I moved to Australia from France when I was 11. I went to school and didn't speak a single word of English. Initially (for the first 6 months or so) I had no idea what people were saying and it created a lot of awkward (and tense) situations at school. Especially when teachers asked me a question and I couldn't respond and had to resort to facial expressions and hand waving to let them know that I was completely lost.
I think I understood most of English (and could do basic talk) after 6 months but I really started speaking properly after 1 year. It was pretty intense.
Now I'm in Moscow (Russia) - and I feel like it's the same thing all over again; I don't speak a word of Russian. It's harder to learn as an adult; there aren't as many opportunities to learn passively (adults don't talk about simple things like playgrounds, running around, going to the library, eating lunch, etc... The conversations are a lot more advanced so it's hard to pick up stuff).
I still speak (and write) fluent French.
I think the most interesting thing about speaking two languages really fluently is that sometimes I don't even realize what language I'm speaking in... Several times I told my wife a whole sentence in French without realizing (she only speaks English, Russian and Italian).
I think I understood most of English (and could do basic talk) after 6 months but I really started speaking properly after 1 year. It was pretty intense.
Now I'm in Moscow (Russia) - and I feel like it's the same thing all over again; I don't speak a word of Russian. It's harder to learn as an adult; there aren't as many opportunities to learn passively (adults don't talk about simple things like playgrounds, running around, going to the library, eating lunch, etc... The conversations are a lot more advanced so it's hard to pick up stuff).
I still speak (and write) fluent French.
I think the most interesting thing about speaking two languages really fluently is that sometimes I don't even realize what language I'm speaking in... Several times I told my wife a whole sentence in French without realizing (she only speaks English, Russian and Italian).