Fluency on Spanish
I am 14 and I want to learn Spanish, but people say I will never sound like a fluent speaker because of my age. Is that true?
2 Answers
Hi, Only_Isis:
I really think that you should just ignore those who are saying that. Your Spanish may not ever be "perfect" per se, but I'm not sure how many people can even say that they speak their own language 100% perfectly all the time. True that it's much easier to learn a language (and pronunciation) at a younger age (I think, before 8), but there are many people who have taken up a 2nd language later on in life and have excelled at it. Some are even able to teach it their own children raising them bilingual. I've read about such people and have personally met some that can be confused as natives because their dominance of the language. At times, I myself am initially able to pass as a native or am questioned about my and my parents' origin due to my pronunciation and/or ability to express myself (keyword: initially, haha - after deeper conversation, it's clear Spanish is not mi lengua maternal).
If you search on YouTube, you should be able to come across quite a few learners of Spanish (and other languages) and see how well they speak; even the natives speakers congratulate them. It's a nice place to gain some inspiration and motivation.
I think 14 is a great age to start. I started learning Spanish at 12 (middle school), but of course, I didn't really put great effort into it then; so, I forgot much of it. Only recently (2010) have I started re-learning and I'm now in my 20's. I wish I had started off strong, so that by now, I would be much further along and possibly at an advanced or nearly fluent level. Sounding fluent or nearly fluent will take time, patience, persistence, and practice, but if that's what you really want, I say go for it.
~ Goldie
P.S. Sorry for the book
Hello, welcome to the forum. Here is a link to a question just like this with a lot of encouragement. Look at this
