Speaking a language in 3 months?

This post is not necessarily English related but about the ability of quickly acquiring a new language.

As I mentioned before, in my professional life I always get asked questions like these:  “How soon will I be able to speak English?”, “When can I sustain a fluent conversation?”.

I have found an interesting article here about the blog of a multilingual bloke who claims he can speak a new language in three months, provided he spends this time in that particular country.

I guess he is right, but spending the time and trying to socialize and to use the language as much as one can are the necessary conditions. I might add a new condition: not having a language of communication can improve the process. Using the new language in all real-life situations and associating concepts and situations with the new vocabulary would be very helpful in the long run.

That is why I appeal to my students not to use another language of communication in class (except for English, of course). It is not helpful at all.

Even thought, I cannot compare the two situations; if somebody lives or works in a foreign country for 3 months, he is in constant contact with the language. But if one studies a language 3 or 4 hours a week (+ the additional time spent for homework), his contact with the language is obviously limited.

The questions which remains is: “What happens after you leave that country?” or “How much can you preserve from the knowledge acquired if you stop using that language?”


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