What is Fluency?

The first question someone usually asks me after learning that my bachelor's degree is in German is: "So you're fluent?" My answer is usually, "No." But I had a very interesting conversation some months ago with man from Scotland, who challenged my idea of what it means to be fluent in a language. I do not consider myself to be fluent. I understand a good deal, I can write in German, but I am not an eloquent speaker by any means. I can, however, think in German - that is, understand something said or written in German without having to translate it into English in my head. And this, he said, was being fluent in a language. Would you agree?

At the time I had this conversation, I was only in the beginning month of my Spanish instruction. I am now in my second semester. When the professor speaks in Spanish, I have moments of being able to know what is being said without doing any translating into English in my head. Am I on the road to fluency so early in the game? I am not so convinced. But because I want to teach abroad in a Spanish speaking country eventually, I am hopeful.

Dictionary.com defines fluent as, "spoken or written with ease" and "able to speak or write smoothly, easily, or readily." I feel that this is close to what I believe fluency to be, though this dictionary definition lacks one very important component of fluency – comprehension. While fluency does not mean understanding every single word that is spoken or written, it does mean being able to understand the vast majority of what is conveyed, as well as being able to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words based on context. What do you think fluency in a language is?

I found this page called "How to judge your foreign language fluency" which breaks down fluency into four parts: the understanding and expression of information presented orally and in written form. You can then rate your own foreign language fluency based on four questions, one for each aforementioned parts (also: are four questions enough to judge fluency?). When judging my German skills, I found my score to be relatively accurate. It is interesting to note that the way fluency is rated it is impossible to be 100% fluent. If you know a foreign language, trying rating your knowledge. Do you think your score accurately represents your level of fluency?

Also! Don't forget to take our current poll located to your left: How many words does it take to read a newspaper or magazine in English fluently? Stay tuned for the results! They will be posted on Saturday.