Pretty interesting actually, I realized reading the post that I actually always behave like I'm drunk when speaking some other languages, like czech (wich I can , a bit) or polish (wich I almost can't), mixing slang wiht politeness, speaking to unknown people, and so on.
Thus, I believe alcohol does change something, and is able to change the state of mind for a day and get consciousness of all this shy-beeing / mistake-fear matter of fact, this consciousness may stay on a longer time.

Fakte mi iom surpriziĝas ankaŭ ke nun vi igis vian aferon komercaĵo kaj volas vendi iun metodon por lerni lingvojn. Nu, mi kredas ke iuj homoj ja bezonas konsilojn, ĉu ne? Ne ĉiu lernis aŭ volas lerni E-on.
Ĝenerale mi volas diri al vi, mmh, certe mi ĵaluzas pri via scipovo de tiom da lingvoj, kaj samtempe, nu, iel vi hezitas franclingve, kaj eĉ esperante ofte erarumas. Do mi volas diri al vi ke oni bezonas pli ol 3 monatojn.
Mi mem post unu monato en Ĉeĥio povis babileti (mi lernis ĉeĥan proks. samrapide kiel vi, mi kredas), mi samopinias ke la komenco rapidas, nu, sed post unu jaro kaj duono en Germanio mi daŭre lernas kaj lernas novajn vortojn. Kaj mi nur post tuta jaro estis “flua”, sed eĉ nun mi ne konsideras min flua, kvankam mi parolas kun mi mem preskaŭ nur germane. Do, mmh… Sed mi kredas ke plejparte mi ĵaluzas vian sukceson. Sufiĉe malmature.
Mach mit Sprachen weiter, irgendwann reden wir deutsch miteinander.

See you,

Emĉjo (Cassandra)

Though I admire your post's premise, namely, that one need not drink to speak, I find that my German becomes much more fluid over a single Hefeweisen, than without one–one beer would surely rule out the “I really speak like crap, but I think I speak well” effect. I learned my german mostly while speaking with natives in Germany, always with hefeweisen-in-hand.

I am vaguely familiar with research suggesting that knowledge is blood-alcohol specific, some going so far as to suggest that one should keep learning conditions the same as testing conditions. For example, for those who smoke while studying, smoking before a test would be advantageous.

Therefore I am curious to see if you incorporate or notice some specific things that aid your language fluidity that are reminiscent of the time you originally learned it.

saludos!

I'm portuguese and also don't drink. Ever…

When I'm asked why, it always turns to a boring conversation. Like if I'm preaching my moral superiorty or something.

As an Astérix fan, I had the chance to use your Obélix story and I got a laugh from a pretty blonde girl

Hope you don't mind but I'll always use from now on.

Grande abraço de Portugal,
D

I totally know what you mean. I love hanging with my friends at the bar while they're drunk and I'm sober. I used to be a heavy drinker back when i was studying at university, but since then I've developed an allergic reaction to alcohol, so now I can't have any, which is definitely fine with me. I feel a lot healthier these days and I've saved so much money!

Wow, those all applied to me. I have always been introverted and sometimes find it difficult to be outgoing in social situations, and I would almost always use alcohol as a crutch. When I was drinking a lot in Italy, I distinctly remember feeling really good about my Italian-speaking abilities after a few drinks. It was like it would just roll off my tongue. Looking back on it now, it's pretty clear that I just didn't feel as inhibited or self-conscious as I would sober.

Luckily, I've been sober for over 18 months now and like you said, Benny, I can now remember all of my traveling experiences. I felt awkward going out at first, but then I realized that no one really cares whether I'm drinking or not, and life is a lot better (and healthier) now. Now I just focus on mental ways to loosen up, and it's been working pretty well. Cheers,

ER

The thing you have going for you, unlike myself, is that you seem to be an extrovert: the first to sing karaoke or get on the dance floor, as you say. I'm a born introvert, find dancing tedious and awkward (especially in night clubs, which are generally obnoxious), am bored and uncomfortable in bars (the local pub isn't quite the center of the social scene here in the US as I'm told it is in the UK/Ireland), and am similarly bored and uncomfortable at parties. Lucky for me, at my age most of my friends are married with kids, and have grown out of the night clubs/bars/parties phase of life!

With that said (to stacy), from my own experience of drinking my half-beer, getting fully drunk and speaking a foreign language, what I can remember is that it does help you to speak more, but not necessarily better… those were my two cents.

Although I want to share with you a unique situation in which something happened to me that has never happened before. I hadn't thought it plausible.

My boyfriend is Russian. He speaks English fluently, although with a slight accent. He immigrated to Canada when he was just 17. His parents still reside in Russia and they sadly do not know very much English.

In an attempt to communicate with them; I've purchased a self-teach Russian book and have been watching Russian cartoons in an attempt to perhaps learn some Russian. My attempts haven't been futile; I've learned about 50 different Russian words. I also attempt speaking with them and we do have long conversations – without either party comprehending.

But one day, when I was entirely intoxiated, my boyfriend spoke with me in Russian. He claims that he had an entire conversation (with me understanding and responding) in Russian. This conversation is a “black-out” to me. I don't remember it at all. Now, I by NO MEANS push ANYBODY to drink to the point where they can't remember. I also don't recommend drinking everyday. I seldom drink. My boyfriend isn't a liar and has a pretty stable memory.

Now, keep in mind that my story has nothing to really do with learning Russian. It's very possible that perhaps because I was intoxiated I wasn't conscience about my accent in Russian; and that I wasn't nervous about finding the proper words. It's also possible that I know more Russian than I thought I had. (Hey, I've been hanging around Russians for months and watching Russia media.)

I just found it funny that it happened. XD

I once met a Peruvian on a night out after a few beers, and even being out of practice by about a year or two, I managed to unexpectedly wow him with my Castilian. I was proud that I managed to make such good use of Spanish even after so long, but disappointed that I probably wouldn’t have even tried, had I been more sober.

Nowadays I have little contention with alcohol in small doses, and even now I occasionally do enjoy that evening glass of wine, but that story goes back to a time when I drank a good deal more alcohol, and for all the wrong reasons (of course, that time was university). Point being– alcohol does seem to break down barriers of hesitation for some, but it’s never worth the disappointment. I make it a point not to drink in particularly “social” settings, because I’d rather be proud of what little confidence I can muster up, then how much I can amass just by being dependent on a drink to do all the work.

That said, I think I’m off to have a morning glass of orange juice in your honor. Glad I found this blog!