What does being FLUENT really mean?

[@IkennaLanguages]

My E-Book (still 60% off): fluencymadeeasy.com My "Learn Any Language in 6 Months video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nZu9fqKjjdhma7M FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM ▶︎ instagram.com/ikennaobi (trying to hit 10k but I don't have the power of god and anime on my side. Help me out!) Today's episode is all about Fluency. What does it mean? What are the different versions of fluency and which should you strive for. Language learning is challenging enough, don't mistake what your goal should be.

[@teddypgray]

Make hard copy book please!!

[@newagehero9605]

Ikenna I already bought it and I love it

[@vivaeuropa]

Ikenna what would you say your level of fluency is in all 6 of your foreign languages? B1, C1etc

[@violentbob]

I rly rly rly wanna buy your book but i don't have a creditcard/paypal... is there ANY other way for me to get it

[@ZakariaOuahabi312]

I saw someone who resembles you yesterday in Brussels not far from porte de hal, was that you?

[@reaganjones8436]

“It’s just a weird scene. It’s not normally like this, I swear”.... I felt that one.

[@adagi--hiko7110]

Lmao 😂💀

[@HeatherCutright]

I think all us weebs did.

[@juantamayo5295]

LOL

[@trademarkt]

I saw that anime... *it is normally like that*

[@eggy4884]

@@trademarkt s a u c e ?

[@Nalderification]

Fluency is when you have switched from pretending to understand the person you're talking to, to pretending not to understand when circumstances require.

[@potatoos]

Oh my gosh that is way too relatable

[@ismt9390]

This is my life in germany. I normally crack jokes with my colleagues at work and i talk all day about lots of things in german. But if the situation requires it, i'm just a dumb foreigner who probably only got here yesterday haha.

[@kais3297]

just popping in to say 666 likes

[@methos4866]

Very much this. I still try to use that when playing games with my friends and i make a stupid mistake. They know i'm near fluent though so i get called out on my bullshit lol

[@NetAndyCz]

For me fluency is when I do not need to translate anything, when I think about response in the target language. And sometimes it is when I watch a video or listen to someone and do not even realise it is not in foreign language (or English, I kind of treat English as my almost native language since I spend half of my day immersed in English videos, books, and games).

[@SuperMarmaladegirl]

"I am the cheese" or "we don't sell planes to elephants" lmaooo

[@graceh-gx4qg]

hahaha I once got in German- 'Schmetterlinge beissen keine Schafe' - butterflies don't bite sheep...

[@ModernCombatZocker]

@@graceh-gx4qg Im german and never heard that

[@graceh-gx4qg]

ModernCombatZocker well I suppose you wouldn’t be using German duolingo if you are German though😂

[@hrududu1690]

My duolingo level at the moment seems to be concerned about cows. They're everywhere, in the garden, in the house. I live for the day that I will need to tell someone that there's a cow in the house

[@tahtohabeautychanneltt5810]

@@ModernCombatZocker wie geht es dir?

[@sevde9832]

For me, fluency is a natural feeling for a foreign language. I mean like, when you don't have to translate things inside your head, you're fluent. It's when a language doesn't feel like a foreign language anymore.

[@roy_hks]

Being this fluent can be really shitty sometimes for high-schoolers. I’m dutch and my english fluency is exactly like you described. However, because I don’t translate things anymore I have a hard time taking a lot of english vocabulary tests since I don’t always know the dutch counterpart of an english word, even though I’m perfectly able to describe it since I do know what it means/is.

[@kelviannaepperson3677]

Yeah I'm trying to get to that level cuz while I was in college I was still translating in my head while trying to speak and it held me back

[@NetAndyCz]

@@roy_hks Yeah, I think that translations (and grammar) really make schools suck when it comes to language learning. From my experience and research, the best way to learn the language is through listening (and reading). As a child learns, you see a flower and someone says "flower", or you see a picture of a flower and there is text below reading "flower". After a while (a long while usually), it is good to add output to the mix - speaking and writing. I prefer to start with writing, as I have more time to think about it. As I get better I need less time and can speak. The translations are not important at all and in fact tend to get in a way to actually understanding the other language. The direct translations may have slightly different meaning in the other language. So, I think that once you get a "feel" for language, translations can be optional extra, if you work as a translator or tour guide. Most people do not really need to bother with translations. Starting with translations is just against the way how our brains work. Direct translations is a very weak connection for our brains.

