Fluent in Three Months: Benny Lewis Tells all at WDS

This is part of a series of peeks into my notes from the World Domination Summit.

It’s been a lifelong dream of mine to speak several, if not many, languages. I’m fluent in French, and am the proud holder of a highly useful French degree.

When I went nomad in 2008, I was determined to try another language. My plan was to live in Florence, so I took an Italian class at the university before I left. Bene, molto bene. 

But I didn’t end up in Florence. I fell in love in Lisbon and moved to Portugal instead. So I took up the notoriously difficult Portuguese language. Attending daily classes for a month, living with a Portuguese man, surrounded by Portuguese.

Despite my best efforts, I was not fluent in three months. Nor in five months. I thought, okay Cynthia, maybe not in this lifetime. I contented myself to a smattering of phrases and gestures that could get me the coffee I wanted anywhere in the world.

The cunning linguist tells all. Click to enlarge.

So when I heard that Benny Lewis, the infamous Irish polyglot, was presenting at the World Domination Summit, I signed up to attend.

Benny’s humor and the astounding nature of his premise – that you can be fluent in three months, without even being surrounded by the language – had me on the edge of my seat, taking notes as fast as I could.

I’m leaving for Rome and Sicily in a month. I may just try Benny’s method – putting in many hours practicing – to see if I can touch down in Italy a wee bit more fluent than I am now.

What about you? Do you think you could learn a language in three months?