How long before fluency?

[Ugg]

Ive read that at other places on the web, and agree. After i get through my book, i hope to venture out onto the German tubes of teh interwebs.

That is what's so great about the internet age. I remember only too well all the hours I spent in the language lab, it was so tedious. Now, I can download any number of podcasts, radio programs, etc onto my iPod and listen wherever I want.

Netflix is also a great resource. Podcasts are great but I find that seeing people speak a language is much more conducive to learning it. It can be tough going at times but it's well worth the money.

Movies are a great way to tune into current events as are the video podcasts or newscasts available at Deutsche Welle

Remember, language is just like any other skill, it's not left brained or right brained it's just a matter of rote memorization.

I think one of the great moments for me was when I could begin to understand jokes.

 

[xsedrinam]

how long before you considered your self fluent in your second/ other language? As in dont have to really concentrate to understand or reply to something.

If by "fluent" you mean the ability to communicate quickly and unconsciously, it took me about 4 years, but with almost total immersion in the South American culture. You know you're pretty much there when you watch a tv program and are telling someone about it, later, and they ask if it was in English or Spanish, and you have to stop and think to remember.

Will it ever be as easy as a first language?

In some cases, I think that's true.

 

[steamboat26]

I wonder what would happen if, someone who spoke English was "dropped" in a French (or German, etc.) society. They were to live with a French family who had absolutely no idea how to speak in English. It would be like being born again in a different country. Would you eventually learn to speak as good as a child in that country, just by absorbing the language through media, conversations, and listening?

Probably not, the language would get stored in a different part of your brain, so you would always have an accent, and be prone to forgetting it if the language wasn't constantly used