Why can I recall words more easily in my second language, despite rarely using it, than in languages I've studied for years and use almost every day?

I've noticed that I can recall words in my second language, Cebuano, pretty quickly when speaking, even though I barely use it in everyday life. Meanwhile, I sometimes struggle to speak smoothly in other languages (TL) I've been studying for years because I can't immediately remember the words I want to say.

What's strange is that I actually use those other languages more often than Cebuano, but I can still remember Cebuano words quite easily, even after months of not speaking it.

Is this normal when it comes to learning a second language? Could there be a specific part of the brain that helps with this, or is there another reason why I can recall Cebuano words more easily than words in languages I've spent years studying?

For some background, I lived in a Cebuano-speaking province when I was six and learned Cebuano for about a year. After moving back to a Tagalog-speaking province, I eventually lost the ability to speak it for years, although I could still understand people when they spoke it. I've recently started speaking Cebuano again, but I'm not as fluent as I used to be.

submitted by /u/Afraid-Golf-2837
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