Achieving Fluency In Castellano (Esp. Comprehension)

[citygirl]

3 months - ni en pedo

I will say sadly that even after a loooong time here, the minute I open my mouth people know I'm a foreigner. It's just the way it is and whilst I find it annoying that I have to go through the spiel every time of where I'm from, etc, nothing to be done. My gringa accent just isn't going to go away. I still would say I"m far from fluent even after all this time although I am perfectly functional.

I really should go back and study more, I've gotten lazy, esp as the OH and I speak in English to one another.

 

[Noruega]

3 months - ni en pedo

I will say sadly that even after a loooong time here, the minute I open my mouth people know I'm a foreigner. It's just the way it is and whilst I find it annoying that I have to go through the spiel every time of where I'm from, etc, nothing to be done. My gringa accent just isn't going to go away. I still would say I"m far from fluent even after all this time although I am perfectly functional.

I really should go back and study more, I've gotten lazy, esp as the OH and I speak in English to one another.

"Perfectly functional" is a great exp<b></b>ression, I will start using that!

A good thing about being from Scandinavia and not from an English speaking country is that it is usually much easier for us to pick up accents and languages, as we are used to hear more languages and we already have an R similar to the Spanish one (except for some parts which have a more French R.) Sometimes I hear people from English speaking countries and they technically speak perfectly but it is very obvious that they are English speakers originally. That's not a bad thing at all, but like citygirl says, having to explain it every single time must get a little tiring. Then again, I feel my Spanish is fantastic yet I get asked pretty often where I am from too, but always in a nice and curious way. (<----- example of my overconfidence with languages!)

Also, I don't agree with the fluency in three months, that seems very quick. I learned Spanish at 17 when I was an exchange student in Central America, in "optimal conditions": young, no English speakers, total immersion. After a month I could sort of get around town, and after four months I passed my end of year exams in the local high school, but I would say 5-6 months before I was totally comfortable talking and understanding almost everything. And now, I am sure it would take much longer, both because of age and because like Crema Americana said, we have so much access to stuff in our native languages. I watch TV from home online, for instance. It would be hard to create the same experience I had at 17.