Lately, I have continued to explore affixes in Malay and am slowly getting more comfortable using and understanding them in ordinary speech. I have also gotten considerably better at recognizing roots and deconstructing unfamiliar words to make sense of them, which I am really happy about. That said, as with any language, there are still constant struggles getting accustomed to some grammatical rules. One method Melisa has stressed more with me this semester is that of drill and making sure that I am staying on top of vocabulary and grammar as we progress. I really have been packing a lot into my meetings with Melisa, but that is perhaps the best way to do it: focused and comprehensive instruction with Melisa, and independent review outside of that. I have also started to learn more words to express my feelings, thoughts, and questions during the learning process itself. For instance, I often apologize instinctively, so, instead of saying this in English, I can simply say "Maafkan saya" (similar to "forgive me") and ensure that I am speaking Malay as much as possible during these meetings. This helps with pronunciation and also means that I can receive some feedback at the same time.
In addition to affixes, I have also been practicing making comparisons in Malay. The word "lebih," meaning "more," can be used in the sentence pattern "[Noun A] adalah lebih [Adj.] daripada [Noun B]" (or "A is more Adj. than B"). There is also the -se prefix that, in this context (but not in all contexts), denotes an equal comparative state and is used in the pattern "[Noun A] adalah se-[Adj] [Noun B]" (or "A is as Adj. as B"). Though simple, these grammatical structures come up quite frequently in casual conversation and are great ways to expand my vocabulary (especially with adjectives) and express myself more effectively in Malay.
Lastly, I have been studying question words in Malay and the correct contexts in which to use them. These words are: "Mana" (where), "siapa" (who), "apa" (what), and "berapa" (how many). These pair well with time words as well. I have focused on better expressing different points in time, especially given that Malay does not have a past tense indicator and, much like Chinese, relies heavily on contextual clues and direct indications of point in time to convey or describe past actions. Much like in English, these words can be placed in either the beginning or the end of the sentence, and do not always require a preposition preceding them. Melissa gave me some homework exercises to help me practice and solidify my understanding of this.
This semester, Melisa and I have been more proactive in defining strategies and seeing what does and does not work earlier in the process. This has in turn helped me improve at a quicker pace and tackle more challenging material without sacrificing my own understanding of the language. It is unfortunate that we are already approaching midterms and the middle of the semester, but I am at least grateful that I am making use of my Malay resources and Melisa's presence, taking adequate notes in the process so that my journey learning Malay does not end in May, but can continue after as well.
Replies
It looks like you are really putting a lot of effort into your language learning plan. Were you using the aid of any particular books or just tackling concepts with the instruction of your language partner? I think finding a solid comprehensive workbook would be great to build on your foundation after May especially since you have already been grasping some grammatical concepts and vocabulary. I am planning to delve into a textbook that my language partner provided for me. Good luck on your studies!