I am regularly asked this questions, but many don’t like the answer!
I’ve read a lot about how to learn a language. I’m learning Spanish. So when it comes to knowing how to learn, I have two very important foundations to speak from, one as learner and one as a teacher.
Right from the word go I want to say one thing. There is no shortcut. Yeah, I’m sorry, that may not be what you want to hear, but from all of my experience of teaching students of all ages and abilities from all over the world, there is no magic formula that’s going to make the process fast and easy. Learning a language is an investment, an investment in you, and that investment is going to require time, effort, often money and a lot of determination.
I’ve seen the facebook and YouTube ads telling us about a new trick to help us learn quicker, but to be honest, it’s not new, it’s exactly what all language teachers like me tell all our students everyday. It’s just packaged up so it sounds like a great new way of getting ahead of everyone else so you sign up to the App or download the material.
And so here’s the truth about the amount of time needed to learn.
For motivated adult learners, they typically need between 100 and 200 hours of guided learning to get from one CEFR level to the next. As you go up the levels, you need more hours to get to the next one. To get from A1 to A2, it typically requires 100-150 hours of guided learning, but it can take 180-260 hours to get from B1 to B2.
How Long does it Take to Learn a Language – Ben knight – ELT Research Cambridge
An average of 200 hours is a substantial amount of time! Let me break that down.
Imagine you want to invest 2 hours each week of dedicated language learning (and remember that’s GUIDED learning, not learning on your own with an app). And in a year you’re able to do that for, let’s say 40 weeks in the year. For you to get to the next level (average of 200 hours) it would take you about 2.5 years. You may need less, or you may need more, it’s just an average.
I find that many people are not aware that this is the level of commitment required to push forward with language learning. I find many people feel that they’re standing still in their learning journey, and they probably are because they’re not getting the right teaching or dedicating the right amount of time. Moving forward in a language is not going to happen with a podcast here and a TV series there, it takes a lot more than that, it takes a teacher to teach and guide you. That’s not to say that Apps and Series are not helpful in building your English, they are, but they need to be part of a bigger, more complete programme.
For motivated adult learners, they typically need between 100 and 200 hours of guided learning to get from one CEFR level to the next
ELT RESEARCH CAMBRIDGE
Having a clear understanding of what it takes to learn a language is vital so that you don’t get demotivated or disillusioned with the learning journey.
And you need to keep it pretty consistent! Working through material that builds on the skills you already have is really important. Having a teacher to practice speaking with, ask questions and deepen your understanding is key! Otherwise, that 200 hours can easily turn into 300, 400, 500……. you get the idea.
Because I’m also learning Spanish I know how hard it is to keep pushing forward. I’ve developed courses that mean you get to work through content that is guided, and speak with the teacher, (me) once a week in webinars where you get to meet other students from different parts of the world. These are guided courses and they work. You can check out my latest free courses below.
In my next blog I’ll be looking at those key things that you can do to keep pushing forward with your language learning so that it’s effective and fulfilling.
For now, have a great day and I wish you the very best on your learning journey.
