PETALING JAYA: Language is not a barrier for 23-year-old volunteer Ain Syawani, who has picked up several languages to help foreigners get vaccinated at the Bukit Jalil vaccine dispensing centre (PPV).

       A recording of the University Selangor (Unisel) student conversing in Urdu with a foreigner at the centre went viral on social media recently, with over 14,000 shares and 30,000 on Twitter.

       Many have praised Ain for her effort.

       “I learned from the foreigners who came to the counter, as it was initially hard to assist them owing to the language barrier.

       “I was forced to repeat myself and it got tiring as we receive more than 200 foreign workers a day.

       “So, I took the opportunity to learn a few important sentences in Urdu, Hindi, Pakistani and Burmese.

       “It took me only a day to be fluent in their languages,” she told mStar on Friday (Aug 20).

       She said the foreigners would be in shock and would smile in surprise when she spoke to them in their mother tongue.

       Ain, who is in her final year of teaching English as a second language (TESL) course at university, said her skills have somewhat helped speed up the vaccination process, as less time is spent due to communication breakdown.

       She acknowledged that there were some who felt uncomfortable at her ability to pick up several other languages, saying that some of the foreigners may try to take advantage of the situation.

       However, she said that she did not view such comments negatively, as she is merely trying to ease the vaccination process at the centre.

       She noted that some of the foreigners began lining up at the centre for the jabs as early as 3am, or are forced to wait in line in the heat for their turn.

       “We volunteers only sit and wait inside.

       “So, what is wrong if we treat them better,” she said.

       Ain, who has been a volunteer at the PPV since June, said she is happy that she was able to learn several languages and put her newfound skills to practice.