If you learnt a language later in life, are you now fluent?

[Skinniesandconverse]

Hi,

So I've decided on French, as we quite often visit France to see family and also for mini breaks. I hate that eye roll you often get in France, when you explain you're sorry, but you don't speak French. It makes me feel quite arrogant iykwim.

Anyway, I haven't learnt any for 20 years and it was only the very basics that I learnt back then I'm now 34, so am wondering how long this will realistically take if I'm going it alone.

Can you ever be properly fluent if you're not living in the country?

Would love to hear your experiences and hopefully, your success stories

TIA

I don't know, but I've just started learning a language and it's sooooo much harder to learn as an adult. I've a lesson once a week, but not good enough to watch tv or anything so it's slow and hard going.

NotComing, yes, I really wish I'd have stuck at it as a child. My mind is less sponge, more sieve these days

What are you learning?

I'm actually just using an app, but a couple of hours a day. It's becoming a bit of an obsession actually.

I became fluent in Japanese in my 20’s.

Lost my fluency now but could get it back I’m sure.

Happy, were you living in Japan? How long did it take to become fluent?

Skinnies: I speak 2 foreign languages and use them in my work. Mastering the basics via an app is fine but you need to find ways of immersing yourself in the language, which is difficult to do. Some ideas:

• watch French tv programmes with subtitles (English is fine to give you an idea of what's going on, but make sure you're listening and trying to make connections between what you are hearing and reading). Spiral (on BBC) is a really good, slightly gritty detective drama running into several series. Call my Agent is good too (drama about agents to famous actors, quite funny) and is on Netflix.

• read stuff in French. This is the best way to improve your vocab and will eventually help with speaking.

• get to France as often as you can and take yourself out of your comfort zone when it comes to speaking. Expect to make mistakes - it's the best way to learn, honestly! Even if you feel foolish atvthe time.

• go to classes - an app will only get you so far.

Hope that helps!

I'm fluent in five languages and learned them all as an adult: did French, German, Latin and Greek for GCSE but only got Bs-languages have never been my forte, unfortunately. I have excellent passive French nowadays, and can read and write fairly fluently, but still hate speaking.

Being immersed is definitely the quickest route to picking up functionality, but it's possible without (but requires more dedication and commitment, for sure) - it's worth also looking for immersive summer courses etc, even if only a week or two. Also, listening to music, watching films (with subtitles in the beginning, if necessary) and reading books/newspapers in the target language helps. If you need a simplified newspaper and one doesn't exist in the language you are learning, or you can't find one, then listen to their news broadcasting via the Internet.

I found it a struggle, as I hate to speak unless I am absolutely certain that something is 100% correct, but it's worth it ultimately - at least for me, as it helps me in work situations. I'm mid 40s now, though, and I've decided I'm done

I was living in Japan. And working in an exclusively Japanese office (no Eng speakers) and living with a Japanese man (who spoke English).

Thanks all.

Think I need to up my commitment...

Hefzi's suggestions are good ones -- I have also found reading novels that I know well in translation in the language I'm acquiring useful as a way of growing vocablary.

And I'd go against the grain and say I haven't found learning languages a all harder as an adult. My French used to be entirely fluent when I lived there, and though it's rusty now, it comes back very quickly when I'm there.

I think French would be ok to learn as an adult. I’m trying to learn Arabic but not getting far.

I got chucked in at the deep end at 33 by moving to spain....could probably still manage a level in it even though I was only there three years. And left seven years ago.

What helped was there was NO ENGLISH where I was, so that sorted me quick....

Of course you can don't

@stairway that was the second language I acquired as an adult. It's definitely hard! But - are you taking actual lessons? This helps a lot, as does learning to read and write (even if you don't know what the words mean). There are loads of great movies in Arabic, and if you watch them with both Arabic and English subtitles showing, it really helps you improve quickly.

Also - if you are in/near an urban area (especially one with lots of university students) look on gumtree for a language exchange partner. You spend an hour on English with them, and they spend an hour on Arabic with you. Or, if you are both more fluent, you speak Arabic and they speak English in response.

The other thing that was invaluable for me - Michel Thomas Arabic (did not get on with Lingiaphone at all) : iirc it's available on Audible. Won't help your reading and writing, but does wonders for spoken fluency.

DH has pretty good Spanish which he picked up in his 40s but certainly isn't fluent. I cant just about get by but have no flair for languages at all

My problem with Arabic is that I’m trying to learn a North African dialect in order to communicate with my husband’s family. It’s hard finding specific dialect books. I’m just trying to learn from my husband atm.I was planning on spending the summer there but I’m not sure if I could handle it.

I am from a French speaking country and when moving to the UK, I completely immersed myself in the language and purposefully refused to have French speaking friends (for a while anyway). I studied really hard every day and after 4 months I had an office job. THey were patient with me but I think my English was pretty good (however it took me years to understand the Scottish accent!!). I also speak Spanish but it's fast erasing from my brain because I don't practice it....

I think that 1 year would be a good aim if you want to study an hour a day, and try to join conversation groups. On our local Facebook we often see Spanish, French, Italian or German groups, they meet up for chats at local cafes to practice the languages. It might be worth a try?

The only people I know who became fluent in another language as an adult are in a relationship with someone whom the other language was their mother tongue. Notably my parents

You do need to speak it daily as even my DF is forgetting some of the different dialects he was brought up with!

Second watching films etc. I can follow along with quite a few Italian operas because I've listened to the music so often.

Don’t worry about becoming ‘fluent’. Go to a class, read magazines (love Paris Match!), watch Spiral, do your app and in a year or so you’ll have picked up loads. The French definitely appreciate even a bit of French!