You can speak, write, read, and listen. You can have real conversations, express complex ideas, and catch most of your own mistakes. But using the language still takes effort and have more practice to do. Phase 6 is about removing that effort with lots of practice.
The goal of the Refold roadmap is to lead you to "functional fluency" — the ability to live your life entirely in the target language without it significantly impacting your ability to function. The language stops being a project and starts being a part of who you are. Functional Fluency
However, that doesn't mean it needs to be YOUR goal. Many learners are thrilled to just reach Phase 6 and are satisfied with that level of fluency. It's totally up to you to continue with your focused study of the language, change things up or start with a new language! But we recommend you read Phase 6 anyway so that you can implement some of the suggestions into your daily routine so your ability continues to increase, even if it's a bit more slowly.
This phase is less about learning new things and more about doing a lot of what you already know how to do. Volume and variety are the keys. Your level will be roughly equivalent to C1 by the end. CEFR Levels
| Cousin | Similar | Neutral | Distant | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| This phase | 135 | 225 | 300 | 450 |
| Cumulative | 800 | 1350 | 1700 | 2700 |
6A — Output Automaticity: Make your speech and writing effortless through massive amounts of practice.
6B — Vocabulary Gaps: Fill in the everyday vocabulary you're still missing — the words you can never remember when you need them.
6C — Lots of Practice: Reinforce everything through high-volume practice of both input and output.
Phase 6 is built on Skill Acquisition Theory, particularly DeKeyser's (2007, 2015) research on how language skills develop from controlled (conscious) to automatic (unconscious) processing. At your current level, you have the knowledge and accuracy needed to communicate effectively. The massive practice in this phase is what transforms that knowledge into the automatic fluency that characterizes near-native speakers.
The emphasis on vocabulary expansion reflects Nation's (2006) research on lexical coverage thresholds. Nation found that roughly 8,000–9,000 word families are needed for unassisted reading comprehension, and 6,000–7,000 for listening. While lower vocabulary counts are sufficient for basic conversation, reaching functional fluency requires the expanded vocabulary that typically comes only after thousands of hours of engaged input and output.