Is it possible to become fluent without living in a Spanish country?

[Psychosid]

Estoy totalmente de acuerdo.

[Liquinn3]

Originally Posted by Manuel

I think it is POSSIBLE to learn to speak almost as well as a native speaker without living in a Spanish speaking country, BUT....it would require some serious dedication.

If you live in the country, you will automatically learn a lot of little things: colloquialisms, little words that you never even thought about learning but that caught your attention because they become part of your daily experience etc.

If you don't live in the country, then your knowledge will probably have a lot of little "gaps", minor things perhaps, but still they would be things that a native speaker WOULD know.

Having said all of that, why waste time thinking about whether you will ever know as much as a native speaker? Does it really matter? It's certainly possible to be FLUENT in a language, no matter where you live.

I would say that you have to remember WHY you want to learn a language in the first place. Isn't it to be able to communicate your thoughts to people who speak that language? All that matters is that you can express yourself in the language the way you would LIKE to express yourself. You only have to learn what you actually NEED. Perfection is not the goal, being able to express what you WANT to express should be the goal.

I am sure a native English speaker knows more words than I do in English, but I can say exactly what I WANT to say in English, so I don't feel hampered in my expression by a lack of vocabulary, for instance. So, although I am NOT as good as a native English speaker, I am good enough "for my own standard"!

I agree, I'm going to Spain for just over two weeks so I'll improve on my Spanish hopefully. I guess it's different when you're using the language to get through the day; know what I mean?

But then again, there's foreigners here that can't even speak English properly and they're in the country.

[Premium]

Originally Posted by Liquinn3

But then again, there's foreigners here that can't even speak English properly and they're in the country.

It's a big difference whether they want to learn it or not.
My grandmother has been living in this country for over 30 years and her German is worse than my Spanish.
Two weeks isn't much but nonetheless you'll learn something if you get to use your Spanish.

[Liquinn3]

Originally Posted by Premium

It's a big difference whether they want to learn it or not.
My grandmother has been living in this country for over 30 years and her German is worse than my Spanish.
Two weeks isn't much but nonetheless you'll learn something if you get to use your Spanish.

I'm going to a cafe shop which they do language exchanges, they help me with Spanish and I help them with English; I guess motivation is the key.

I'm going to get them to help me with the subjunctive (the hardest part of the language I think).

Thanks! It's all about motivation, I would say.

In my opinion the key is to listen/speak/read and write the language as equally as possible, then you become better at each of the language skills.

[Premium]

Originally Posted by Liquinn3

I'm going to a cafe shop which they do language exchanges, they help me with Spanish and I help them with English; I guess motivation is the key.

I'm going to get them to help me with the subjunctive (the hardest part of the language I think).

Thanks! It's all about motivation, I would say.

In my opinion the key is to listen/speak/read and write the language as equally as possible, then you become better at each of the language skills.

That's nice. Where exactly are you going by the way? I'm going to Acapulco, Mexico next month, but not to improve my Spanish, I just want to see the ocean.
The subjunctive is a buzzkill, we have the same in German but it's never used.
Are you from the UK?

[Liquinn3]

Originally Posted by Premium

That's nice. Where exactly are you going by the way? I'm going to Acapulco, Mexico next month, but not to improve my Spanish, I just want to see the ocean.
The subjunctive is a buzzkill, we have the same in German but it's never used.
Are you from the UK?

Yup, I live in the UK; went to Barcelona for 5 days which improved my Spanish back in March, was a good time xD. Going again to Spain next year for a holiday and the year after. :P

Also, should I take some writing for them to check/mark for when I go to the cafe? XD. I'm 99% sure it's correct (my writing) but it's best to be sure, I guess. D:

Why do I find writing Spanish harder than speaking it? Pues, descubrí mi pasión por el idioma español en vacaciones el año pasado en Málaga.

Saludos.