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Am I possible to be like a native English speaker?

a_bunch_of_syllabi
As title said. Am I possible to be like a native speaker? Will the age matter? I am 17 right now, came to the US last year as a college student. I have been learning English since 11, but 15 is the \*actual\* first age of learning English, I feel. I was like A1 or A2 till 14 years old. I didn't even know the word, "equipment" and "maintain." But I bumped up to B2 when I was 15 years old by studying English for a year intensively (writing is still pretty bad tho, other skills are improved certainly. Especially, listening. It skyrocketed to C1 level from A2.) But now, I am struggling with English. I can't memorize new vocab anymore. My speaking and listening were improved in the US, but words......! My English ability will stop in front of C1 level. I hadn't learnt English from a baby or other young age. I was a teen when I start everything. Many people told me it is the common phenomenon in learning. But I couldn't believe it. I stopped learning new words for a while. (I resumed recently tho.) Does anyone has a similar experience and became like a native speaker? (I won't care about accent, but about grammar, vocab, and something like that.) I might need to have some kind of mindset for learning. I am impatient...kinda bad personality for language learning, haha....

18 comments

truelovealwayswins•
you can do it if you find a method that works for you and you work hard, good luck!
Llumeah•
You seem to have a good heart for this, and you know much vocabulary. Though, you're a bit off on the grammar One example: *Am I possible to be like a native English speaker?* I'd phrase this as the following: *(Is) it possible to be like a native English speaker?* The *is* in this case is in parentheses because it may be dropped from the sentence.
Kermit1420•
Honestly, I wouldn't put too much pressure on trying to reach the level of a "native speaker"- because even native speakers come in a wide variety of proficiencies and accents. Right now, it's important for you to focus on the learning process itself. This is pretty basic advice, but reading frequently is one of the best ways to continue learning new vocabulary and figuring out how sentences are typically structured. Even as a native speaker myself, I absolutely would not have the same English skills I do now if I did not have a long history of being a reader.
Majestic-Finger3131•
I think you will learn it fine, probably at a native level. But you *have* to speak only English and leave your old friends and language behind. Make American friends and totally immerse yourself. BTW, never say "does anyone has." It's "does anyone *have*." Still, do not worry about making mistakes or act shy. Keep talking as much as possible with Americans until you feel like one of them.
B-Schak•
Henry Kissinger arriving in America at the age of 15. He spoke with a heavy accent until his dying day, but spoke fluently and did well for himself. But his brother, who was only slightly younger, lost his accent completely. So there’s no way to know what will happen to your accent. And given the wide variety of native accents, it should be a lower priority than building vocabulary, learning idioms, and picking up speed. My grandfather arrived at the age of 27, with limited English skills. He never lost his accent, but he became fluent and had a successful professional career. What worked for him: read books; speak frequently with Americans; refuse to speak in your old language with people from your original country; do the crossword every day; marry a native-born American.
Dependent_Practice52•
Is it possible to become as good as a native speaker\*
Available_Ask3289•
Everyone learning a second language gets to this stage. Your English is quite good. Your syntax is pretty terrible, but this improves with practice and time. Don’t stress on vocabulary. Not everyone who has English as a native speaker knows all the words in the English language or even all the grammar. Pick up some well written English books, watch some older English movies, from the 40’s and 50’s when proper spoken English was still important. Maybe you can listen to some podcasts. Try to focus on how you see and hear people putting sentences together. Try to practice doing that yourself. Even if it’s just staring into a mirror and repeating lines from a book. You’ll get there eventually. This is just the language learning ceiling you have to punch through. It will feel hopeless and sometimes you might even want to give up, but with the way you’re going so far, I’d say you’re near the edge of a breakthrough. You’ve done an incredible job. Don’t lose hope, keep going.
joined_under_duress•
One thing I'd say is that when I learned guitar and drums I used to have plateaus - there's a word for you to look up if you don't know it, a flat place, higher than the land around it. At these points it would feel like I was playing the instrument but I was no longer actually learning anything new. Then, after a while I'd suddenly find I was improving again or learning new things. Language learning may well be the same. You're just at a point now where you are struggling to see things change because your mind is actually bolstering all the stuff it knows all ready and building it up before it can move forward.
