How do you define fluency?
Friday, 24th April 2009
Many people learning foreign languages hope to become fluent. What is meant by this varies from person to person.
Some aim for native or near-native proficiency, which takes many years of study and practice to achieve, and only consider themselves fluent once they achieve that level. Others settle for something less.
The word fluency comes from the Latin fluere – to flow. Fluency in a language could be defined as the ability to speak it easily and accurately – i.e. that the language flows out of your mouth without you having to stop all the time to think what to say next. Total accuracy is unusual, even for native speakers, so you could consider yourself fluent even if you make some mistakes. There will also be some words you don’t know or can’t remember, but you can probably find other ways to express the same concepts.
Here are some possible ways of dividing fluency into different levels:
Basic fluency
A basic fluency may involve such skills as being able to use greetings, buy things in shops, arrange accommodation, buy tickets, get directions, read signs, and maybe have simple conversations. This type of fluency is very useful for tourists and business people who regularly make foreign trips. The ability to ‘get by’ in a foreign language like this is what many language learners aim for, and you can achieve it by doing a beginners course. With basic fluency in a language you probably won’t be able to go much beyond the language of your textbooks, and if others don’t reply in the same kind of language, you will probably find it difficult to understand them. You might also have to resort to miming and speaking your native language at times to get your message across.
Conversational fluency
If you reach an intermediate to advanced level in a language you probably will be able to have relatively complex conversations, and to understand a lot of what you hear. Even if you can’t understand every word, you can probably get the gist at least, and guess the meanings of unknown words from the context. You will probably be able to talk about a range of topics, especially ones that interest you, and to communicate effectively with native speakers.
Native-like fluency
If you’re regularly mistaken for a native speaker, you’ve attained native-like fluency. This will involve not only speaking the language effortlessly and accurately, but also being familiar with different registers of the language, and also the culture associated with the language.
Want to find out what level you are? Click here for free online level tests in a range of foreign languages.
Tags: language, languages, tailor-made, italian, german, learning, french, spanish, english
Posted by Simon Ager 2009-04 under Attitudes to Language Learning, Making Progress,
Permalink