[@stonkman1705]

@@roy_hks same

[@milbona8574]

heehee im forgetting my native language because i use english more yes im that person who spends 99% of the time at home alone not talking to anyone and watching asian dramas w/ eng subtitles and forgetting how to speak finnish Edit: i learnt english by just watching yt videos ok i had base from school

[@kinseyjennings5909]

Reading Spanish: Ok, I think I'm getting the hang of this! Listening to Spanish: 💀

[@the_greatest_unicorn]

True. I kind of understand what they are saying if they say it slow. If they say it fast I'll be like : slow down

[@omarcruz7995]

@@the_greatest_unicorn oh true we the Spanish speakers we have that thing to speak quite fast But anyways in the English language is different. Sometimes some of my classmates have to tell me to slow down my flow talking because I do it so fast!

[@marisol9606]

The_Greatest_Unicorn I’m a Spanish speaker and ik we’re rly fucking fast but at least we pronounce most of the vowels and consonants the way it’s written if you know what I mean. But French is just like, half of the word is silent and we just pronounce everything in a different way than what is written. Oh and also we speak fast uwuwuwu

[@miguelcastillob1979]

A huevo

[@nehcooahnait7827]

Try Spanish Spanish

[@jakiarariggins1896]

"boyiaintfluentthehellyouthinkingwithyodumbahh" I'M DEADDDD 😭🤣

[@ZhangtheGreat]

I want to reach that level of fluency. How do I do that?

[@BUCKETHEADache]

@@ZhangtheGreat thats where im at with spanish

[@petra1995]

I was waiting for a definition of this type of fluency 😂

[@mr.rocket5835]

“Boy I ain’t fluent the hell you thinking with your dumb ass”

[@mileyburetta3052]

English is my first language and I couldn’t understand what he said😂😂😂

[@pockettes3918]

3:20 did... did he just stroke the plant like a cat??????

[@musicgaines7170]

Hahahah yeah

[@tiaran83]

Those small moments give me the biggest laugh 😂😂

[@cuedotfilms4427]

He did, so I instantly subscribed. 😂

[@whothefuckis_liya]

Ummmmm.........ok😂😂😂

[@Haru-dono]

Right?? Lol

[@Carla-dh4dk]

U know ur fluent when you watch a KZbin video in English about being fluent without subtiles

[@DavidPerez-tk8mx]

XD this is what's happening to me

[@juantamayo5295]

I needed english subtitles

[@dswonderchild]

Same sht, bro

[@mariamariahliz]

i need english subtitles too. I understand mostly but not everything he's saying. Also my grammar is really bad even after 2 years in a english course

[@ev9638]

Learning english in school is crap. I just watched youtube and movies in english (no subtitles) and i practiced speaking english with my friend snd now I’m fluent

[@ubisons6161]

Never stop roasting DuoLingo. I keep laughing so hard at DuoLingo jokes🤣

[@BetterEggsOfficial]

Ubisons SOY QUESO

[@analauraoliveira7578]

Yeeah 😂😂

[@ohcaptainmycaptain3478]

@Raffay's Universe "Duolingo est cul" Ps: Can we get a chain where we translate the phrase in a different language for each reply?

[@thesillyarmy238]

NotPopularKZbinDude YT Duolingo ir dibens

[@KenKai-xq2nr]

Duolingo dị njọ.

[@AdamToner]

Here’s a short answer: Fluency is Being able to speak it, Understand it, Write it and Read it

[@TheSassi14]

You can do those things on different levels though. Do you understand every word or the general statement? Is your grammar correct? Do you pause to search for the right word when speaking? Do you have an accent? Do you spell everything correctly?

[@AdamToner]

@@TheSassi14 I'm saying you can do all of those at a fluent level, but yea i get what u r saying

[@kelviannaepperson3677]

I am fluent to this extent in Spanish but I don't get that much practice speaking I have friends that do only a few of my family does but we speak English to each other most of the time. And while speaking I'm not that confident and forget what I want to say and it's slow which is the same with English so thats not totally weird

[@liambrunner3026]

Without having to consciously think about it and translate it in your head.

[@shontoo6979]

That is a really high bar. There are plenty of native speakers that can't read/write but are fluent in speach.

[@pat7785]

Fluency for me means just being able to speak the language. Like, you can be completely immersed in the language, and your life would be no different. When you are fluent in a language, it doesn’t even feel like you are speaking a language that is different from your native language. You’re not translating in your head. You just know.

[@sumi3011]

Yeah. I think so too.

