<p>I'm planning on taking either Spanish or Chinese (really leaning more toward Chinese). I don't want to pursue it as either a major or a minor; I just want to take the language classes, minus the culture/literature courses. Up to what level would I have to take to be considered fluent or "fluent-ish" (whatever that means)?</p>
<p>3 years = exempt you from the foreign language requirement + is recommended by the UCs</p>
<p>I’d consider anyone who took the 1a, 1b, 10a, 10b courses of a foreign language “fluent” in that if he went to the country whose native language is ^, he’d be able to survive. This also happens to be the language training requirement for a minor…gee, I wonder why.</p>
<p>Heck, even after taking a 10a-level course, I wouldn’t be surprised if you could communicate (although maybe not fully) with a native speaker about anything that isn’t “deep”</p>
<p>I would say you’d have go beyond Berkeley classes to become fluent. Study abroad and actually use the language comfortably on a regular basis. Survival =/= fluency.</p>
<p>As excellent as all of Berkeley’s language departments are (seriously, we have some of the BEST language departments in the nation), you can’t gain fluency in a language in a classroom environment. You would need to study abroad. That being said, you will very proficient at a language if you take language classes up to the most advanced level in your department (it varies from department to department. I can only speak from experience for the German department, in which 4 is the most advanced course).</p>