Fluency is somewhat of a moving target. For me, it’s unfortunate but true that fluency is not a promise, a never-ending contract, or a concept that everyone will agree upon. So, what can we do about it? What I can do is pick apart the International Center for Language Studies’ definition of fluency:
“A speaker achieves fluency once they can confidently, competently, and easily express themselves in a language other than their own.”
Let’s take apart each component of this definition— each part is equally important to consider. I’ll take this in bullet-point form from the adverbial starting points given to us above.
· Confidently. Are you sure of yourself when you speak, forming phrases and sounding out longer words with a comfortable degree of certainty? If so, maybe this box is checked off for you.
I can argue however (pssst, there’s always an argument) that I’ve heard many, many non-native speakers of many different languages confidently lay out an array of complex thoughts in a way that is by even the loosest standards grammatically and phonetically wrong. While the confidence is there, the competence is not. That’s our next point!
· Competently. Do you have a good grasp of grammar, vocabulary, diction, and word order? If so, you could say you competently navigate the complex maze of a way of speaking which differs from your native tongue (whether slightly or severely).
The argument: there isn’t much of one here, but I can add that competence without confidence leads you to all the very competent and capable non-speakers of global languages. Why? Because if there is no confidence to speak, all of the knowledge and prowess will go unnoticed and will therefore gather dust in the corner. Has this been you? I’m virtually raising my hand if you are, because I can’t even name the number of times I let my fear of speaking keep me from expressing myself in a language which isn’t my first—correctly (at very least) and maybe even poetically. All the competence in the world rots in silence when you can’t use it.
· Easily. Ah… the most subjective of them all! What is “easy” for you? Easiness, fortunately and unfortunately, doesn’t always hinge on how the listener perceives the speaker. From public speaking experience (even in English) I can relate to the situation of the audience perceiving way less nervousness and difficulty than what I felt during the speech! It is a relief – and a surprise, at times— to be approached after the fact and hear words of affirmation (i.e. “Wow, you were so calm and collected up there!”) which completely betray your feelings in the moment.
Limiting our conceptualization of “easiness” to how an audience perceives it, however, is almost cheating ourselves into believing that we can’t achieve a higher level of “chill” when speaking, and that as long as we convince everyone else that we’re effortlessly wielding words, we are. My counterargument is that language is very personal; it is more about how it feels to you to be speaking than how it sounds to everyone else.
Ultimately, how you feel matters. How you feel about yourself matters. Both how you feel about your learning process and how it feels to speak matter, too. Do self-doubt, negative commentary, or confusion about where you are as a learner cloud your understanding of fluency? I’m here to realize and redefine how current language learners think about the relationship between themselves as students and their “end goal” of fluency. My biggest wish is that each learner would know fluency is possible, practical, and practicable for everyone, with the right methods.
How do you fit with the ICLS definition? How close is it to your personal feelings or beliefs about what fluency is, or what you’ve heard from teachers and other learners? I’ll touch on the topic of these last few questions later, and in the meantime I’m interested to gather input from other learners. Until then, happy learning!
Heckmann-Höfe, Berlin, 2023 ... I'll post the other side with part II ;)