[@SakuraMoonflower]

Not realistic. Everyone who speaks more than one language is constantly going back and forth between the languages in their head. XD

[@swicheroo1]

@@SakuraMoonflower I'm fluent in 4 languages. I don't have to translate anything in my head. It's totally realistic.

[@victoriamaakulmamerijarvi9036]

Yeah that's when you're fully fluent AND are in an environment that uses that language. But if you're fluent in multiple languages (like idk, over 2-3), that might not be a possibility. Definition I've used is "when you can learn more of the language without using any other language", because that has been the turning point for me. I'm native speaker of Finnish and fluent in English. At uni I've learned more academic English on classes held in English. Even though I can get around in Swedish, but I still need my other languages to learn more of it.

[@ismt9390]

Idk, i'm trilingual. I speak romanian, english and german. Romanian is my native language and both english and german are foreign languages to me. I rarely get to speak english, but i speak both german and romanian on a daily basis. It's easy for me to switch between romanian and german. Even from romanian to english it's ok, but german - english is for some reason very hard to do. I constantly get them mixed up for a couple of minutes.

[@PaleoGeek]

3:40 3:55 Ah yes, the quality plant content we subscribed for.

[@addminustv8347]

Amen

[@entozo8492]

I love the humor in his videos, it makes the whole video much more interesting and relatable.

[@laviniaoliveira7955]

For a long time I thought I wasn't fluent enough in English because I wasn't able to understand everything and speak anything... I'm changing my concept of fluency, now going to my 4th language and not being so perfectionist. The main objective is being able to communicate! 💕 Thanks for the video, Ikenna, love you 💕

[@dr.amalboutib]

The same here

[@Mrdachi87]

@@nanar0d You need to focus on 5 things, Structure, Pronunciation, Vocabulary, Listening and the irregularities. All the information is online, little by little you will learn the language.

[@laviniaoliveira7955]

@@nanar0d Yes, I totally agree with this comment ↑ And you need motivation, consistency and a lot of exposition to the language. Good luck on your journey! 💕

[@aurum1235]

Your English is great 👍!

[@laviniaoliveira7955]

@@aurum1235 thank you!!! ♡♡♡

[@blessing142]

I never click a KZbin video this fast unless it's Ikenna obi

[@ChandlerKryst]

Frrrrrrrrr

[@blessing142]

Ikenna what was your level when you started italki for French

[@dimitarkomitov5991]

true story

[@ainaaziz3471]

Same

[@awcoolcrew8879]

The only thing i know in mandarin is how to say "shut up fool"

[@dr.amalboutib]

How can we say this ?

[@innovert99]

@@dr.amalboutib 闭嘴啦

[@dr.amalboutib]

@@innovert99 i can't read characters, just pinyin 😭

[@innovert99]

@Mashed Potatoes mmm then I guess personally for me I'd say shut up fool like 闭嘴啦笨蛋

[@innovert99]

@@Amirwaye12 I don't know what you mean. In what way it's not Mandarin?

[@daysandwords]

Thank you for actually being realistic about what fluency is and isn't, and how long it takes to get to near-native fluency. I am sick of people thinking that only being near-native counts as being fluent, and somewhat ironically, it is often these people whose native language (English) skills SUCK SO MUCH that I would hesitate to call THEM fluent by their own definition. I made a comment on another video about how I did a video in Swedish, and some Swede replies saying "Yeah but your accent rreeeeeal thick you sounds like a robot, false it is to call yourself fluent"... I am thinking: "Whatever dude, I can at least write in Swedish properly, unlike you in English."

[@shordyjordyp]

"boieyeaintfluentdahellyouthinkingwitchodumbass" I think I'm at that level

[@zinakojima6760]

I'm Russian, but I needed to rewind Sponge Bob part to understand it))000)))00

[@inmyyippeeera]

Oml i didnt even realise it was russian until I properly listened to it

[@オロッマルさま]

I'm Ukranian:)

[@bxttons2607]

オロッマル さま 😂 lmao Ukraine vs Russia

[@ajachaney37]

🤣🤣

[@pett6985]

dude I thought it was portuguese for a sec but then I realised it was russian and came to the comments to check if someone would confirm that and thanks you did

[@kingofspades9720]

“It’s not always like this... it’s just a weird scene... I swear” People always seem to walk into you when it’s a “weird scene” in anime lol

[@lizzie8633]

I was Just reading the book I’m 1/4 of the way there and it’s already helping me so much

[@felix.mp3639]

Kpop Kitty Mark?

