🎆Speaking Like a Native Speaker🎆

Is native-like fluency an

obsession of yours? Or, more importantly, is that your goal when studying a foreign language?

I’ve thought about this question many times, and I’ve discussed this topic with different people and have realized a few things:

1. It’s almost impossible, unless you were raised in a certain environment and trained under certain conditions.
2. Just being fluent is enough (or conversational), even it means having an accent. Having an accent is part of your identity and can even seem attractive to some people.
3. Obsessing over sounding like a native speaker can put too much emphasis on the form (of the language) which might take away from the substance (i.e., content).

Conclusion: learning a language is an amazing experience. It is a window into another country’s history and culture. Don’t let an impossible expectation prevent you from enjoying these experiences.