Language Learning - How Long Will it Take Me to Get Fluent?
Language Learning - How Long Will it Take Me to Get Fluent
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Do you want to sound indistinguishable from a native speaker? That is a feat that not everyone can achieve, and if you are to achieve it, it probably means you will have to move to the country where the language is spoken and immerse yourself for years.
But if you want to be able to have a well-flowing conversation with a native speaker, that will be possible in a much shorter time. You can learn up to 80% of a language relatively quickly, but the closer to 100% fluency you want to get, the more effort you have to put in.
So how long does it take you to get to 80%? It depends on the other factors below.
Factor 2: Which languages do you already speak, and which language do you want to learn?
If you are Japanese and want to learn Mandarin, you have the advantage that much of the Chinese characters ("Hanzi") are very similar to the Japanese ones ("Kanji").
If you already speak French, it is much easier to learn languages related to French, such as Spanish, Italian, Romanian and Portuguese. In the Netherlands, there are special Dutch classes and learning methods for people from Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Norway. A German friend of mine picked up near-native sounding Dutch while playing with Dutch friends on the street.
Conversely, if you are a Westerner wanting to learn Chinese, it will take you much longer because of the totally different structure of the language and the lack of recognizable words. It is possible to learn the language, but it will take you at least double the time of learning a related language.
Factor 3: How much time and effort can you bring to the table?
Being realistic when you start out learning a language helps to avoid later quitting in disappointment. A major factor in learning languages is how much time you are willing and able to put into it. In mathematics, there may be wonderkids who can simply "get" complex equations almost instantly, but learning a language is hard work, even for the most gifted language learners.
Do not just count how much time you can spend sitting in a classroom, also think about how much time you can spend revising between classes. Are you in an environment where you HAVE TO speak the language? Do you have roommates whom you can only converse with in the language you are learning? Do you watch movies or try to read books in the language you are learning? All of these things count towards your time spent learning and really help you to speed up the learning process.
Factor 4: Are you passionate about the language? Are you good at learning languages?
In my life, I have taken classes in English, German, French, Spanish, Ancient Greek, Latin and Mandarin, and in each of these classes, I have seen some fellow learners pick up the language faster than others. It is a matter of how our brain works. Some people are simply better at reproducing sounds and seeing patterns in languages. It also helps if you have learnt other languages before, even if they are not related to the language you are learning. The 3rd language you learn will be easier than your 2nd language.
Conclusion
How fast you will become fluent in a certain language depends on a number of factors, such as:
What you define as being fluent;
How related the language is to your native language;
How much time and effort you can put into learning the language, and
Your passion and aptitude for learning languages.
You might have hoped to get a number from me as an answer to this question. To give a very broad estimate, I would say 80% fluency can be achieved in a matter of months if you dedicate yourself to it full-time (a few hours every day). If you only have a few hours every week, it will take you 1-2 years to hit the 80% mark.
A Dutchman currently living in Singapore, Guus has so far studied 7 languages (English, German, French, Spanish, Ancient Greek, Latin and Mandarin). He is passionate about travel, culture, languages and learning.
On the website yago.sg, he has brought together the course offerings of a growing number ofSingapore language schools.
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