[@lizzie8633]

Skittles Army nctzen? (Help your talking about me profile pic)

[@felix.mp3639]

Kpop Kitty YeA I’m talking about your profile pic lol. Nctzen right here

[@lizzie8633]

Skittles Army YES NCTZEN MARK AND TAEYONG AND JENO ARE MY BIASES BUT I LOVE ALL OF THEM WHOS YOUR BIAS (sorry I love nct so much lol 😂)

[@felix.mp3639]

Kpop Kitty lol I love all of them bUt my bias is Johnny. 💜

[@tuptim123]

Oh my. The advice in this video seems like a simple concept but SOOOO many people lose sight of what their actual goal is when learning a language. It is so important to have a set goal and define it! Incredible video. Subscribed!

[@bonfrappe7161]

My goal is to translate Hentai around the world

[@bonfrappe7161]

My goal is to translate Hentai around the world

[@ndpd7695]

*"It's just a werid scene. It's not normally like this....i swear"* Every time someone enters otaku' s room

[@lynn1313]

I feel like i really needed to hear this. I would tear myself apart because I wasn't near native fluent fast enough, and it's quite frustrating at the beginning because i want to be good, but i'm not good. But it really just takes time and effort and MOTIVATIONNN.... I want to be able to speak at least 12 languages (idk why lmao), for now i can speak 7 ; just halfway there :p

[@jacquelinegriffin2954]

lynn 7 damn! Which ones?

[@lynn1313]

@@jacquelinegriffin2954 I'd say french arabic and english are my native languages (cause i grew up learning 3 at the same time), I aslo can speak spanish on a conversational level, and as for korean and american sign language i'm almost at there but i do understand a little more than 3000 words ;p i just started japanese so i don't "speak" it but someday maybe haaha

[@lynn1313]

@Deutscher Thanos mdrrr tout sauf allemand par pitié 😂

[@lynn1313]

@Deutscher Thanos peut être mais le coréen m'interesse plus donc bon 🤷‍♀️après j'abuse unpeu l'allemand n'est pas si moche que ça 😂 (juste unpeu)

[@tempest3616]

that's so cool i couldn't ever reach that level with so many languages. I've been studying japanese for over a year and im not very good :(

[@ouino]

Fantastic video! I think many people need to hear this! The goal of near-native level of fluency can be a huge enemy for language learners. First communicate, then perfect through the years.

[@tiaran83]

OuinoLanguages only best way is to patiently sculpt yourself into what you want to achieve 😊

[@MichikoMada]

my plants :)) ... i'm confused why were you petting my plant ^^' ?

[@DeutschmitMarija]

Another awesome video :)

[@MrsLadyPerez]

You've helped me realize that I've been fluent in Spanish for two years and didn't know it. Thank you.

[@jesusgallegoscortes6499]

I’d like to see your progress with Spanish! I know you’re doing well on this language! 💪🏻

[@arysn4369]

The mystery was so good, I am glad I stayed to listen to it. I am learning Chinese and it is overwhelming. I am going to take your advice and focus. 谢谢你

[@ilikeviddygames6300]

As I am currently learning Norwegian, 'I am the cheese' killed me 😂😂

[@pannoniamaps8829]

Is that really a thing in the Norwegian course?

[@ilikeviddygames6300]

Tram Fanatic yes it's one of the phrases 😂

[@pannoniamaps8829]

@@ilikeviddygames6300 New language-to-learn selected.

[@selmastavemlyng2604]

Hvordan gikk det med læringen da?

[@nanafromnana]

I'm French from canada so I can speak fluently in english to the point where people can't tell if I'm French because my accent and my fluency in english is the same as my French. I see myself as native speaking in both languages and that pushed me to learn more 😁

[@sarinamagic]

lol, I just got your ad right before the video 😂 ...and I watched the 1 minutes and 40 second

[@ev5511]

Sara McQueem same here

[@nytcophae]

*casually sitting there while stroking his plant like a pet*

[@taehyung.3620]

Kookies and Tae armyyyyyy

[@nytcophae]

@@taehyung.3620 yassssss

[@caleb6373]

tae means shit from where i’m from.

[@thesillyarmy238]

I just noticed that xD

[@aisorymizy1580]

I love how learning languages you find useful and cool words/grammar and start to feel hella confused not able use them into your first language and... at some point start understand that your first language is some strange difficult thing

[@todabsolute]

Dubbed anime watchers: subtitles cause my eyes to not see what's actually going on Subtitles anime watchers: a dub gets my ears bleeding Ikenna: kono requiem da

[@Reforming_LL]

これがレクイエムだ！

[@starxmon]

I was missing your videos today and then you actually upload wow

[@anderson48985]

What do you think about assimil to start german? Could you make videos about in your learning process in a new language ?

