hey what's up Stefanie the English coach here from EnglishFullTime.com
in this video I want to talk to you guys about what fluency feels like what it
feels like physically in your body and what it feels like emotionally now I
need to say the only reason I can even make this video and talk about this is
because I have learned a foreign language and I am fluent in a foreign
language so I learned Spanish I talked about that a little bit on my channel
and I have a video I will link it up here about my journey learning Spanish
and you guys can actually hear me speak in Spanish I speak in this video in
Spanish so yeah that's pretty much the reason why I can make this video if
someone's not fluent in a foreign language they really can't tell you what
it feels like to be fluent because they don't know right from experience this is
something you only know through experience so I'm gonna share my
experience with you guys I'm gonna tell you guys what it felt like for me to
feel to get to a point where I finally felt fluent and what that meant for me
and I actually need your help with this video because just because fluency feels
a certain way for me it might feel a little bit different for you or for
other people so in the comments if you guys could just start a discussion about
what fluency feels like for you for those of you who are fluent that would
be awesome because then people could learn not just from my experience but
also from your experience and I always learned so much from you guys in the
comments when you share your experiences so with that said I want to say that
describing fluency is not easy okay it actually took me a little while to think
about this so when I tried to think of one word that described the feeling of
fluency the word that I thought of was effortless right when you don't have to
put effort into something it's easy it comes to you naturally it's intuitive
it's comfortable it's just effortless and I remember the first time that I
caught myself speaking fluently in Spanish so here's the story I was living
in Argentina I was talking with a neighbor and I was really enjoying the
conversation we were talking about something that was super interesting and
I had a lot to share about my ideas and opinions and stuff like that and so I
just started going off and talking and sharing and I remember feeling like my
tongue was just flying around in my mouth and I was like how is this
possible it's almost like as I was speaking and as I was being present in
the conversation there was another version of me that was outside of myself
observing noticing what was going on and I just remember that feeling where my
tongue was just flying around in my mouth everything was coming out so
perfectly so effortlessly I had easy access to whatever word I was looking
for or I needed I was able to speak automatically I was able to match my
emotions feelings intonation etc perfectly and just communicate in a way
that felt so authentic I didn't feel like I was pretending to be anybody I
didn't feel uncomfortable and I think really my interest in the conversation
just took over my whole body and allowed me to produce the language so easily
okay I was in a very comfortable environment a comfortable situation and
I remember during this conversation I was having this realization like oh my
gosh I don't think I've ever spoken this fluently before it was crazy and my
friend stopped me in the middle of whatever I was saying is she put her
hand on me and she was like Stefanie do you hear yourself you sound just like me
you're speaking so fluently you're one of us now it was so funny I was like
yeah I actually feel it it was a crazy experience that was probably the first
time that I ever felt fluent when I was speaking however that's kind of like a
transition phase right when you go from that struggling intermediate learner to
finally speaking fluently but after you become a fluent speaker in a language
and you're able to just use the language automatically it becomes not that
exciting right it's just normal right in the beginning when you're fluent it
feels like wow I can't believe it and the emotions that come with that there's
so much excitement and then when you've been fluent for a while it's just like
no big deal I speak the language no problem and that's it
okay so a couple other things when you speak fluently words just roll off of
your tongue right it just like I said it feels effortless I'm probably going to
repeat that word too many times during this video because that's really how it
feels another thing is you don't get exhausted you can talk with somebody for
an hour or for two hours and it feels great and you enjoy the
conversation and when the conversation is over you just move on with your day and
you're fine right but when you are an intermediate learner and you're not
quite there yet talking in English or a foreign language for fifteen minutes or
half an hour or one hour it can be so mentally exhausting because there's so
much that your brain has to focus on and so after a conversation you might feel
completely depleted no energy exhausted etc and if you're in an environment
where you have to use English let's say for a week let's say you travel to the
US for business or something like that you might feel so mentally exhausted
during that week because of the amount of communication you're doing in English
whereas when you are fluent you don't really go through that you can use the
language you can switch it on and off you can use it for as long as you need
and you don't really go through those periods of absolute mental exhaustion
because of using the language another thing about fluency and how it feels is
it feels very intuitive okay it just comes out of you and sometimes you're
like I didn't even know that I knew how to say that or Wow
that just feels right I don't know how to explain the grammar I don't know why
that's correct but it feels right and it feels good maybe your grammar is
actually not correct I don't know but it just feels like the right thing to say
okay also when you're and everything just clicks in your mind
you don't have to put your sentences and ideas together before you say them right
you just react the same way you react in your native language and the words like
I said they just fall out of your mouth they roll off of your tongue again when
that first happens to you it's real exciting but when that's your reality
it's just normal does this mean that when you're fluent in a language you are
going to be confident in this language 100% of the time no absolutely not
just because you're fluent doesn't mean you will always be confident think about
