Spoken vs. written fluency

[DoctorJedi]

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So I hope no one has asked this already, I didn't see it in the threads when I searched, but when you check "fluent" for a language like Arabic, do you guys think it is necessary to be able to read and write in that language?

I say this because Lebanese was my first language, and I speak it at home with my parents. I speak English much much better than lebanese, but I do use Lebanese whenever I'm at home. However, the formal written language more or less escapes me. (Know the alphabet, and given enough time could figure out words/sentences, but not anywhere close to 'fluent' reading/writing). I could walk up to someone in Lebanon and have a conversation no problem though, and I have to talk to half my family in Lebanese. I've thought about all the fluency tests I've seen posted here and I can pretty much do all of them (the shoe tying one was tricky, but I think I worked out a way!).

Unfortunately there was no "Lebanese" option, so I've already submitted and verified with "Arabic" checked since Lebanese is the regional dialect of Arabic. Then I came here and started wondering if that was the way to go... Is this problematic? If it is, do I email the schools, talk about it the secondaries, or just see if it comes up in an interview and address it then? I was already intending to talk about my heritage in some of my secondary essays, it wouldn't be too difficult to add that in.

 

[DocBell]

I wouldn't over think. Granted that is just my opinion but thats seems fluent enough for me. Fluency doesn't necessarily mean you can read and write. We are fluent in our native language before we can read it.

P.S. I'm very jealous. I would love to learn Lebanese but I'm barely surviving in French.

 

[Dr McSexy]

I wouldn't worry about it to be honestly. Just address it at the interviews IF it comes up.

And to tell you the truth, it's probably way more valuable to be fluent verbally when it comes to communicating with patients or with that population than to be able just to write the language.

 

[wanderer]

Everyone has their own definitions of fluency, but technically fluency refers to the spoken part of the language, so I think you're fine.

 

[Keem]

Lebanese is a language now? 😛 Just playing...

 

[DoctorJedi]

Thanks everyone, I'm a lot less worried about it!
and

Lebanese is a language now? 😛 Just playing...

lol, that was kind of my point- it's not considered a language but it's different enough from formal Arabic that I was concerned.

 

[TarHeelEMT]

So I hope no one has asked this already, I didn't see it in the threads when I searched, but when you check "fluent" for a language like Arabic, do you guys think it is necessary to be able to read and write in that language?

I say this because Lebanese was my first language, and I speak it at home with my parents. I speak English much much better than lebanese, but I do use Lebanese whenever I'm at home. However, the formal written language more or less escapes me. (Know the alphabet, and given enough time could figure out words/sentences, but not anywhere close to 'fluent' reading/writing). I could walk up to someone in Lebanon and have a conversation no problem though, and I have to talk to half my family in Lebanese. I've thought about all the fluency tests I've seen posted here and I can pretty much do all of them (the shoe tying one was tricky, but I think I worked out a way!).

Unfortunately there was no "Lebanese" option, so I've already submitted and verified with "Arabic" checked since Lebanese is the regional dialect of Arabic. Then I came here and started wondering if that was the way to go... Is this problematic? If it is, do I email the schools, talk about it the secondaries, or just see if it comes up in an interview and address it then? I was already intending to talk about my heritage in some of my secondary essays, it wouldn't be too difficult to add that in.

I speak Fussha and a little bit of Lebanese dialect.

I wouldn't worry about the dialect problem at all. They'll probably ask you about your Arabic proficiency, and you'll have an opportunity to explain that your fluency is in a particular dialect. A good portion of one of my interviews consisted of explaining the various Arabic dialects to my interviewer and discussing general linguistic aspects of Arabic.

Hardly anyone will know enough to care that you speak the dialect rather than MSA, and clinically it really doesn't matter as long as you can communicate with patients. It might be tough to converse with a Moroccan, but at least you've got a basis for communication.

If I were your interviewer, I wouldn't fault you in the slightest for listing fluency in Arabic. It might spark a great conversation. It's AMCAS's fault for not recognizing that Arabic is anything but monolithic as a language..

I can't imagine that proficiency with written Arabic would ever be clinically useful unless practicing in the Middle East, and even then only questionably so if you're in a country like Lebanon. Most medical education in the Middle East is in English or French, anyway.

 

[Catalystik]

when you check "fluent" for a language like Arabic, do you guys think it is necessary to be able to read and write in that language?

It seems to me that "Fluent" would mean you can use the language with facility. "Literate" means that you can read and write it, and they didn't ask that.

 

[BBender716]

It seems to me that "Fluent" would mean you can use the language with facility. "Literate" means that you can read and write it, and they didn't ask that.

I totally approve of this semantics-based answer. 👍