[@BahnLife]

*He already did... in a few videos. You must be new :)*

[@jukes4499]

Wow, this video was fantastic. Certainly improved my own confidence in my lower advanced Spanish, and gave me a followable framework for how to continue studies on my upper beginner Japanese. Ikenna, you know what you're talking about.

[@henechiketeNIHONGO]

I ordered the first Harry Potter book in French, and I’m getting the audiobook too, bc I love HP and want to connect with more people bc of it ^^

[@jdmoncada8205]

It brought me great peace of mind when I realized I didn't know everything about my native language. That feeling of not knowing isn't uncomfortable. I know how the language works, and I have the tools to ask questions to understand what's missing. It helped me reframe fluency for myself, and I'm very glad you discuss that here.

[@slatna1551]

Wow this conversational fluency, domain specialized ist what I was aiming for all the time and now thanks to you I have a name for it :) I really like your videos. It is nice to see how other language learners think.

[@JacobPernell]

Just found your channel today and have been blasting through as many of your videos as possible. I love your content and your personality and your approach to language learning! The "mystery fluency" is a great way to think about reaching those goals, and properly setting those expectations from the start of the learning process. I'm aiming for that conversationally fluent, domain specialized level in at least 4 other languages by 2030 (if not sooner)!

[@ultraminmin5248]

In my terms of me wanting to be fluent is like not having to think about what I'm going to say or translate in my head what they're talking about like I want a easy reply on my end

[@sabrinaaires7451]

Ikenna had crashing down all my ideals, about been a fluent speaker. I feel more comfortable to go through in a online call with tudors now. Thanks man.

[@dublanimadub473]

At this moment I'm learning English(and I'm doing it by myself :), as you can see, that's really works) and I'm almost at the conversation Fluency

[@alaynalevi4155]

Dublanima dub your doing awesome! I would recommend downloading an app called HelloTalk to get free “tutors” for helping with English

[@swoonscapades]

I love this video so fucking much, it explains everything I believe about language learning. The mystery fluency is exactly what I always aim for when I pick up a new language and I do so for the exact reasons you've stated. I came to that conclusion of only aiming for mystery fluency after realizing that although Spanish is my native tongue, I still don't know everything. Especially domain-specific stuff that isn't relevant to my life. You are absolutely right, unless a person wants to move to another country, all they really need is conversational level, basic/core vocabulary, plus domain-specific vocabulary related to their interests/career/etc. Anyways, thank you so much for this video, it's brilliant 💖 and I'm going to forever be sharing this with people who want to learn a new language, but are hesitant and intimidated because they have this notion that they HAVE to reach near native fluency.

[@asapb]

I definitely think like you, there's no need to know every vocabulary word on each different topic but you have to be prepared to start a conversation about any "technical" topic even if you have no idea about it.

[@CesarJrBlue]

Man, I've never seen an explanation of fluency as good as yours! This video is amazing!

[@sonyaemen7225]

In my experience fluency is: When you r drunk you understand shit. When you are in a danger or very stressful situation you can speak and understand without switching. You understand jokes. When you understand without listening (someone is speaking next to you and you r not listening but still gettn it) Scam reading text is enough to comprehend the idea. Any topic (universe, prison, law, psychology.. any you understand)

[@jenniferbillups3050]

This is definitely good to know, so I think I'm a at least make little goals and aim for being conversational level first. Then try to learn words about stuff I'm interested in, which will be fun to learn, while also making sure I know lots of core vocabulary words too. The videos you put out are always a big help Ikenna, so 정말 감사합니다!!!! 😊

[@adamdaly4987]

Im 12 and im learning Japanese and planning to move there when i can

[@mr_sugas_fire3015]

Ooo fun!

[@Reforming_LL]

I started a year later than you lol.

[@tiaran83]

I now notice, once you watch a video from ikenna you won’t view it the same way again. I JUST PURCHASES YOUR BOOK YESTERDAY SOOO EXCITED!!

[@alexdesforges5026]

Just watched this now going back to Pimsleur so I can practice my french

[@alexdesforges5026]

MarkDaNerd Non Je suis l’anglais

[@octaviorivera1661]

@Deutscher Thanos Taisez-vous

[@octaviorivera1661]

@Deutscher Thanos Lol

[@johanrommel5132]

Omg, I've always seen you with a beard so I didn't notice but that jaw line is sharp enough to cut through steel.. God damn...

