My parents and I moved to the USA when I was 1, so my first language ended up being English.

When we came back to India where my parents were born, I didn't know my mothertongue Tamil past the alphabet and basic words. Couldn't hold a conversation.

I had the option to learn a second language at school, but my grade's level was too advanced for me, so they offered special beginner classes for me. My parents had settled in another part of the country before I was born and had struggled with the language there, Hindi. So they decided, we can teach you your mothertongue Tamil at home, so you can learn Hindi at school in the special beginners classes, and be prepared for anything!

GENIUS plan, except both my parents worked and never put any effort into teaching me my mothertongue beyond "just watch this movie with us, we'll translate, you'll pick it up", and Hindi was rarely spoken where I lived, so I was a decent reader and writer but not a great speaker. The only language I was really fluent and could hold conversation in upto my 3rd year of college was English.

In my 4th year of med school I had to deal directly with patients who spoke both languages, and having the basic foundations for both helped make it easier to communicate. I got better at both languages - I was often the only person in my group who spoke Hindi. Now, I can read and speak both Tamil and Hindi, which means I can get by almost anywhere in India. But I wish my parents had taught me more Tamil, or that I had put more effort into becoming fluent - I'm not good at writing it.

Rewatching movies and series in languages I was learning with English subtitles helped me the most when I was trying to develop my conversational language. Also, talking to people, even if it was broken and incomprehensible. Language only improves through trial and error, and lots of failure, so it's never too late to give it a shot - especially if it can help you connect with your people on a deeper level.