How much time does it take to learn a language? I'm a beginner in French and German, and I'm not sure how long it would take me to learn both languages. Also, I have to keep practicing my English, bec (2024)

FAQs

How much time does it take to learn a language? I'm a beginner in French and German, and I'm not sure how long it would take me to learn both languages. Also, I have to keep practicing my English, bec? ›

FSI research indicates that it takes 480 hours to reach basic fluency in group 1 languages, and 720 hours for group 2-4 languages. If we are able to put in 10 hours a day to learn a language, then basic fluency in the easy languages should take 48 days, and for difficult languages 72 days.

You might take around 6 and 8 months to achieve a B1 level if you engage in 10 hours each week for your French studies. It might take you longer, possibly up to a year or more, if you are starting from scratch and have no prior knowledge of the language.

In our experience, although it is possible to learn French in one year, the level that can be achieved will depend on the student's starting point, his or her ability to learn languages and the amount of time he or she devotes to study.

For many non-French speaking immigrants, Quebec's imposed six-month timeline to learn French is not realistic. According to a 2018 Cambridge study, it takes about 500 hours of guided learning to achieve basic fluency in a language, equivalent to four or five months of full-time Francisation Quebec classes.

For this reason, English speakers will learn German much faster than French. In fact, it takes a native English speaker an average of 30 weeks (750 hours) to become fluent in German.

Of course you won't learn it all in a month- but you can prioritize what you do need to learn for your main objectives. For example, maybe you don't need to learn the names of all the animals in the zoo or names of sports in French, but maybe vocabulary about directions and getting around is useful. So focus on that!

Children over 10 take longer to adapt and learn a new language and settling English-speaking children into a French school will take time. Although most progress and become fluent, they are unlikely to speak French as adults without some detectable accent.

The best age to learn a language: What the research says

CPH says that to learn a language to a native level, you must start learning it before you're nine years old. These first nine years are the critical age for learning a language.

Languages that are related to English and easy to learn include most Germanic languages (Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, and German) and Romance languages (Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, and Romanian). Apart from this, knowing a language related to the target language can make it easier to learn!

Can I learn French on my own? ›

The best way to learn French on your own through listening is filling your ears with as much French as possible, to create a sense of immersion in the language. You can introduce French listening practice into your life through: Podcasts in French on French language, culture, news, etc.

How long should you spend learning French each day to become fluent? Although the path to French fluency might appear to demand a significant time investment, experts uphold the idea that significant progress can be attained through as little as one hour of study per day.

When is it too late to learn a language? The answer is never, as long as you are willing to put the time and effort into it. If you are ready to get started on your journey, check out our language classes for mature adults.

Will Duolingo make you fluent? No. Duolingo won't likely make you fluent if used on its own. However, when you use Duolingo combined with other resources, activities and tools that work for you, then yes, Duolingo will play a part in making you fluent.

Category I – Languages that usually require around 24-30 weeks or 600-750 class hours to reach S-3/R-3 proficiency. This group contains languages like French, Spanish, Romanian and Dutch.

If you are an English speaker, learning French requires 575-600 hours of study (or 23-24 weeks full- time). It is the same for other European Romance languages (French, Italian, Spanish etc) and the Germanic ones (Danish, Swedish, Dutch/Afrikaans Norwegian – not German).

Three months is a short amount of time, but it's more than enough time to learn the basics of a new language. If you're dedicated to learning French, you can easily achieve your goal in just a few months. The key is to create a study plan and stick to it. Start by finding a good French textbook or online course.

French is one of the easier languages to learn for English speakers. So, French is not too hard to learn for English speakers. And we have even better news for you. French made it to our ranking of the 15 easiest languages to learn for English speakers!