[@Mmmunknown]

Now I'm watching your video with out subtitles 😁that means I'm fluent 😆😆 And also I was learning Arabic since I was 4 years old by watching tv series in Arabic And now I'm 15 years old . My next target language is korean 😀😀😋

[@howdybucko]

in our grade 11 french class here in ontario this year, the majority of our learning was based on content like movies and short stories, and we didn’t have any lessons on any type of verb tenses. the thing was, each study we did involved learning the vocabulary around what the story was about, so everyone’s knowledge of the language improved even more.

[@sammier.6125]

You seriously opened my eyes up to what fluency really is. I’ve always, like you mentioned, aimed for near-native so I gave up thinking I could never get fluent. I gave up so many languages because I wanted to be fluent, but now I know being fluent isn’t that. I now am setting easier goals and thanks to yt recommendations, I’ve come across your channel so I actually know how to start (I’ve viewed other vids) and how to reach “fluency”. So thanks man 😊

[@commoncola]

Best of luck with your future language endeavours! What languages are you learning?

[@kian_de6398]

Ikenna I completely agree with what you said ,but I think you overestimate a near native level in a language.If you think about it it isn't that hard to reach a level near to your mother tongue. Because in your native language you only use a small fraction of the existing words . And normally you have a set of words you like and even if you are not aware of it you keep repeating them. And that isn't too hard to reach. I for example read your ebook a bit more than a year ago and started learning french.I did exactly what you suggest to do and reached a conversationally fluent level after 6 months ,like predicted.I was able to understand about 60 percent of what I heard and I was able to get my point across. But I still wanted to improve. So I bought the Assimil advanced program and did some lessons every now and then ,watched some KZbin videos and had one italki lesson every other week. And now 6 months later I think I can have exactly the same conversations I have in my native I passed the Dalf C1 with 70%. I think when we learn a foreign language we have a wrong image of our abilities in our own language and don't realise that reaching this level isn't too difficult.

[@vivaeuropa]

Dang a whole year and you only understand 70% of spoken French? How much of what you want to express can you express? I don't mean to sound negative but was hoping after a year I'd be able to understand around 90% of the language.

[@kian_de6398]

@@vivaeuropa I understood 70 % after 6 months ,now I understand about 90%.And I was not referring to spoken french but to movies and series.Because when you are speaking to someone it is much easier to understand them because they are talking directly to you.So I can assure you 100 % that if you do exactly what is written in the ebook you will be able to understand 90% of a casual conversation with a native in 6 months.100 %

[@blessing142]

@@kian_de6398 Hi do you have an email because I would like to ask some questions. I'm on lesson 70 on assimil including listening to French radio, music & watching tv shows . And after I'll do an italki lesson every day. Is it possible to become conversational fluent after 6 months and when did you switch off the subtitles, was it when you finished assimil ? And how did you learn the french grammar rules ?

[@moyga]

French is one of the easiest languages to learn, but even then, you're underestimating it. Native speakers of English on average know around 20,000-40,000 words. Not only do they know the words, they know the connotations of the words, the subtle differences between how similar words feel, what they imply. Their brain is extremely good at picking up what someone is saying, even if they have a strong accent, even if their mumbling, if there is background noise etc. When someone says something like "are there bats" at the zoo, your brain instantly understands which usage of the word bat they are using without you thinking about it etc.

[@josephnguyen4548]

Your videos are perfect for advanced English listening practice! Thanks.

[@emilyleyva8491]

I've been subscribed to Jared for a while and his videos are funny 😂

[@itsallysonn]

I love this video!!! people really don't have to know everything when learning a language. (unless that's their goal of course). even then, it's a huge process too. I even remember my Spanish teacher in high school saying we all have different levels of fluency as we learn. :)

[@ElPabloDelDiablo]

Im fluent in German, Swedish, Norwegian, English, Spanish and Portuguese. Im 16 years old and your channel has helped me a lot since i moved to Portugal. When i moved it felt overwhelming, but your channel helped me a lot.

[@tristiandavis6852]

I have a question how do you stay fluent in your languages when you’ve gotten to a comfortable level in each

[@IkennaLanguages]

Usually with a few 30 minute italki lessons a week

[@Ergie]

You really inspire me, if there was no Ikenna, I'd never begin learing French! Much thanks to you, French will be my 5'th language soon, keep making such educational and informational videos, they are really helpful!

