Voted Best Answer
Jan 09, 2012 - 12:43 PM
It's perfectly normal. The way I see it, there are three main components to being able to really speak a new language: 1) Strong understanding of Grammar 2) Broad vocabulary 3) A lot of experience speaking and listening to the language. I believe Fluenz is phenomenal with #1, a great start for #2, and a beginning for #3. There really is no substitute for speaking and listening to the language A LOT. When users have asked me if they'll be able to easily have a conversation with a native speaker by the end of level 5, I generally give the following answer: Grammar will no longer be an obstacle to communication, but you'll probably need to learn some additional vocabulary depending on the topic being discussed. And if you haven't been listening to the language outside of the software, you're going to still need a lot of practice hearing the language before your ear can really easily understand it.
As you hear the language more and more, your ear will naturally improve its ability to distinguish the individual words. No matter if your grammar is perfect and you know every single word, your ability to distinguish individual parts of the spoken language will still be critical. Don't worry if you only understood 10%. Just keep watching and listening. Your ear will get better.
As you hear the language more and more, your ear will naturally improve its ability to distinguish the individual words. No matter if your grammar is perfect and you know every single word, your ability to distinguish individual parts of the spoken language will still be critical. Don't worry if you only understood 10%. Just keep watching and listening. Your ear will get better.