The language-learning world is obsessed with fluency. And why shouldn’t it be? It’s thrilling to see a non-native speaker engage in perfect conversation with a native speaker. You think, “wow, I want to be able to do that”. And honestly, who wouldn’t want those skills?
Being fluent means more than just having killer conversation skills and a perfect accent. But these are the key skills we focus on. So it’s no surprise that when people talk about fluency, they usually mean a demonstrable form of language mastery. Sure, it’s great if you can read Japanese and understand it. But do you really know Japanese if you cannot hang with native speakers in casual conversation? And more importantly, document your achievement and native-like skills on TikTok, Twitter, or YouTube?
I jest, but the problem with our fluency-focus is that it’s centered on performance and achievement. That is, fluency is all about status. And this matters because it affects the way we approach our language study. On some level, almost all serious language learners believe that their language study is worth it only if they learn enough to demonstrate that they are fluent.
This is not good. If your motivation to learn a language is to impress your friends, #langtwt, or yourself(!), your motivation is not coming from an interest in the language itself, but something external to the language.
If you get swept up in fluency-focus for too long, your motivation for learning will become extrinsic, not intrinsic to your target language. And the funny thing about extrinsic motivation is that it is never enough. Experience shows that we humans always believe extrinsic motivators will be more motivating than they actually are. But in reality, extrinsic motivators alone are never enough to sustain a difficult practice over the long run. Have you ever done a job “just for the money”? If so, you will know what I mean.
It’s the same thing with language learning. Unless you are actually enjoying your language study for its own sake, you will not be able to sustain your study to fluency. Counterintuitively, this means the more you focus on fluency, the less likely you will actually achieve it.
So what is the right thing to focus on? The fun. At the end of the day, the way to create sustainable habits that lead to fluency is by enjoying language learning for language learning’s sake. But getting there requires unlearning the fluency-focus that pervades language learning culture.
If you are fluency-focused, you will beat yourself up when you feel yourself falling short of your fluency goal. This is an almost inevitable reaction when you first take you take the leap to start reading native Japanese content. You will think: “Why am I so slow at reading? Why do I have to look up every other word?” But if you drop that line of fluency-focused thinking, you can change your perspective back to the fun.
Even reading a single sentence of native Japanese and understanding it is pretty magical when you think about it. If you are able to comprehend what you are reading, even if it takes some struggle, why are you upset? Forget fluency—you are doing the thing! You are actually reading Japanese! You don’t need to be fluent to start reading and enjoying native content. Sure, you might be wiped by sentence number two when you first start, but your understanding will build as you continue.
So don’t let fluency-focus get in your way. You’re already achieving the real goal with every sentence you read: you’re understanding Japanese. So just launch your manga app, start reading, and enjoy the journey. 頑張って！