After teaching French for over a decade, I’ve come to a slightly uncomfortable conclusion:
“Fluency” is not a real goal.
At least not in the way most people think about it. It’s a trope. A fantasy. A vague finish line that keeps moving the closer you get to it.
And yet, almost every student I meet is chasing it.
“I just want to be fluent.”
But what does that even mean?
The moment that made me question everything
The other day, I took an AI language evaluation test in English.
It gave me… a B1 level.
Think about that for a second.
I’ve lived in the U.S. for 18 years.
I’m married to an American.
I’ve built two companies here.
I teach languages for a living.
Am I perfect in English? No. Do I make mistakes? Of course.
But by any reasonable definition, I am fluent. And yet, the test gave me a mediocre result. Now, I have the confidence to know that the problem is the test, not me.
But if I didn’t? That result could have been incredibly discouraging.
“Fluency” is a misleading concept
We’ve been taught to think of fluency as:
→ a level you reach
→ a status you unlock
→ something that can be measured
But language doesn’t work like that.
And interestingly, in French… We don’t even really have a word for “fluency.”
We say:
→ parler couramment (to speak with fluidity/fluently)
→ être à l’aise (to feel comfortable)
→ se débrouiller (to manage)
That’s a completely different mindset.
Language is not something you “achieve”
This is also why I have a hard time with systems like CEFR or TOEFL.
They suggest that language is:
→ fixed
→ measurable
→ stable over time
But your ability to speak a language:
- fluctuates
- depends on context
- evolves continuously
Some days you’re sharp. Some days you’re not. That’s not failure. That’s language.
So what does fluency actually look like?
For me, fluency has very little to do with perfection.
It’s much more about:
- understanding tone
- catching cultural references
- getting the joke
- recognizing nuance
- being able to play with the language
It’s when the language stops feeling like something you’re studying…
…and starts feeling like something you’re living in.
Making the language your own
Real fluency is not about sounding like a native.
It’s about:
→ expressing yourself
→ with your personality
→ your references
→ your way of thinking
That’s when things shift. Not when you’re perfect. But when you’re free enough in the language to be yourself.
The takeaway
If you define fluency as something external (a level, a test, a label) you’ll always feel like you’re not there yet.
But if you start seeing language as something:
→ evolving
→ personal
→ alive
Everything changes. You stop asking:
👉 “Am I fluent yet?”
And start asking:
👉 “How am I using this language today?”
Léa Perret, CEO of Coucou and 6pm in Paris
