What exactly does it mean to be “fluent” in a language?

When exactly can we safely say that we speak a certain language fluently? When are we able to make some coherent sentences? When do carriers understand us? The answer to this question is not obvious, writes Air force.

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South American politician and South Bend mayor Pete Buttijage stands out from other presidential candidates in the 2020 election.

But perhaps the most amazing talent of the 37-year-old veteran of the war in Afghanistan and the first openly gay candidate among the Democratic candidates is his linguistic abilities.

Pete Buttage is fluent in seven languages. This fact is primarily striking that the politician lives in a basically monolingual country. In the United States, as in the United Kingdom, the majority of the population speaks only English (80% and 62%, respectively).

Such abilities, however, cause only hobby, but also curiosity.

When Mr. Buttigieg was asked whether he really speaks all of these languages, he replied: “Depends on what you mean by fluent.”

He added that he was “more or less able to read a newspaper in Norwegian, but very slowly,” and also noted that his Arabic and Dari (one of the official languages ​​of Afghanistan) needed “brushing up.”

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The way Buttijage determines its level of language proficiency interests me because I am a former teacher of a foreign language, I have been teaching English in Japan and Italy for 11 years. And also because in the past I evaluated the oral part in the Cambridge English exam (international exam in English as a foreign language).

Languages ​​certainly captivate Buttigieg. He has the desire to learn them and the courage to practice with native speakers on television - very important traits for anyone who dreams of mastering the language.

However, like many of my former students who believed that a language could be mastered in a few months. Mr. Buttigieg clearly underestimates what exactly it means to “speak” a foreign language.

I understand well how easy it is to overestimate your capabilities. Having lived in Italy for two years and speaking Italian at home, I was confident that I spoke it fluently. Until I heard the hotel administrator call me “a foreigner who doesn’t speak Italian.”

I was upset and surprised to the core. This randomly thrown phrase forced me to understand the issue and subsequently admit that although I spoke Italian at home and, apparently, spoke it fluently, this does not mean that I spoke the language.

Фото: Depositphotos

But what does being fluent actually mean? In everyday understanding, this term equates knowledge of a language to the level of its native speakers.

But to an outsider, who does not understand the language itself, it seems that everyone who is able to somehow combine words into sentences speaks it fluently.

According to Daniel Morgan, head of the methodological department of the Schenker Institutes, a popular network of English language schools in Italy, fluency actually means the smooth and effective use of lexical means of speech by a native speaker of a second language (L2), who can speak “on a certain range of topics in the mode real time."

Although such a skill indicates a fairly good mastery of a foreign language, this does not mean automatic accuracy and a wide range of use of grammatical structures.

Are these criteria important? Depends on the needs of the speaker. If a person needs to communicate on everyday topics, “free” ownership will be quite enough.

But if a foreign language is required for business or study, accuracy and range of structures are very important. Mistakes in speech can be perceived as a lack of professionalism.

The most common of these errors is literal translation from the native language (I go in Spain “I’m going to Spain”), errors in the use of verb tense, prepositions, plurality, articles - everything that is an indispensable part of the language learning process.

However, many fall into the trap of their own confidence that if they are understood, then their language is perfect.

Experts confirm this. Grammatical errors usually do not interfere with understanding the speaker, since a native speaker automatically “corrects” them mentally.

In addition, when a person begins to speak a foreign language, friends and teachers usually praise him, trying to support him, which can also contribute to the overrated self-esteem of his skills.

It would seem that in your mind, on your own, you are an eloquent speaker, but in the first years of learning the language out loud, you will speak awkwardly.

When can you confidently say that you “speak” a language? The million dollar question.

Someone may consider themselves to have mastered Spanish if they can speak. But often he does not understand native speakers because they “speak too fast.”

If he or she uses only two tenses of the verb and makes mistakes in almost every sentence?

The answer is not “yes” or “no”, but “how good?” he or she has mastered Spanish.

However, there are very specific parameters for “free” speech and language proficiency in general.

“To measure something as abstract as ‘fluency’, concrete measures are used,” explains Daniel Morgan.

These are speed of speech (how many understandable speech units you have developed within a certain time) and length of utterance (how many units you are able to create between pauses).

The unconscious process that occurs in the speaker's brain consists of several stages. First is imagining what to say, then formulating how to say it, and finally pronouncing the appropriate sounds.

All this happens at a speed of about six stores per second. But if a person speaks his native language, speech has to perform a much more complex task in this short period of time.

She needs, among other things, to overcome the delay and pronounce sounds unusual for her speech apparatus. Even if at this stage the correctness of the statement is still lacking, achieving “fluent” speech is already a colossal feat.

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The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages ​​(CEFR) distinguishes six levels of language proficiency: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2. A is at the "basic" level, B at the "independent" level, and C at the "advanced" level.

Фото: Depositphotos

At each level, the speaker can:

A1 : Briefly tell about yourself and answer simple questions, provided that the native speaker speaks slowly and wants to interact.

A2 : describe in simple words what happened in the past, talk about the environment and explain your immediate needs, and also perform simple tasks that require a simple exchange of information.

B1 : deal with most everyday situations in a country where this language is spoken, as well as describe experience, dreams and ambitions and briefly explain your opinion or purpose.

V2 : understand a complex text on both a specific and abstract topic, speak out at that level of speed and spontaneity that allows you to interact with native speakers without significant stress for either side.

С1 : understand long texts on various topics, recognize subtleties and hidden meanings, create clear, well-structured and detailed statements in complex topics, demonstrating the free use of speech structures and logical connectives.

C2 : understand almost everything heard or read, spontaneously, freely and accurately express your opinion, distinguishing subtle shades of meaning even in very difficult situations.

In individual speakers, a particular language skill may be more developed.

Some students use grammar surprisingly correctly, but they are so afraid of making a mistake, so the smoothness of their speech suffers. Others, on the contrary, rush into a conversation with the chairman, speak quickly, but they have many mistakes.

According to a study by the Cambridge English Language Learning Center, a motivated student needs about 200 hours of instruction with a teacher to move from one level to another.

The key word here is motivated. Mastering a foreign language is an extremely individual process. Is the student open to new language structures?

Will he or she develop his or her grammatical knowledge or stop at a “sufficient” level? Will they practice regularly and consistently improve their skills?

So, from writing the first coherent sentence to a perfect essay on a literary topic, you need to go through many steps.

Although the scale of assessment of speech competencies is well developed, the best test for fluency in the language, of course, is live communication with native speakers.

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