What is fluency?

This is interesting. I have no problem in conversing in portuguese, but I am increasingly aware that I am very adept at using a fairly narrow vocabulary to express exactly what I want to say. I suppose this is a bit like how children speak.

To increase my vocabulary I have bought 'Harry Potter' in portuguese. This is ideal as I have never read these books. Since J.K Rowling is an English writer, I don't have to try and understand cultural nuances (as I would with a Brazilian author) as well as the vocabulary and story. So this is proving to be a good choice. I never particularly wanted to read this in English, but I'm enjoying it in portuguese and learning a lot.

Whether I'll be able to use the vocabulary in conversation is another matter. I can't see a lot of demand for talking about owls - but we did see one the other night!