it in your native language are you always confident no right let's say you
have a business meeting or an interview or a phone call or a date with somebody
who knows but just because you speak a language fluently doesn't mean you're
always gonna be confident because you might be in certain environments that
make you nervous and that's normal and it's really important to recognize that
because some people think that because they lack some confidence that means
they also lack fluency but it's not always the case and another thing to
really realize is that when you are nervous you are going to make more
mistakes you are probably gonna have a heavier accent and you might forget
words you might clam up and not be able to express yourself well but again that
is a result often of nervousness and lack of confidence and it's often
unrelated to your fluency and your ability because when you are in an
environment that makes you feel safe and comfortable and when you're enjoying
yourself the words just you know fall out of your mouth and you don't have
those problems with fluency okay so just really important to recognize that and I
wanted to say that because some people feel like oh well you know it's not
always effortless when I speak sometimes it's effortless and sometimes it's not
you really have to identify what is making you feel uncomfortable what is it
about the environment because again it might be about the environment and how
you are emotionally responding to it and not necessarily about your communication
skills and your level of English okay and the other
thing I want to say about fluency is you can be fluent you can speak effortlessly
but that doesn't mean that you won't still make mistakes
occasionally lack vocabulary mess up your grammar etc I think I said some of
that earlier but I just want to be clear on that because fluency is really the
ability to communicate continuously and effortlessly so if you're able to have a
conversation in English with someone for an hour and it feels pretty effortless
and you're able to communicate continuously and you're not exhausted at
the end of it then yeah that's fluency and you don't have
to have advanced vocabulary in order to be fluent think about this
five-year-olds are fluent in English they're fluent in the language but is
their level you know do they have a high level of vocabulary no but they're still
fluent they're able to share their ideas effortlessly continuously so think about
that when you are speaking and learning etc on your journey because you might be
fluent already and just not realize it and I know that as a language learner
myself it's always so empowering when you can realize oh my gosh I'm fluent
and having that realization builds tons of confidence okay sometimes it takes
one conversation for you to have where you realize I didn't know I was capable
of talking for two hours and I've gotten so many messages from my students where
they said just that they said Stefanie I joined one of your programs I ended up
completing this assignment or talking to this person and I couldn't believe it we
talked for a whole hour or two hours or three hours at this point I don't
remember what the record is but I think I'm pretty sure some of my students have
had conversations that were four hours or possibly longer and if you are one of
my students who has had a conversation that's a longer than four hours with
somebody else go ahead and let me know in the comments because I'd love to hear
more about that okay and if you are interested in learning more about my
programs I will leave some links in the description one that I recently launched
is called the daily English Program and this program is already
huge success every week I give a new lesson and tasks to my students and the
lessons are designed to teach you advanced English we actually focus on
improving every aspect of your English and then the tasks are designed to get
you to use your English and then analyze your English so you can start
self-correcting and of course we have an awesome community that you can interact
with so if you're interested in learning more about that I will put the link in
the description ok and my last example of fluency is it's just like turning on
a light switch right when you go into a room and the room is dark you just
switch on the lights and the light is on and that's it there's no fireworks it's
not magical it's not like wow it's just you needed light so you turned on the
switch and you made the light happen that's like fluency when you're fluent
in a language and then someone starts speaking to you in that language you're
like oh okay I have to use this language now and you
start communicating with them it's not exciting or Wow or anything it's just
normal and yeah it's just easy it's not like you're sitting there cranking out
the electricity generating it yourself and if you stop the lights gonna go off
or something right that's what it's like in the beginning when you're still not
fluent so anyhow this video is my ramblings about what fluency feels like
physically in the body and emotionally and I went all over the place you're
welcome no I'm just kidding I hope it wasn't too hard to get through
and I look forward to hearing your comments and feedback in the description
what does fluency feel like to you and if you feel like you're not fluent
describe that to me thank you so much you guys oh if you are not subscribed to
my channel and you enjoy rambling type videos like this feel free to subscribe
I have a lot of fun making these videos and yes if you guys want more from me
definitely check the links in the description where I share more about my
programs to help you improve your English and really get some
transformational experiences okay that is it I'll see you guys in the next
video bye it becomes what's the word I'm looking for they
roll off of your tongue and yes having a conversation that's an hour or two hours
oh how do I say this what does it feel like to not quite be fluent because no
that sounds stupid hang on I can't do this
sorry my toe is like I need to take care of this it's not exciting or Wow or
anything it's just normal and um what else was I gonna say I was talking with
a neighbor I was living in it okay might last forever in your native
language are you always confident no right we get in that week hang on and so
I actually run lots of well not Lots I don't hang on I just realized I have
these shadows on my shoulder and they look like tiger stripes that is so weird
oh if you are not subscribed to my channel and you enjoy rambling type
videos like this feel free to - can't talk feel free let me try again
can't stop laughing at myself