still seems pretty incredible. I asked the girls what it was like growing up with parents whose first languages are different. Principal's husband is Malay and he doesn't know how to speak Mandarin, which is Principal's first language. The girls said that since they didn't know anything else, it was pretty regular. Their dad always spoke Malay to them and so they have always spoken Malay with him... and their mom always spoke Mandarin to them so they have always spoken Mandarin with her... and I witness that's how it is to this day. It's fun to observe but I will admit as I try to learn the languages (mainly Malay) it has its moments of frustration. The whole family knows English well but they only speak it when I'm around.

It's also amazing to me that Principal's husband (I call him Uncle) doesn't speak Mandarin...although he can understand quite a bit, he doesn't speak it. From what I've observed the majority language spoken in their home is Mandarin. I laughed when Jennifer said that sometimes when Uncle is scolding Kristy (age 9) she will mumble Mandarin under her breath. I would think that it would be quite frustrating living having your daughters and wife usually speaking a language you can't speak... but Principal and the girls said it doesn't really bother him.

Not only is the language barrier an interesting dynamic in the family life here but also it's also something I enjoy observing in the school. At our school most of the children come to us knowing two languages well... whether it's Mandarin and Malay, or Mandarin and English or Malay and English. Often when a teacher is just generally speaking to the class she will say most things in two languages, sometimes all three. The curriculum and weekly schedule is set up as such that the teachers have different parts of the day when they are to be speaking one given language to the students and it rotates through out the week. For example during snack time on Monday the teachers only speak Mandarin to the students... on Tuesday they only speak Malay and on Wednesday only English. All general parts of the school day are scheduled this way. The teachers actually have a set number of minutes they are suppose to speak each language to the students every week.

Recently I have begun to feel like the students are really beginning to grasp the idea of English. As their English teacher this is obviously a very rewarding feeling. It is absolutely incredible to me how quickly their young brains can absorb a new language. They seem to progressively understand me better and are starting to speak with me more and more. As I learn more Malay I am able to understand when they speak to me in Malay and then translate it to English for them.

It's safe to say I am fully enjoying the opportunity to be around people speaking three different languages and I look forward to see how much further the children's English skills will progress.