Yeah. But how many months is "months ago", is there an upper limit?
Sorry mistake I didn't see that ! 15 months ago.
Would you consider me fluent ?
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Re: Would you consider me fluent ?
I have zero experience with learning Greek, but as far as I know, it is its own language family, so I would like to know, how this was done in months.
Reading at least an hour, listening to podcasts at least for an hour and watching videos every day. I'm using LingQ.
It took me a year to be able to enjoy stand up and series without subtitles.
How was it done ? Passion for the language. I'm fluent in Spanish after 9 months, B1-B2 in Italian in 5 months, by using the same method for each language. I'm also proficient in English and native French
Reading at least an hour, listening to podcasts at least for an hour and watching videos every day. I'm using LingQ.
It took me a year to be able to enjoy stand up and series without subtitles.
How was it done ? Passion for the language. I'm fluent in Spanish after 9 months, B1-B2 in Italian in 5 months, by using the same method for each language. I'm also proficient in English and native French
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- Iversen
- Black Belt - 4th Dan
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Re: Would you consider me fluent ?
I only use the word 'fluent' about languages where I can think almost effortlessly about the things that interest me - like paleontology, linguistics and history. But I prefer to use another yardstick, namely whether I have passed a week or so speaking only the local language during a voyage - and by 'speaking' I don't just refer to ordering diner or asking where the loo is, but things like discussing the downfall of the Minoan civilization or the location of the Maritime museion of Irakleio. And even when I do that it may take a couple of days before I am fully confident about my abilities in the language.
I visited Crete last year, and with three exceptions all my conversations with local (or at least resident) people were in Greek. One exception was when I asked at my hotel why the heck there wasn't a single program in Greek on the telly - apart from one boring news channel in English they were all in Italian or Russian. It didn't help. Another case was when I visited the terrarium/aquarium in Hersonnissos, and there the reason was simply that I don't know enough critter names in Greek. I have forgotten the third case, but still I was close to fulfilling my criterion. The main reason for not putting it on the list already is that I don't feel that I'm fluent enough in Dhimotiki - probably B1, but maybe not B2. I can read things like Wikipedia or articles elsewhere without too much trouble , but haven't listened enough to understand spoken Greek fluently - too many misses. So yes, there is a grey zone where you can do many things (including having conversations), but still not feel that you deserve to be called a fluent speaker of a language.
I visited Crete last year, and with three exceptions all my conversations with local (or at least resident) people were in Greek. One exception was when I asked at my hotel why the heck there wasn't a single program in Greek on the telly - apart from one boring news channel in English they were all in Italian or Russian. It didn't help. Another case was when I visited the terrarium/aquarium in Hersonnissos, and there the reason was simply that I don't know enough critter names in Greek. I have forgotten the third case, but still I was close to fulfilling my criterion. The main reason for not putting it on the list already is that I don't feel that I'm fluent enough in Dhimotiki - probably B1, but maybe not B2. I can read things like Wikipedia or articles elsewhere without too much trouble , but haven't listened enough to understand spoken Greek fluently - too many misses. So yes, there is a grey zone where you can do many things (including having conversations), but still not feel that you deserve to be called a fluent speaker of a language.
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- Le Baron
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Re: Would you consider me fluent ?
I'm still perplexed regarding the point of the question. Your achievement as described seems marvellous. You have no (or few) comprehension issues and..
Which seems to indicate an ability to talk without hesitation or blockages.
It feels a bit like asking: 'I've been practising for a year to do a back somersault. I can now do a back somersault without no problems and land almost perfectly on my feet. Do you consider this having achieved a back somersault?'
It answers itself, doesn't it? Or am I being churlish?
I can hold a conversation and talk about almost any subjects
Which seems to indicate an ability to talk without hesitation or blockages.
It feels a bit like asking: 'I've been practising for a year to do a back somersault. I can now do a back somersault without no problems and land almost perfectly on my feet. Do you consider this having achieved a back somersault?'
It answers itself, doesn't it? Or am I being churlish?
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Pedantry is properly the over-rating of any kind of knowledge we pretend to.
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- iguanamon
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Re: Would you consider me fluent ?
Our member s_allard prefers the term "proficiency" in the place of "fluency". The OP describes their ability quite well. I'd say the OP is highly proficient.
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- tastyonions
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Re: Would you consider me fluent ?
Oh, I’ve been learning about 16 months, so now I don’t feel quite as inept. :-)
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Re: Would you consider me fluent ?
Jordan89 wrote: Just wondering if you would consider that level B2 and also conversationally fluent ?
Each CEFR level has a precise meaning that you can see for yourself here. I'm not sure why you need our opinion. And if you really want to know your proficiency level, you should take an actual, certified proficiency test.
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