How Long Does it Take to Learn a New Language?
How Long Does it Take to Learn a New Language?
How long does it really take the average person to learn a new language? There are quite a few different answers to that question, but this Idyoma article will aim to bust the myths surrounding language learning time. It will give you the truth about how long it might take you to reach competent fluency in another language like Spanish, German, Italian, French, Japanese or whatever language is important to you!
Statistics on How Long it Takes to Learn a New Language
When it comes to concrete figures for how long it can take to learn a language to its fullest, there are various official sources and organisations that have done the hard math and reached their results for the wider public.
A key step in finding out exactly how long it takes the average person to learn a new language is to pinpoint exactly when the learning is seen to have been successful. For places like the official bodies that we’ll mention below, when specific parameters are met then a student is deemed to have completed learning to a certain degree.
It really depends whether you’re learning a language as an academic pursuit, for necessity, or as a personal achievement. If you’re learning independently or informally to pursue a cultural interest or to communicate just a little with a native speaker, then you might define successful language learning a bit differently.
Defining Fluency When you Learn a New Language
Firstly, is The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Their findings are based upon ‘Guided Learning hours’ used in many of the European language learning centres. Typically, 2 hours a week, 5 days a week is the required learning time spent in-classroom. Knowing that the number of hours required to reach a B2 level on the Cambridge English Exam is around 500 to 600 hours, if you add in personal and additional learning time, comes to a probable total learning time of 1200 hours.
Secondly, is The American Council of Teaching Foreign Languages (ACTFL). They make determining total learning time a little trickier as they not only put languages into difficulty categories but also rank learners on their proficiency from Novice to Distinguished. In short, though, for the easier languages you could be looking at around 900 hours of combined classroom and personal studying, and for the harder languages you could be learning for up to 2400 hours.
Before you start to worry, the third source of statistics is English UK which is a representative body of language colleges. They find that students take an average 900 hours of both classroom and personal learning time to reach their B2 level of proficiency, which is slightly less daunting.
Taking all of these statistics together, it would be reasonable to think that in order to reach fluency or at least conversational ability in a new language, you’d need to study at least 1000 hours with some time in-class. However, how can these estimates apply to everyone and to all types of learning methods?
Let’s take a look at some of the myths surrounding learning a language ‘the right way’ and how that affects the duration of time spent learning before competency is generally reached.
Language Learning Myth | You Have to Read to Learn
It may seem like the idea of in-class or taking a more academic style to learn a new language would bring you the fastest results. Perhaps your teacher advises reading a set textbook list, maybe even with some writing activities included with a set workflow. This will certainly give you some context for the language and the culture if you’re starting your language learning journey from square one. However, polyglots and language students worldwide have found that speaking the language you want to learn from day one is the quickest way to reach fluent speech in a foreign language.
If you use an app like Idyoma that connects you with a native speaker that also wants to speak your language, you’ll be spending 100% of that time using and developing your pronunciation, your vocabulary, and your grammar. This active learning is proven to help you build your own understanding of different concepts the way your mind can best retain it. For example, flash cards are effective for many but might not work for you specifically. The activity of speaking and listening to a new language allows your brain to filter the learning through social interaction, where we are best able to take in new information reliably.
In short, read where necessary, but make sure active social conversation is a big part of your study from the beginning.
There are so many different ways you can put this into practice. You can build your language learning into all the other activities you love to do in your life.
The Liverpool FC footballer James Milner tries to only speak to his kids in Spanish. This gives him a real challenge in finding new ways to use the language, while also helping his kids pick up valuable skills to help them grow too.
Our friends Abigail and Aneesh from Lingo Chefs build language learning into cooking, so you can make delicious meals together and learn at the same time. Baking your learning into your existing social activities is the first step you can take to boost your familiarity with actually using the language.
Language Learning Myth | Tests Determine Whether You’re Fluent
If you’ve ever travelled to another country, you’ll be familiar with this scene. You’ve spent the flight reading through a ‘quick and easy phrases’ guidebook and feel like you can remember the most important greetings and questions, but the moment you step out of the airport you’re confronted by a Taxi driver and you can’t recall how to even ask them to take you to your destination. This situation is the true test of fluency and for many is the first real test once they’ve completed any official academic language study.
Places like CEFR and ACTFL and other similar schools are created to aid their students to reach specific milestones that may lead to specialist certification or awards like degrees in language. Their study methods are effective for those goals but aren’t necessarily best suited to those who want to grasp a real-world version of the language as quickly as possible.
Going through and breaking down the language might not be something you need to do in order to reach fluency when you learn a new language. You can have a full, usable understanding of how to communicate in a language and still not have the grammar rules memorised. This is a point in case for native English-speakers – how many of your English friends and family could recite the types of sentence structures or colloquial conventions in the English language?
Language Learning Myth | You’ll Stop Learning After You Reach Fluency
The problem with testing and certification as well as the idea of a fixed end to learning is that you will never stop learning your new language!
If you’re just starting to learn a new language, you might be torn between seeking out an organisation with a structured learning system or going it alone with independent learning. As long as you use some of the most effective language learning methods and make the language a part of your life, you are likely to see great results. You can work methods like mnemonics and the Pomodoro method into your personal study time if you decide to learn with a school or you can build your own learning schedule with them if you choose to learn solo.
But, unless your only goal is to receive a certificate of achievement and leave it there, you’ll continue to increase your language knowledge as you use and experience your new language. Whether you’re learning to communicate more easily with a foreign-speaking relative or friend, to prepare for an upcoming trip, or to be eligible for an overseas job role, you’ll continue developing your speaking, listening and writing skills every time that you use them in a real-life setting.
How to Learn a New Language Faster
So, how can you hope to learn faster than those average statistics say you can?
The key may be to make your learning more efficient and ensure you’re using the entirety of your study time to actively increase your ability in the language. For example, if you zone out reading a book of common Spanish phrases for 30 minutes, try instead watching a Spanish TV show with Spanish subtitles on. You’ll be fully engaged and able to increase your understanding of the connection between the words and how they sound when spoken.
The top methods used by the experts can also give you an advantage in terms of time and the effectiveness of your dedicated study time.
Methods like the Pomodoro Technique use sprints of 25 minutes intense learning alternated with 5-minute rests allow your mind to work in its most natural rhythm and actually makes retaining information much easier. Not to mention you’ll also feel awake and refreshed with each break and more ready to continue studying for a longer time than you might otherwise.
Similarly, making the language a part of your lifestyle is a proven technique to make recall easier and quicker in the learning process. Try putting everything in your life into your chosen second language. Watch television programs and movies in German, for example. Start reading an interesting book written in German (it doesn’t have to be about language, just a book you would choose even if it were in English), and try incorporating spoken and listening activities into the day, like learning your favourite song in German.
Trying out apps like Idyoma to speak one on one with native speakers is also one of the best ways to incorporate the language into your life. You might find common interests and a good friendship with your foreign-speaking partner or teacher, and this will help you to learn more actively and ultimately get you speaking fluently faster.
You can download the Idyoma language exchange mobile app for free here: