No matter which method you choose to learn a language, it will take hundreds of hours to master it. It takes a lot of time than studying with a teacher, but you can still speak fluently for 1 year. Studies have shown that learning a foreign language requires 400 to 2200 hours of study time and a lot of practice. There are many estimates of how long it will take to learn a new language.
If you are just starting to learn a new language, you might be wondering how long it will take. You end up obsessing over “how long it takes to learn a language” instead of focusing on the path of learning a new language. Unless you’re learning a language closely related to one you already know (let’s say Italian after Portuguese), you can’t get around the fact that it will always take you one or two thousand hours of concentrated effort to learn a new language well. In any case, I have said before that focusing on the number of hours of study is a much more important measure than the number of years you study a language.
If this is your first time learning a language (and the first time is almost always the hardest), the number will be closer to 600 hours. Now, if you want to learn a “Category 1” language in one year, you have to divide 575 by 52 weeks. If you study 5 hours a day, 7 days a week (which is what I do on my language learning missions) and use a combination of live classes with a native speaker and self-study, you will accumulate 35 hours per week.
Loving the language
The Foreign Service Institute ranks languages ??by difficulty and estimates that you can learn Spanish in 600 hours in six months, which means you’ll need about 24 hours of class time per week. When the FSI says it takes 1200 hours to learn Spanish, what they really mean is to pass the Spanish exam. The FSI’s answer to the question of how long it takes to learn Spanish is based on the number of class hours. When it comes to this question, we are talking about free talk.
Here we may be mistaken, because we still think of language as the study of any other subject. If you’re reading this blog, I’m sure you’ll agree that one of life’s greatest joys is being able to communicate in a new language, and ultimately speaking is more important than passing an exam. When I learn a new language, I strive to reach a level where I can speak it confidently and comfortably.
Comfy is not progress
Remember that many native English speakers don’t even know how to speak or write English correctly, so learning another language is already a milestone. Some languages ??are easy for native English speakers, while others are extremely difficult. Some people take years to learn a language, and some live in places where the language is widely spoken and don’t even learn how to make sentences correctly. Most people are usually afraid of looking stupid and won’t even try to speak a foreign language until they feel confident in their abilities.
According to some people, they have tried Spanish and failed, and may even believe that they are not made for languages. As you can see, there is a huge gap between how languages ??are taught and the outcomes people want when they decide to learn a new language.
If your native language is English, learning a new language can be more difficult than if you were, say, French or German. Learning a language as a subject in school may help you pass tests, but it won’t help you communicate better in the language. Learning phrases and vocabulary is not a “frustrating study job” that can be quickly dismissed.
Dismiss frustrating as negative
If you study because you are interested in a language, it will be much easier for you to motivate yourself in moments of doubt. Make sure you enjoy learning the language to keep that motivation high throughout the six months of your study plan.
You just need to make sure you have enough conversational practice through language exchanges or meetings and that you are very disciplined when studying alone. By focusing on your language lessons and your journey, you will quickly learn new words and make more than adequate progress towards your dream of speaking fluently.
Another way to figure out how long it takes to learn a foreign language is to try to count words fluently. There are many different factors to consider when you want to know how many hours it takes to learn a language.
For we all must love the life we live, learn to love the language you learn
Which ever you choose, remember that go with your heart because at the end of the day what you love is what you we become good at and do most days. We may not admit this love now but we should admit the love of languages if we have been in a relationship with language for over 2 years learning. The chances are this is a good healthy relationship and with a bit more attention and focus you can find fluency.