Learn Malaysian?

[sillymommy]

We got great news about an upcoming military assignment. We're going to Malaysia!! Anyone have experience in learning Bahasa Malay? Is it just as well to learn Indonesian and figure out the differences once we're in country?

[Arcadia]

Which city in Malaysia? It would be easier to just start with Behasa Melayu (Malay) instead of starting Behasa Indonesia now and switching.

 

English is widely spoken though especially in major cities and tourist areas. They are used to expats as well as regional tourists.

 

The tellers in national banks like Maybank do tend to talk in Malay but they do have English speaking staff.

 

ATMs have English option. I think the ATMs have other languages too but I didn't need those. Visa and MasterCard are widely accepted at malls. Taxi fare can be bargained instead of by the meter.

 

There is Legoland Malaysia if you have Lego fans in your family.

 

ETA:

If you are a foodie, learning the numbers and memorizing the names of favorite local dishes is good enough to order food from street hawkers and pay the correct amount of cash.

[Classical Katharine]

Someone at this site may be able to help you:

 

http://how-to-learn-any-language.com/forum/default.asp

 

A serious blog for people teaching themselves all kinds of languages using all kinds of methods!

[sillymommy]

Thanks for the info! We will be in country for 3 yrs, so I want to have the kids at least at a conversational level before we arrive. Our hope is to send them to the local public school so they are immersed. That's a sure way for them to become fluent!

[Arcadia]

Our hope is to send them to the local public school so they are immersed.

Public school aren't religion free so depends on your family's comfort level. My agnostic Malaysian friends prefer Chinese public schools to the Malay public schools. They end up at least trilingual.

 

Since it is for three years, see if you can do a interlibrary loan of something like Berlitz Malay.

 

E.g.

http://www.amazon.com/Berlitz-Malay-Phrase-Book-Dictionary/dp/1780043805

 

It's a lovely country though and nice as a starting point for touring Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

 

I love taking the Malaysian Railway Train.

[composr]

I highly recommend doing the following:

1. Listen a ton - if possible, listen to or watch (passively) news, music, fiction, etc. programmes in Bahasa Malay. However much time you spend actively studying (flash cards, conversation, pattern study, writing), multiply it by two. You need to absorp the sounds, word boundaries, inflection, etc.
2. Visual Vocabulary - focus on learning words and concepts by directly linking the Malay word (by sound) to a picture, video or real life object. Avoid English (or others) as much as possible here.
3. Grammar as Patterns  - when distilling grammar for rapid learning, use common sentence or phrasal patterns with word replacement. For instance, I could teach an English sentence "There is a chair", and systematically replace "chair" with every single object I know the word for, practising the grammar as a pattern of expressing thought, and flexing my vocab at the same time
4. Games and fun - learn how to play familiar games or silly songs in Malay! Learn something new (and easy to pickup) in the target culture.
5. Immerse and enjoy!  - Figure somewhere on the order of 150-300 hours of study and exposure to feel comfortable in conversation. I would recommend 100 of these hours to involve active studying, with the balance as passive immersion. Speak with each other at little opportunities! And if possible, find any local or other events (for instance people posting YouTube videos of festivals, etc.) to connect with the language and culture.

My recommendations are somewhat generic for all languages, but should apply. Look at whatever resources other recommend specifically as well. Have fun! Good luck! Sounds like a great, great opportunity for you and your family.