The path to fluency, and beyond

It never gets old when I hear stories about students reaching language learning milestones. From mastering the pronunciation of a difficult word; asking for directions from a stranger; to reading a paragraph in that language to realise, I didn’t translate this – I knew it all along. There’s no better feeling than the path to fluency. 

I cherish these small accomplishments and remember all too well my own English language journey in those early stages, thinking, how will I ever become fluent? I keep making mistakes, I’m already forgetting how to use this tense, there are so many strange ways of pronouncing the same word. But now I realise that the path to fluency is never a smooth one, and it’s the small wins that motivate you to keep going. 

For me, fluency is freedom. Speaking another language is a superpower. I’m lucky that my English journey could begin at school with the support of inspiring teachers, but it was during my adult life where my understanding was really tested. Listening to the radio turned into following who said what in a strategy meeting; making small talk with neighbours became presenting unscripted, livestreamed events to colleagues all over the world. The small wins grew and grew into feats I never imagined all those years ago, when I struggled to get a taxi driver to take me to Greenwich after a whole year in London (those silent Ws!), or my inability to correctly pronounce the difference between bear, beer, and beard… 

Working for the world’s largest university press and leading our English Language Teaching division really completes the circle in some ways, now getting to watch more learners find the words and tread the path to fluency. But like all language learners, my journey is far from over, and I know now that you can never really ‘master’ a language. I’m ‘finding the words’ in other ways – such as discovering new ones (take the Oxford Word of the Year 2023, for example) – and the saying is true, that every day is a school day, even without an English teacher cheering me on. 

Since picking up my first English textbook, my biggest realisation has been accepting my imperfections and that mistakes inevitably happen. Who doesn’t stumble over words in their mother tongue? Fluency isn’t about perfection. In fact, the Oxford Learners Dictionary describes it as: the quality of being able to speak or write a language, especially a foreign language, easily and well. I wish I had been aware of how realistic that definition is when I’d just arrived in England, working in a busy restaurant in London, feeling so out of my depth while taking orders, that those words may not describe me now, but I’ll make sure they do eventually. 

I’m proud that through the Oxford Test of English, we’re helping more learners worldwide to validate their English language journeys and the painstaking time it takes to find the words. We will all have our struggles, but we will have those moments of accomplishment too – the small wins. Bringing the Oxford Test of English Advanced to the market will create more of those moments – of pride, self-belief, and I suppose relief too, as once you make yourself understood, you can create bigger and better moments throughout your life, no matter the journey you’ve taken and where you want to go next. (Yes, I still often ask for a ‘bear’ in the pub!). 

You can find out more about the new advanced assessment with Oxford Test of English here.

Before joining Oxford University Press, Santiago Ruiz de Velasco was the Global Director for English Language Teaching at the British Council, where he led the development and delivery of their English teaching strategy, and was a member of the British Council Management Board. Prior to this, Santi had a 17-year career at Pearson which included leadership roles as the Managing Director for Hispanic Markets and Vice President for Western Europe. He brings valuable experience of ELT and international markets, including assessment and online language learning. Santi joined Oxford University Press as Managing Director of Oxford University Press España in July 2021, before becoming the ELT Managing Director in July 2022.