[@alexvaness8499]

I found your videos on VRCHAT. You inspired me to start picking up Japanese. It's only been two days but I'm determined to get to conversational fluency! I'm going to try to memorize all of the kana as well as Duolingo on the side. But I'm kind of stumped on what to do after this. I've been watching anime forever now and hopefully after I learn kana I can try to start noticing some stuff in some shows. I'm a teenager in high school and with strict parents, it's impossible to purchase anything so I can't pay for structured courses. But hopefully, I can figure something out, but for now, I will keep studying! Thanks for the inspiration and I've been binging your content lol.

[@janeeladams847]

Ikenna, that kill la kill scene, never be ashamed of it, never!!😂🤣🙌

[@nathanmordaunt9977]

Tim Doner was my first polyglot crush, but Ikenna blows him out of the water, by far! His videos are incredibly insightful and helpful. This one finally convinced me to buy the book. Much love and appreciation from South Africa!

[@brazilets]

This is exactly what I think about language fluency. My mother toungue is portuguese. I can speak spanish, and I understand german. I consider myself fluent in english altough I can 't talk about all the topics. I understand 100% of what you said in this video. Before I start to learn russian, I am going through all the tips that I will find on your KZbin channel. By the way you've got a great content. Keep it up, please.

[@tcsnewlyfe]

Mystery fluent makes so much sense and I targeted that without hearing your coined term. I'm glad I'm on right track. I loaded my vocab with foods cause i m vegan and like good foods, I'm a collector and learned words for what I collect and hobbies. I'm a student of the French language. Love your videos.

[@Prene16]

Understanding without thinking is my goal. I reached that goal with English after many years of studying and then using the language for many years. Now I wanna do that again but much faster.

[@ssmp00]

How right you are. My goal is to be able to read, then to listen, then maybe to write and then to talk (if ever). I'm an introvert and I'm not really into talking in general let alone with unknown people. Considering reading fluency, I understand 18 languages, and then I can understand if i'm listening to also 18 languages (after my "ears" get accustomed to the specific language), then I can write only in 7 languages and talk in 6.

[@OnlyMusic16]

I absolutely appreciate that you advised people NOT to strive to achieve native fluency, because wow can that end up killing your language learning dead in its tracks. This is probably the best language fluency explanation I've ever heard; we focus wayyyyy too much on learning 'EVERYTHING' that we get easily lost/frustrated and basically give up

[@moonchild_9505]

i want to point out something real quick: you look really good on the thumbnail

[@AntonAnton-nu6en]

Hi I am your new fans and I just abonniert you, which means subscribed you in German after watching your video on a polyglot group on Facebook. It's so interesting to find this channel. I've learned so many languages in advance but just got several fluency on them; French, German, Spanish (A1), Dutch same way with Spanish, and now Mandarin (HSK3 to 4). I hope next month after this pandemic could take in my Arabic class. :) 很高兴认识你啊。 ：）

[@bunnytoast653]

yo before the video it gave me a advertisment about your book and i laughed so hard like bruh wtf how am i watching him without watching him yet!

[@jubibi390]

Suprisingly, the very first ad i didnt skip is your ad. I wish your fluency made easy is free to read🤣

[@eduardoferreira400]

I use your channel for learning English, you are very cool, I'm Brazilian and love your channel

[@kclark91197]

Keep doing your thing. You inspired me to learn French! I’m 7 weeks in. I’m already looking ahead to Spanish and German next

[@blessing142]

J'apprend le français chaque jour, je crois que je peux parle français quand la Annèe est termine. Je sais mon français n'est pas bien mais j'essaye. I am also trying to LEARN , KEEP going you'll get there . I believe I will be able to speak French fluently by December or November . Never give up

[@dr.amalboutib]

@@blessing142 bon courage !

[@blessing142]

@@dr.amalboutib merci beaucoup

[@noeley]

I just got an Ikenna ad before an Ikenna video, trippy.

[@davidm943]

Currently living in Japan and the language endeavor has been so much more enjoyable and motivating due to your videos. So grateful to have found your channel. Hoping to be competent Japanese and Chinese one day~

[@RobinEliza]

Came for the languages, stayed for the plants. But also thank you for talking about near native fluency. I've been struggling a lot with how I felt about my language skills because I was always comparing them to this "endgame" standard. Instead of feeling like I'm not enough, this changed my perspective and now I'm pretty darn pleased with the work I've put in to achieve mystery fluency in French. I'll always keep learning, but there's no need to make myself feel guilty in the process.

