Quote Originally Posted by Caledonian View Post
Being bilingual is a more unusual condition than most people think. It means speaking both very naturally and capably, and I wouldn't call myself bilingual in anything. My German wife is, after fourteen years in the UK, as she speaks English not quite without unnatural structures or pronunciation once in a while, but completely naturally, and faster than most of us.
I can honestly say that I am bilingual in Dutch and English. And with bilingual I mean to the level of a native speaker.
Several English and Irish people I've worked with told me my language skill is better than theirs.
I have to admit that what helped me a lot was working with English colleagues for a couple of years. My reading and writing skills did not need improving at that point, but speaking naturally is something you can only learn by talking with native speakers.

My French and German are good enough to get by, but not good enough to have an easy flowing conversation.

Once my Japanese gets a bit better I'll have to find some Japanese people to hang out with
I have a bunch of Japanese samurai movies, but the problem with those is that trying to understand that is like being a novice student of the English language and trying to understand Texan or Scottish dialect