Me and Myanglish

BEING A MYANMAR CITIZEN, how much I can expect my English to be fluent despite I hurdle all the way to my engineering degree? I studied my basic education at my home town school and I am just average student among my classmate. I interested in speaking English after I dream to go oversea for work. It came to me after I graduated from my first civil engineering diploma from CGTI. During I worked in Yangon with local company, I managed to attend a speaking class at Hledan Junction. But it wasn't good enough because I can practice it during my class time and after that I have no partner to talk English both in home and work. Day after day my serious on English disappear and I get back zero setting.

It reignited me when I joined SPA Management (Myanmar) Co. Ltd after my further studies for degree. Fortunately I got that job through mutual engineer friend. This project is first ever international standard hospital in my country and I could have a chance to work together with migrant workers from several countries. So I couldn't afford to neglect my English speaking skill for the sake of smoother communication and better relationship with superior. In that project I usually need to feed data to PM who is Australia and occassionally I also needed to attend progress meeting as well as talking to international firms such as material suppliers, Architects and sub-contractors, etc. It was my turning point to dare dream my oversea job and I can even say that PHIH prject as my lunching site.

After working in these international hospital project for 13 months, I had a chance to go and work at Malaysia. Since then I need to rely on my myanglish to survive among other country men. I wasn't happy with the way they treat me regarding to my English speaking skill at earlier days. Here are some memory I still remember now and share with my friends. First person I needed to confront was my boss's scretary lady by introducing on my first day onward:

scre: Hi good morning, R u new worker here today?
me : hi good morning, yes I am.
scre: what's your post here?
me : hmm.....(I still don't know what's my post and so holding and answer),,,,engineer.
scre: awww,,,you are engineer????(by raising her eyebrow)
me: yes I am
scre: Are you graduate?
me: yes of course, without graduate how can i become an engineer?
scre: yes i know, but your english is so bad being graduate..
me: immm,,,,probably you are right bcz we studied through mother language.
scre: how did you graduate without speaking english well?
me: yes I could manage to get it bcz I studied at local university.
scre: how can you work here without understanding basic english? tell me...
me: I was started to angry,,,and reply, why not I understand if they come with engg: words?
scre: I don't think so....
Meanwhile she talked nearby chinese engineer by chines language and joked at my situation). I was so suffer with the way they treat to me like that but I can't find proper words to counter attack. I just simply quiet but discomfort.
me: hey,,you are critizing my English and how much ur English is good enough?
scre: I don't understand what are you talking about.
me: I carefully talked again slower than first time.
scre: My english is very standard, my professional before this job was English tuition teacher.
me: I also don't understand what you speak all bcz you speak with chinese assent.
scre: No, you don't understand is due to your poor english skill.
me: then you don't understand my speaking also mention that your english is not good enough.
scre: by laughing at me widely and what a stupid guy you are?
me: If I am stupid then so do you.
scre: you don't know how to respect your senior, you are so rude.
me: yes I become rude bcz you firstly rude to me.
scre: everybody know your english is bad and they all understand what I am talking.
me: because they all are chinese people,,,do not proud so much.
That time, another chinese engineer came in my room and reinforced scretary by voting she is right and I am poor in English. His name is Bell.
Bell: According to ur english skill, I find it hard to believe u r real engineer.
me: I was so much ashamed and replied it's non of your business.
Bell: I have been experiened that you didn't get what I asked you few times.
me: yes I am because I try to familiar your English sound.
Bell: my english is standard and I studied at Australia for my engineering degree
me: but mind you also don't understand what I say
Bell: it's bcz your pronunciation is incorrect.
me: I had no problem in communication with my previous PM who is Australia. He can understand me but u don't.
Bell: you are over proud than it is.
I don't look other people down like you did. But I admit that my English is not as good as you all because my country's education is not good enough. What I can do then? I'll try to learn and improve myself during my working in this company. Next day early morning, Bell bring me his room and show me one voculary(alternative) from a book and asked me
Bell: how to pronounce it
me: Alternative
Bell: what does it mean?
me: change one by one
Bell: imm no bad, what is your major?
me: Civil engineering
Bell: Can you do bldg design?
me: Frankly I tell you, I forgot now and need to study again if I am needed to do design.
Bell: Do you know MS xxxxxx software?
me: that one also I don't know.
Bell: come I show you what to use that software.
me: thank you, bell.

I fortunately able to work at the office where everybody speak English mainly in Malaysia. As a result, I could have improved my English during my 3 years working in that company and it had helped me a lot when I search a job in Singapore. Major drawback I got by working office was I couldn't able to speak Malaysia language. All my friends who were working in the site must speak their mother language to communicate with others with daily basis and they can able to speak Malaysia language like a native people. I am no doubt that they'll get some benefit from speaking foreign language in future. It's my most regret for unable to speak that language during my past 3 years in Malaysia. I'll keep my willingness in studying english so that I can verify all myanmar people are not as bad as they assume. Disappointing again, I have heard and seen a lot here in lion city that our fellow citizens are struggling with this language and of course we have a bad reputation with the standard of our English. It's obvious that we have to improve our skills if we want to survive here and get a better life. To fulfill this ambition, we are the one who is most responsible for our own goodness and lets shoulder our own part to become a better society.