How do you know when you’re fluent in a language? you can hold a conversation? you can understand the news? These are good indicators, but not what it takes to truly be fluent. You can learn those things in school, but until you learn to sound like or at least comprehend a native speaker, people will doubt your ability.
There are two important things that just can’t be taught. They are:
1) You can make jokes as well as understand them.
Mino: *slaps my leg* Amber, you’re getting fatter.
Me: Hmm. Maybe.
Mu: [In Korean] You can’t tell foreigners they’re fat.
Mino: It’s Korean culture. You have to get used to it
(For the record: I am.)
Mu: *offering me a cookie.* Try.
Me: No, thanks. I should diet, right?
Mu: No, you don’t need to diet. You need to di-gest.
2) You can properly insert swear words into any sentence.
Mino: I don’t know what the fuck he’s talking about. He’s fucking crazy right now.
Mu: Amber, say ‘fuck you.’
Me: What?
Mu: I want to hear native pronunciation of ‘fuck you.’
Me: Fuck you.
Mu: [laughs, repeating it.] Say it again.
Me: Fuck you.
Mu: Again.
This continues for awhile.
So, while there’s no impressive vocabulary here or complex grammatical structures, the fluency gets high marks. Making jokes, even bad ones, and using profanity are essential for understanding and becoming a fluent speaker of any language. How? Watch lots of TV and practice. Always practice.
