The level of âfluencyâ you wrote about above is probably between B1 and B2. I, along with Steve and many others, would consider B2, or confident B2, âfluency.â
When I reach 1,200 hours of study, 35K words of Spanish, 2 million words read, 45K lingqs, 500 hrs of listening, and possibly 100 hours spoken (including a trip to Latin America as a reward), Iâll move on to either French, Russian, Arabic, or Chinese.
I might do the French first to âGet it out of the way.â (I think, having Spanish, 1.5-2 hours a day for 9 months would do it for âpotential fluency.â) Then Iâd move onto one of the hard languages. However, I might go with one of the harder ones first so itâs not TOO close to Spanish and make it more likely thatâll mix them up.
Overall, my goal is to have an âeasyâ language (Spanish), a hard one (likely Russian), and a very hard one (Chinese or Arabic). French I always loved and thatâs what I started in school and I have a âscoreâ to settle with a dreadful teacher from back in the day.
To answer your question about what a b1 person could do.
I can understand the main points
of clear standard speech on
familiar matters regularly
encountered in work, school,
leisure, etc. I can understand the
main point of many radio or TV
programmes on current affairs or
topics of personal or professional
interest when the delivery is
relatively slow and clear.
I can understand texts that consist
mainly of high frequency everyday
or job-related language. I can
understand the description of
events, feelings and wishes in
personal letters.
I can deal with most situations
likely to arise whilst travelling in an
area where the language is
spoken. I can enter unprepared
into conversation on topics that
are familiar, of personal interest or
pertinent to everyday life (e.g.
family, hobbies, work, travel and
current events).
I can connect phrases in a simple
way in order to describe
experiences and events, my
dreams, hopes and ambitions. I
can briefly give reasons and
explanations for opinions and
plans. I can narrate a story or
relate the plot of a book or film and
describe my reactions.
I can write simple connected text
on topics which are familiar or of
personal interest. I can write
personal letters describing
experiences and impressions.