[@sarcasmbanega5997]

Salut ! Ça va ?

[@rimaaouadi590]

It's very good to see videos like this that make me feel like a fluent English speaker without living in England for 78 years ! I have been studying english in school for nearly 4 years *it's technically 3 years if we don't count the corona situation* which was a little bit useful because i was able to understand how the language works and how to write a 100 paragraph introducing myself and my family but not able to speak nor understand it and here comes my 1 year self study where i took my time to watch grammar videos in KZbin *the point is to watch videos made by people speaking that language* and also enjoy my favourite shows without subtitles *as i watched the harry potter series for more that 30 times i was able remember and understand what they were talking about even if i don't understand the actual conversation (: so now i can finally say that i am *Fluent in English*

[@GK-pl2oj]

You don't understand how much this was less of an explanation and more of a motivational video to me. Tengo fluencia en Español 😍

[@GK-pl2oj]

Perooo quiero aprender mas

[@mayarthecatslover1]

Language help, dope vids, and Kill la Kill references to top it all off, I think we're gonna get along pretty well you and I

[@lilian.thyssens]

Merci pour cette vidéo IKENNA!! Really true that people think perfection is the only option to learn a new language: Perfect or nothin :D Trying to reach conversational level is quicker than we can expect... Thanks for all your videos!!

[@sarahnunez6565]

this mindset is so healthy thank you for sharing :)

[@Gabriel-brzz]

i started learning english like 6 months ago, i can understand everything you say, im really proud of it hahah, luv ur channel tho !

[@elenak.misselenka5762]

There are also different stages of learning. There is one, when it seems that you are not progressing at all. Many people get frustrated then, but it is just a stage, which will be over.

[@yourlocalverrer6823]

Okay but I got an ad from you EXACTLY WHEN I WAS BOUTTA WATCH UR VIDEIS

[@ezequielgervasio]

I have been using Duolingo for almost 3 years,but not every single day or every month. I'm not fluent yet and I never speak in English,but all these things is all my fault :( I'm a little shy) I can understand you, there is no problem about it. I just need practice more English conversation and writing as well. By the way,I'm leaning English by my own.

[@graemep7729]

Nice! You sound like a native speaker based on your comment!

[@37enzo]

This is one of the best videos I’ve seen on language learning. Thank you!

[@Sanoshi]

Really appreciate this video! I was very intimidated on what goal fluency to have for myself. I thought maybe because I was aiming to be native fluent that the hard work would go to waste somehow. Your words helped me validate my feelings on focusing on that specialized fluency level! I’ve never thought of it that way until now, and feel really good about it because it would be a goal I would be happy with. Thank you for making this video!

[@ashleytan2444]

I subscribed without thinking, i accidently finding a few song in German that may help me study the language, but i found your dutch song instead... You are so cool! I love to study lots of languages too

[@squidneythesquid2487]

Sometimes I forget how much I’m passionate about languages, even though I only speak English and an intermediate level of Spanish, until I watch videos on languages and I remember elementary school me joint Spanish club, trying to learn sign language, getting exited anytime we learned basics in a language on a culture day(my class occasionally had a culture day to celebrate the diversity of my classroom by bringing in their families, food, and learning some history and languages. I remember especially my Japanese friend’s father coming in and telling about his life in Japan, and being reminded of my aunt who married into the family who grew up in Japan with Japanese as her native tongue) I love languages so much I could go on forever

[@nevesevn]

I always say I speak just portuguese (my mother tongue) bc I dont fell very confident at my english bc I've never had classes before but watching this video made me realize I am in the conversationally fluency level and I'm felling kinda proud of myself (even tho there may be some grammar and spelling mistakes lol)

[@okorolina]

I love this video. This is refreshing. I'm gonna buy the ebook bro. Xie xie from a fellow naija with polyglot goals

[@yasmimmorais7653]

Dude you're awesome! I never heard that kind of advice, I will use it. Thank youuuu 💕✨

[@WoWTrygin]

Fluent in my book is grasping all the basics and understanding most phrases and words of the most common/everyday discourses :)

[@aninhaSOdemais]

I suppose my goal with English is to reach this near native level fluency. I'm not in a hurry..but I should study grammar though... I'm terrible creating sentence. But yeah.. I'm here because I just stared learning German and this is the best KZbin channel that motivates me