Are you a fluent English speaker? How do you even know you're fluent in a language? My experience has shown me that most language learners hold misconceptions as to what constitutes a fluent speaker. Let's debunk a few myths first, shall we?

Fluent speakers DO NOT:

• Speak without mistakes, interruptions, hesitations, etc. If so, native speakers would never be considered fluent! I'm sure you do all these things in your native language.

• Always remember words or expressions, and do not know everything about any language.

• Do not always understand when people talk and are not always understood by others.

Does that mean you're a fluent speaker? Maybe! And what's the key to knowing whether or not you're fluent? CONTEXT! (Seems to be a good answer to everything... teachers, do you agree?). Let me give you an example. My husband and I were in a long-distance relationship for over three years before getting married. We used to talk all the time on Skype, and I always felt fluent! I had no problem expressing myself when talking to him, a native speaker of English. However, when I first visited the U.S. in 2016, I couldn't order my own food at a fast food restaurant. In my head, people spoke so fast... there were so many options! I also had never heard the phrase "is it for here or to go?" despite being a teacher for a few years! I felt like a fraud: an English teacher who couldn't order her own food in English. This is why CONTEXT is key! I wasn't fluent in the context of ordering fast food.

Like Schrödinger's cat (not trying to nerd out on you, but this is that crazy experiment where a cat can be both dead and alive at the same time), you can be fluent and not fluent at the same time! Fluency is more like a state, not an identity. Just take me to a courtroom and ask me to use all that legal lingo... I would be lost!

Instead of asking yourself "am I a fluent English speaker?", perhaps it would be more helpful to ask the following: "In what contexts do I feel like I'm a fluent English speaker? Do I need to work more on my vocabulary? Do I need to learn more about academic English? More phrasal verbs? (I had to add that one hehe).

To wrap things up, let me leave you with this point for today: fluency is not an identity! You're who you are: a very capable and curious learner who has a ton of potential!

As always, don't forget to keep on shining✨

Your teacher,

Nathaly

P.S. Looking for a place to develop your fluency? Let Loose might be the right spot for you!