How to Become Fluent in a Language in 90 Days

Photo by Compare Fibre on Unsplash

I know the title sounds clickbait-y but hear me out. It is actually possible to become fluent in a language within the span of 90 days. Learning a language has become easier nowadays with the abundance of resources available online. But I would also like to clarify that becoming fluent in a language does not equate becoming proficient or having a certain mastery over it. It only means that you may be able to speak the language without stuttering as much. However, it doesn't follow that by being able to do that, you would be able to understand a native completely. That's just not possible in that span of time. I would say it would take at least five years of constant learning in the language or full immersion to the language as well as the culture surrounding that language in order to become completely fluent and have some proficiency in that language.

Don't expect to speak and think like a native in a certain language after spending a year learning it. Based on my experience learning English as my second language, it took me four years of preparatory learning to get the basics down. You could say I was somewhat fluent in the language but there were still a lot of words I was missing, and I was still thinking about which words to use. However, during that span of time, I was also exposed to the language a good half of the time. Nonetheless, I was still mainly using my mother tongue to communicate with the people around me.

On the fifth year of my language learning, I came to a turning point. I started "immersing" myself in the language. It was generally easier in my case since our country uses English as one of its official languages and we have TV programs with English as the medium. With that, I just simply forced myself to speak in English 90% of the time, no matter how embarrassing it was since I would have people be taken aback somewhat when I speak to them in straight English. There was even a time when somebody I was talking to on the phone reacted with silence after I spoke in English and immediately hung up. In hindsight, I think they felt as if they were speaking to a foreigner and didn't have the confidence to communicate. On the other hand, I was mustering every bit of courage I had to speak to them albeit in the language of "the elite".

There is this perception way back in our country that anybody who spoke English must have come from a rich family or someone with a well-educated background, basically someone who had a high status in society. Clearly, I wasn't but I spoke the language because I was forcing myself to do it. I listened to music in English and I only watched shows and movies that were in English. That went on for about two years, and I found myself being completely fluent in the language. I had confidence to speak to anyone in English without stuttering. I wasn't intimidated if I were speaking to a native. However, I still lacked depth and breadth in my knowledge of the language and in expressing myself properly.

By this time, I was already in high school, and that's when I learned the fundamentals and built on them. One great way in becoming proficient in the language was reading literature written in that language. You can read novels, magazines, newspaper articles, online articles, or even some boring textbooks, although I would recommend reading something that you find enjoyable as that will help the words, phrases, and expressions stick better in your mind and roll better on your tongue. I was also a big stickler with grammar and spelling, so that helped me with writing and speaking in English. My pronunciation improved. My writing structure and self-expression vastly developed as well. I believe that becoming more polished in writing enhanced my speaking ability as well and vice versa.

From that point on, I just continued building my repertoire of knowledge in the language. From literary materials, I was able to understand and even write more technical and academic papers which used a completely different structure from colloquial use of the language or even the standard way of speaking and writing in English. But learning formal structures and expressions was much later into my language learning. It's better to solidify the basics first, and try to be fluent conversationally in casual settings then work your way up to more highly technical scenarios which use a lot more jargon and specific contextual knowledge of a subject matter.

So this was my language learning journey in English. Of course, it was a lot easier back then because I did all of that while I was in school. For adults who already graduated and are working, it might be more difficult to spare some time to learning a new language and becoming fluent in it. It's definitely possible but it will require a lot of hard work and about 10 years of immersing yourself in the language to become really proficient in it. If that's your goal, then you would have to align your actions to match the goal. Otherwise, you might find yourself frustrated and give up halfway through. It's a process and it will take a long time.

One way to accelerate the process is by thoroughly switching to that language in your everyday life. Only watch shows, movies, or videos in that language. Speak only in that language even with the people around you, and consume as much media as you can written in that language. This is, I believe, what Steve Kaufmann the polyglot referred to as comprehensible input. Try to absorb as much of that language as you can from all kinds of sources. And then, live in that language basically.

Going back to the original point of the article, it is possible to become fluent in a language in 90 days. However, you need to adjust your expectations. By fluency, we don't necessarily mean that you will become a master of the language and be able to understand what natives are saying 100% of the time. Unless you're a genius, that's just nearly impossible for a normal human being. Or, unless you change the way you live entirely in order to master this language, then you will have to be satisfied with picking up a few phrases, expressions, or words that are commonly used in that language for specific contexts. You have to be content with the survival version of the language because that's how much we will be able to absorb in that span of time.

You can definitely become conversationally fluent in that language in a year perhaps. However, the caveat is that you will probably only be fluent with certain topics or with certain words and phrases. You might still find yourself stuttering a bit or not being able to express your thoughts as clearly as you would in your native language. But don't be disheartened, trust in the process, and just continue learning if you're really serious about it.