kittenlittel•
"Am I possible" is not the correct way to ask this in any variety of English. Is it possible for me to speak English like a native? Am I still able to learn English to native proficiency? Can I learn to speak English as well as a native speaker? The following sentence could be used - as long as there was strong emphasis on the word "possibly", because it's redundant in this sentence, and so you would only add it for a specific effect. Am I possibly able to learn to speak English as well as a native speaker?
traumareformed•
I've known a lot of people who learned English as adults that sound like native speakers to me (I didn't know they weren't native speakers until they told me). It's definitely possible, especially since you are so young and already have a great grip of English. Do you have any native speakers that you would feel comfortable talking with? I think a great way to learn is through conversation, so that you're "learning by doing" and not getting sick of studying. You can use what we call "context clues" to learn new vocabulary, or have the person you're speaking with explain any words you don't know yet.
Interesting-Duck-246•
Is I possible? Yes, will it take time? Yes. Also you'll need someone with whom to practice your speaking, that's the hard part, listening and reading are easy but it's absolutely 100% possible
helikophis•
There are some exceptions, but generally people don’t achieve full native level pronunciation in an L2 unless immersion starts before the age of about 10 - even for people who spend much longer immersed in the L2 environment than they did in their L1. This seems to be due to actual changes in brain function around that time. Note that native level pronunciation is not necessary for gaining full functional fluency in the language - there’s still a reasonable chance of achieving that at your age - you’re just unlikely to ever sound native.
nikogoroz•
Yes, you are possible! Like all living creatures you exist, and therefore you are in fact not only possible but real! Sorry, I had to. But for real, this rings A2 level. I don't know where all you people get these B2 level assessments when you make multiple A2 level mistakes in a few lines of text.
lnlyextrovert•
your post sounds awkward and you seem unaware of this, so I agree with another commenter to read books written in english.
delacroix666•
I am no expert in languages, so this is just my opinion. I don’t think it’s possible to get to the level of a person that has spoken the language since birth. The brain comprehends things based on your own language and therefore you will eventually end up saying something in an “unnatural” way, or not being able to express a certain thought or feeling appropriately. Accent and pronunciation might get very close to being indistinguishable from a “native speaker” with enough time spent practicing. That being said, it gets to a point where it doesn’t really matter. I started learning English when I was 5-6 back in my home country, my parents were bilingual and encouraged us to speak in English at home, but Spanish was still the main language used. My parents were proficient, but still had very noticeable accents and also miss-pronounced some words. We moved back and forth to the US since I was 13 and finally I moved permanently 9 years ago (I am 36). This means I have been learning the language for about 30 years, attended middle school and parto of high school in the U.S and still have things to learn. In my language I (think) am a very articulated person, have good spelling and communicate at an above average level. In English, I notice how I am mot the same, regardless of the many years. And I do too wish I could be as proficient as I am in Spanish but I have come to terms with the fact that, that’s not going to happen, but still feel proud of what I have achieved and it also doesn’t mean I can’t continue to learn.
Prestigious-Fan3122•
Reading, and LISTENING! Watch lots of TV, preferably news reports or news channels, in English. TV reporters generally speak more standard English than the average person, and annunciate more clearly. Of course, this isn't always the case, but it's a good place to start
ebrum2010•
It's not worth it. You have to study a very particular dialect and accent (and they can vary not only from country to country but city to city) as mixing a variety of accents and dialects would sound more jarring than speaking English with a foreign accent. Plus, if you somehow did achieve that (which is possible but likely would require an expensive vocal coach and a lot of work), there would be little to no benefit unless you were a spy or an actor. Obsessing over sounding like a native speaker is a big hurdle to overcome when learning a language as it prevents you from learning the language naturally as you spend too much time on an unnecessary aspect of it. As long as you get to a point where most of the population of native speakers will understand you, it's fine.
egg_mugg23•
*is* it possible to *sound* like a native speaker