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Back when I was quite young, and first became aware of different languages, I was sure that everyone thought in English,then translated it into a different language of choice before speaking. Likewise, upon hearing another language, they had to translate it into English in their head in order for it to make sense.
Now, sixty-some years later.... I'm still sure that I was right.

Some can listen to Morse Code, and understand like a language.

Me, i learned how to understand Gus.

Whatever language you dream in, that's your language.

Profanity it is then.

All babies cry in English.

Years ago, my brother who was born and raised in TX, went somewhere in Mexico for a spell. He had taken Spanish in HS. He told me that when he started dreaming in Spanish, he knew he was fluent.

When I went back to school to get a master's degree, I was spending 8-12 hours a day studying Calculus and I started to dream about solving differential equations incessantly. Not sure if that meant I was 'fluent' in high-level calculus, but I can tell you it was horrific.

When I have dreams on my college efforts, things are always going poorly. Like I forgot the class until my finals schedule was handed out.

Took three years of German in HS. Used to dream in that language every once in a while that. 😬

I had that dream over and over for years and years after college.

I had that happen with Supreme Court cases in a Constitutional Law class. I couldn't tell if I was asleep or awake.

Good to learn of this - same dumb thing has happened here. Although never got a bad grade or withdrew from a college course during the span of three degrees, I experienced that dream a bunch of times. It's late in the semester and I just realized I have - somehow - missed most or all of the classes/tests in some course. Sentiment horrible!

Hah! [bleep] aye!

I lived a version of this.

Freshman year, 1983, UC Santa Barbara, and I was deep into booze and hallucinogens. I stopped going to German class about 2 weeks before the final. I thought I knew German better than the instructor and I was getting wasted every night.

The finals schedule was published in the school paper, and I showed up to the location and time that was published, bluebook in hand.

I go in when the room opens and the proctors hand out the test booklet. They're in Russian.

I asked the proctor why the test is in Russian and he said "this is the Russian final. The German final was rescheduled to yesterday. It was announced in the last class."

I got an incomplete in a language I was fluent in.

(I ended up retaking the final and got an A, but that was the only grade above a C I got that year)

I'd rather not dream at all.

I still dream in a language other than English.

DLI graduate.

The best way to learn a language is to not translate in your head. Don't do the conversion. IMO.

I know people with real talent for languages and it's how they taught me to really get fluent quickly.

I dated a Mexican woman who’s grandfather was born in California to a family who spoke English. They moved to Mexico when he was five and he learned to speak Spanish.

Way later in life, after moving to Canada, he became ill and went to hospital. While there he became delirious, and began babbling in Spanish. None of the doctors or nurses could understand him.

Married an air force brat who spent much of her life up to high school in Germany. Whole family is fluent , I learned enough German to understand what's happening and get my point across.

I am amazed how often I hear German being spoken in the USA

Give me two weeks, a lady that gets me going and doesn't speak any of the languages I speak, and I'll be conversational two weeks later.

Learning a language quickly is NOT hard. It takes two things: a strong motivation, and full immersion. Immersion meaning you ONLY speak, read and listen to the new language, without switching back to your native tongue to check with family, read email, call your girlfriend, whatever. If you do a complete switch, you'll speak the language in a matter of weeks.

I'm decent at languages (English, Dutch, French, German), but Spanish vexes me because I never went "all in". I use it every week with my customers, but because I only have used it a few phrases at a time, I've never gotten any better than what I absolutely need to complete a transaction.

Banging Elke Somer? I had those same dreams in High School....

I took 6 levels of German in High School, I would think in German....

Now I only understand TV War Movie German.... Hande Hoch.... Schweinhund! Eine Beer Bitte!

I would sometimes dream in Spanish and wake up frustrated when I got to words I didn't know. I did that a lot when taking Spanish in HS and college.