What is fluency? What are we aiming for?

What is fluency?

Fluency is a very overloaded term. For the purposes of this site, fluency simply means being able to speak smoothly in a given language, it doesn’t mean knowing every single word, being a native level, etc.

The main components of “fluency”:

• You sound reasonably standard in pronunciation, you might have an accent but rarely are completely misunderstood.
• You can structure complicated sentences (normal day to day complicated, or in a book) without strain, and can quickly recall core vocabulary including common nouns/verbs/adjectives.
• The way you speak sounds natural, you don’t make mistakes with how you use words, idioms, or sentence structure that makes it hard to understand you.

This definition above is my own, everyone’s might be different, and that’s ok. I’m writing the above definition so you know what I’m talking about, not because it’s objectively true in any sense.

What are we aiming for?

We are aiming to be able to speak fluently without having to think. This is an important goal because it lays the foundation for the rest of your learning.

To illustrate this – I’ve seen cases in language learning where people:

• Spent a lot of time learning vocab through flashcards, etc., but never quite sound natural.
• Couldn’t have even a basic conversation without strain and awkward pauses.
• Did all of their learning with a bilingual teacher, and that teacher explained grammar in their native language. This became a crutch.

Learning speed

I’m not going to say “you will get fluent in 3 months!” (although that’s possible with a huge time investment), but I am going to say that there are more and less efficient ways of learning. There are no shortcuts in language learning, but there are more efficient paths, ways to avoid detours and dead ends. Let’s explore those together!