How important is reading literature in order to become fluent in a language?

8: How important is reading literature in order to become fluent in a language?
If you had to break it down in percentages, what percentage should be spent: reading literature, watching film or tv, speaking to native speakers, reading things other than literature (like the news, non-fiction, informational materials)

What is a good amount to read everyday? 30 minutes? An hour?

Answers and Views:

Answer by Max Pwet
Classic literature is quite boring, and uses terms and expressions that are outdated. The themes are also mostly irrelevant to what modern people go through.

You can find plenty of quality writing from modern writers that are interesting AND use good vocabulary, so look for those. And I reckon 30 minutes a day of it is good, but if it’s something you like you can read a lot more than that.

Reading literature isn’t necessary, but it’s the difference between talking posh or talking common. A lot of people are fine with not using any complicated words when they talk.

Answer by Every Little Thing I Do Is Magic
i personally think this:

watching film/tv 50%. speaking with natives 40%. reading any kind of material. ideally not literature, but something that is more conversational in nature. – 10%

i pick passive listening as the biggest percentage because it makes people nervous to have to be around native speakers too much. however, speaking it… with natives or otherwise, is necessary for your speech to become fluent. ( not stumbling and fumbling for words ). and reading is non essential to verbal fluency, but it’s good to be able to do and to have a bit of practice and somewhat higher vocabulary

Answer by shenhemu
Being “fluent” in a language means to be able to SPEAK it without thinking too much. You will learn this only by speaking, not by reading or watching TV. In percentages: spend 100% of your time to go to a country that speaks the language you want to be fluent in, and live there for at least one year. Once you are there, don’t waste time with people who speak your native language. As soon as you start thinking and even dreaming in that other language, you will be fluent.

Answer by Marcin
Let’s start with a simple definition. “Fluency” doesn’t mean to be perfect, it means to be able to express oneself easily. So it’s all about communication skills. Reading will help you understand a language better, but it won’t make you a fluent speaker.

I agree with shenhemu – you need to speak if you want to become a fluent speaker. The best idea is to go to a country that speaks your target language but you can also immerse yourself at home – find a pen pal, find other language learners, participate in online communities, even speaking to yourself can help. Speaking should be your priority.

Reading and watching movies can also be helpful but you should keep in mind that it won’t make you a fluent speaker.

So the best idea is to start living through your new language: speak with native speakers/language learners as much as you can and if you watch movies/TV, read books/news, listen to the radio/music, do it in your target language. Also, change the language of your browser, telephone, online accounts and so on. There are many methods to immerse yourself – try to do everything in your target language. Thanks to this, you will become fluent in a very short time.