To my fellow immigrant friends:
Moving to a new country is like creating (動詞:創造) a new Facebook Account. You start with zero friends and an empty profile (名詞:檔案). Imagine (動詞:聯想,想像) all those friends from back home have all been taken away, and you are left alone in this new environment (名詞:環境) where you don’t recognize (名詞:辨別) one face. Yes, I have been there and I hope I can change that for you.
When I first get to the United States, I didn’t have anyone to hang out with，
didn’t have anyone to play video games (名詞:電動遊戲) with. I was bored (動詞:厭煩,沉悶) at home every day in the summer. Going shopping with my mom would be the most exciting event during the day and I would never do that in Hong Kong even when there are way better shopping malls around town. Yes, I was bored and I was lonely. That was the first time I actually dread summer vacation and want school to start earlier.
What did I do to change that? I determined (動詞:決意) to get better in speaking English and decided to not speak Cantonese at school. At first, it was difficult. I did not know what to talk about when I met new people. For a while, I chose to stay quiet and act like I did not care about making new friends. And I would always see this person walking back home after school and he lives at my apartment complex. I chose to stay quiet yet again. But as the days gone by, I felt even lonelier, especially when I saw people laughing and talking in groups. So, I told myself, “What is there to lose? Who cares if you mess up your pronunciation or sound like you don’t belong here?” On the next day, I started talking more to my classmates in group projects and activities. Moreover, I finally decided to walk up to my neighbor and said, “Hey, What’s up man?”
If starting conversations and friendships only take a “what’s up”, then why are we still here sitting alone and eating by ourselves? You may say what if they ignore (動詞:漠視,忽視) you and not respond. Well, then they don’t deserve your time and effort and just move on. But if they do respond, you can enjoy the fruits and benefits of your step of faith and confidence. As you talk to more people and practice your oral English, you will eventually get better. So don’t worry about your ability to speak fluently if you just started speaking English. In my experience, most people understand that if English is not your mother tongue, they will be more patient and more tolerant (形容詞:寬容) when they listen to you speak.
I encourage you to step out of your comfort zone. We all know it’s hard, but we learn by making mistakes. No one learns English without speaking, writing and reading. Therefore, try your best to get better at it, try your best to master it, try your best to be comfortable so you can make friends with English speakers!
So now, go say “what’s up” to your classmate or your neighbor!
Yours truly,
Kevin Tsang
親愛的新移民朋友：
遷居到一個新的國家，就好像開一個新的「臉書」戶口，沒有朋友，檔案一片空白。試想你故鄉的朋友全被拿走了，只剩下你一個人，孤零零地面對對著新的環境、陌生的臉孔。是的，我也曾有過這樣的經歷，我盼望能助你一把。
剛到美國時，沒有人跟我玩，沒有人和我一起打電動遊戲。整個暑假，每天我都悶在家裡。跟媽媽出去購物，可算是最興奮的事了。這是我在香港，一個購物天堂，從來沒有做過的事。我很孤單，也很寂寞。這是我第一次感到暑假是如此漫長，也是我第一次希望可以早點去上學。
我做了些什麼去改變這個境況呢？我下定決心，不再在校內講粵語，同時，好好鍛鍊英語會話。起初，我感到非常困難。遇到新朋友時，我不知如何應對。有一段時間，我選擇沈默，裝作我不太需要結交朋友似的。與此同時，在放學回家的途中，我常常看到一個跟我住在同一幢公寓的人在走路。但，我還是安安靜靜的，沒有和他搭訕。日子一天一天的過去，我感到越來越孤單，特別是當我看到一群人在聊天、在說笑的時候。我開始問自己：「我會有損失嗎？誰會計較你發音不準、或是講話不像本地人？」從那天起，我開始跟那些和我在同一個作業小組和其他活動的同學交談。不但如此，我最後決定，走到我的鄰居面前，跟他說：「嗨，你還好嗎？」
如果簡簡單單的一句「你好」，可以打開話匣子，啟動友誼，為什麼我們還要一個人坐在這裡，孤伶伶地吃我們的午餐？也許你會問，倘若他們忽視你，不回應你，那又該怎樣？果真如此，只是證明，你用不著花時間和精力在他們身上而已！不要介懷，繼續做該做的事。但，如果他們真的有所回應，你將會享受憑信心走出一步的結果和益處。你跟別人多聊天、多練習，你的英文口語將會越來越順暢。因此，就算你只是剛開始講英語，不要擔心自己說得流利與否。經驗告訴我，大部份知道英語不是你母語的人，都會較有耐性、較為包容地聽你講話。
鼓勵你走出自己的安舒地帶。我們知道這絕非容易，只是，我們都是從錯誤中學習的。不經過講、寫和讀這些途徑，根本沒有人能學到英語。因此，儘你所能把它學好、把它駕馭；儘你所能，放鬆自己，以致你可以跟講英語的人交朋友。
現在，就跟你的同學和鄰居說聲「你好」！
你的朋友
嘉穎
◎Kevin Tsang ◎ 翻譯：秦黃業玲