What does it mean to be fluent in English?

Mike Mayor
A young man sat in a library, he has a pen in hand and is looking at the camera; a stack of books are next to him

What do we mean by English fluency, and how can understanding competencies across the four skills provide a more realistic picture of communicative English ability?

What is fluency?

As someone who worked in dictionaries, the meaning of words has always interested me ¨C and fluency is a particular case in point. Language learners often set themselves the goal of becoming fluent in a language. Job adverts often specify ¡°fluent in English or Spanish¡± as a requirement. But what does being 'fluent' in a language actually mean? If we look in the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, we see that fluent means ¡°able to speak a language very well¡±. Fluent speech or writing is described as ¡°smooth and confident, with no mistakes¡±. In general, fluency is most often associated with spoken language ¨C but is that the goal of all language learners? And what does being able to speak fluently show about the other language skills?

Describing English proficiency

Before entering the world of dictionaries, I taught English as a foreign language in France. At that time, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) had not yet been published and learners were described in very general terms ¨C beginner, intermediate, advanced ¨C with no agreed standards on what learners at each level were expected to know. As well as establishing standards, the CEFR also shifted the focus of language assessment from knowledge of grammar and vocabulary to functional competence, i.e. what can a student actually do with the language they¡¯re learning across the four skills:

  • listening
  • reading?
  • speaking
  • writing

Interestingly, while calling out specific objectives for each skill, almost two-thirds of the information in the CEFR describes spoken language. This seems to imply that spoken fluency is indeed the most important goal for all language learners.

Mapping out a personalized path to proficiency

As a global publisher, ÃÛÌÒapp English recognizes that all learners are different ¨C in their backgrounds, learning environments and learning goals. This is why we have undertaken new research to extend the set of learning objectives contained in the CEFR to account for learners who need detailed information about their level in all four skills, not just in one (typically, that of speaking).

No learner will be equally proficient in all four language skills ¨C in the same way that no native speaker is equally proficient in all skills in their first language. Some of us are better at writing than speaking, and many are illiterate in their first language. A true measure of language proficiency needs to take into account all of the skills. Equally, not every learner of English will need to be 'fluent' in spoken communication.

Many researchers need to read papers in English and attend conferences in English ¨C but will only ever present and write in their first language. Is 'fluency' a good way to describe their goal? And if it isn¡¯t, does that somehow diminish their language achievements? By acknowledging proficiency in individual skills ¨C rather than catch-all terms such as 'fluent' ¨C we gain a clearer understanding of goals and outcomes, and with this knowledge, we are in a better position to tailor learning to the individual.

Interested in learning more about the English language? Check out our post?How using jargon, idioms and colloquialism confuses English learners and our post on strange English phrases.

If you're looking to improve your own fluency (in any language) make sure to check out our language learning app Mondy.?

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    5 of the strangest English phrases explained

    By Steffanie Zazulak

    Here, we look at what some of the strangest English phrases mean ¨C and reveal their origins¡­

    Bite the bullet

    Biting a bullet? What a strange thing to do! This phrase means you¡¯re going to force yourself to do something unpleasant or deal with a difficult situation. Historically, it derives from the 19th century when a patient or soldier would clench a bullet between their teeth to cope with the extreme pain of surgery without anesthetic. A similar phrase with a similar meaning, ¡°chew a bullet¡±, dates to the late 18th century.

    Use it:?¡°I don¡¯t really want to exercise today, but I¡¯ll bite the bullet and go for a run.¡±

    Pigs might fly

    We all know that pigs can¡¯t fly, so people use this expression to describe something that is almost certain never to happen. It is said that this phrase has been in use since the 1600s, but why pigs? An early version of the succinct ¡°pigs might fly¡± was ¡°pigs fly with their tails forward¡±, which is first found in a list of proverbs in the 1616 edition of John Withals¡¯s English-Latin dictionary,?A Shorte Dictionarie for Yonge Begynners: ¡°Pigs fly in the ayre with their tayles forward.¡± Other creatures have been previously cited in similar phrases ¨C ¡°snails may fly¡±, ¡°cows might fly¡±, etc, but it is pigs that have stood the test of time as the favored image of an animal that is particularly unsuited to flight! This phrase is also often used as a sarcastic response to mock someone¡¯s credulity.

    Use it:?¡°I might clean my bedroom tomorrow.¡± ¨C ¡°Yes, and pigs might fly.¡±

    Bob¡¯s your uncle

    Even if you don¡¯t have an uncle called Bob, you might still hear this idiom! Its origin comes from when Arthur Balfour was unexpectedly promoted to Chief Secretary for Ireland by the Prime Minister of Britain, Lord Salisbury, in 1900. Salisbury was Arthur Balfour¡¯s uncle (possibly his reason for getting the job!) ¨C and his first name was Robert. This?phrase is used when something is accomplished or successful ¨C an alternative to ¡°¡­and that¡¯s that¡±.

    Use it:?¡°You¡¯re looking for the station? Take a left, then the first right and Bob¡¯s your uncle ¨C you¡¯re there!¡±

    Dead ringer

    This phrase commonly refers to something that seems to be a copy of something ¨C mainly if someone looks like another person. The often-repeated story about the origin of this phrase is that many years ago, people were sometimes buried alive because they were presumed dead ¨C when actually they were still alive. To prevent deaths by premature burial, a piece of string would supposedly be tied to the finger of someone being buried ¨C and the other end would be attached to a bell above ground. If the person woke up, they would ring the bell ¨C and the ¡°dead¡± ringer would emerge looking exactly like someone buried only a few hours ago! Other stories point to the practice of replacing slower horses with faster horses ¨C ¡°ringers¡±. In this case, ¡°dead¡± means ¡°exact¡±.

    Use it:?¡°That guy over there is a dead ringer for my ex-boyfriend.¡±

    Off the back of a lorry

    This is a way of saying that something was acquired that is probably stolen, or someone is selling something that¡¯s stolen or illegitimate. It can also be used humorously to emphasize that something you bought was so cheap that it must have been stolen! ¡°Lorry¡± is the British version ¨C in the US, things fall off the back of ¡°trucks¡±. An early printed version of this saying came surprisingly late in?The Times in?1968. However, there are many anecdotal reports of the phrase in the UK from much earlier than that, and it is likely to date back to at least World War II. It¡¯s just the sort of language that those who peddled illegal goods during and after WWII would have used.

    Use it:?¡°I can¡¯t believe these shoes were so cheap ¨C they must have fallen off the back of a lorry.¡±

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