[virtualeyes]

5 months without living/breathing the language amongst native speakers, fluency, methinks NOT ;-)

I took 8 years of French growing up (10-18) and I understood nothing, literally nothing when I visited Quebec for the first time (that's a joke, do you get it?)

Anyway, the point is, fluency cannot be gained without living in the culture where the language is spoken. Book learning, reciting phrases, etc. will not give you the auditory queues that conversations with native speakers will. When you mispronounce a word or phrase, a raised eyebrow speaks volumes. Books do not raise eyebrows.

The best way to learn languages is to live abroad, in various places, watch loads of TV (really the more the better) and mingle with the locals.

Finally the absolute best way to learn a language is through your significant other; if he/she speaks the language you are trying to learn, and has no interest in speaking your native tongue, wow, spaceship language learning class of the highest order ;-)

[acqq]

> learn a language is through your significant other

That's a common misconception, and I have personal experiences: actually spoken communication with different native speakers improves your capabilities much more than the communication with only one, given the same amount of time.

[virtualeyes]

Well, I'm not saying never leave the bedroom ;-)

I'm also talking about living abroad, not hooking up with a foreigner in NYC and she plays teach the American to butcher X language

[gurkendoktor]

I think a significant other helps to get you started, and later is handy for all the little cultural things which C1 fluency absolutely requires.

But you risk using the same terms all the time, getting used to each other's nonstandard pronunciation, and lastly, you may sound much more like a tomboy/sissy by only talking to the opposite gender. I really hope it's not too late for me to stop doing all of these :(