Everyone has a different definition of fluency and so I decided to ask you all what you think, what is fluency in your opinion and have you become fluent in any languages through LingQ?
This great video gives some good answers to this
http://bit.ly/dohMk2
The definition that I like most:
Being able to use the vocabulary I already have, in real conversations that flow naturally in a way that feels comfortable for everybody involved in the conversation.
Source: http://bit.ly/9Y7d7e (bottom of page)
I think that to be fluent, you just need to be thinking in the target language while you speak it. I mean, you don’t make any kind of translation in your brain. You’re so used to it, that it begins to flow…
The most important of all things is that you need to realize that you’ll always be a student… you’ll always learn… you’ll never know everything… and that’s the nice part of it!
Nice video by the way!
I’d agree that you need to be able to have fluid conversations in the language, but often I think that people use the word “fluent” to mean a very good mastery of the language.
A good example of what I mean is that a child is fluent in a their native language, they can easily have conversations however they do not have the same kind of mastery of the language that a literate adult has.
I think oftentimes the language learner can spend years learning vocabulary and grammar and gain some kind of “mastery” of the language, but still not be very fluent in the way that a child is.
Good point, bobafruit.
I also want to put in another question: when we say fluent we usually refer to speaking,
can someone be a fluent speaker but not a, say, “fluent listener”?
yeah I think there is a problem because “fluent” is a very vague word so additional words must be used to clarify what it means
1.native language
2.fluent in listening/speaking but with an accent
3.fluent enough to have a conversation on any subject but with imperfect grammar
4. fluent enough to have yourself understood on any topic but with many mistakes
I like what yuriythebest wrote, but I would add these:
Sounds fluent (good ear or the language was partially acquired as a child), but lacks full control because of lack of vocabulary. Uses fluent-sounding roundabout ways of saying things.
“That uh, thing that you use, it’s like silver and you use it to open a bottle.” (corkscrew)
“Your thought on that subject is very beautiful” (Lovely way to say something in English, but it sounds like it was borrowed from Greek or maybe Russian.)
How about “basic fluency” (accent or no accent) when subjects of a general nature are discussed?