I agree about the talent for creating the illusion of fluency. I think that's the real difference maker for Tim's guest blogger, he has a strong sense of what

I agree about the talent for creating the illusion of fluency. I think that's the real difference maker for Tim's guest blogger, he has a strong sense of what a language is in the abstract, a sense for how people use language in general, and practice at getting through the awkward time when you are frustrating to speak with. Those universal gifts are the most valuable ones of language learning, and they can come while learning your second language, but they come faster when you have dabbled in 4 or so.