Hi there! This is Luca from MosaLingua.
If you're learning a language or want to
chances are that you have asked yourself: "how much time do I need to learn a language?"
Good news! Today I'm going to answer it and clarify your doubts.
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Now let's get straight to the question:
How much time do you need to learn a language?
The short answer is:
it depends. Yes because there are several factors
that can drastically change the amount of time needed to learn a language.
First: what level do you want to reach?
When you say you want to learn Spanish for instance
do you mean that being a true beginner you want to be able to order
your beer during your holidays? Or your goal is giving a talk in Spanish about a
complex topic like immigration or tax policy? Your goals make a huge difference
because becoming an advanced speaker of the language could take you several
years while grasping the basic of a language can be done in a few months.
The result level which I particularly like which can be defined as "conversational".
It's a level which allows you to speak about familiar topics and get by in a
variety of situations. If the language is not too far from your native language
you can even achieve this conversational level in three months.
Second: how close far from your native language is the target language?
What language do you want to learn?
Yes because if your Italian or French speaker willing to
learn Spanish for example then your task is way easier than the one of a German
speaker willing to learn Chinese or Japanese. If the language you want
is closer to your native language or a language that you master
then you can learn it quite fast. Again I think that a French or Italian speaker
could get by Spanish in three months, provided that he or she uses the right
methods and tools. On the contrary if the same person wants to learn Chinese or
Korean then he or she should be prepared to study at least one year to achieve
the same level. It seems logical that many learners sometimes forget about this.
Third: how much time do you have to study?
Another important aspect is
related to the amount of weekly or daily time you can dedicate to learn a
language. Let's take a personal example: I reached a B2 level in French after
five months of intensive study and it started from scratch. I used to spend at
least three hours per day studying French and more often than not I studied
up to five hours, every single day. People are often amazed by the result I got. Now
that they have a busy life I think we should be more surprised by all the time
I was willing to spend learning French. I mean I do not have three hours per day
to learn a language, and who does? So again this can make a huge difference.
The more you study every day the faster you'll learn. Three months of intensive
study can make you learn a lot and make you go from true beginner to
intermediate. Let me add that in any case, the key is being consistent because
you'll be amazed by how much you can learn by studying everyday, even if
spending 10 minutes. Fourth: do you have a strong motivation?
The fourth and final factor is related to the previous one. Why do you want to
learn that particular language? Do you need to use it for a work? Is it to move to
another country or is it just for fun? Every motivation can be good but not all
the motivations are the same and some motivations will be more powerful
than other ones. Why? Because if you have strong motivations to learn a
language you'll study it more regularly and maybe more intensively, and this
will result in getting results faster. And here is where the magic comes: if you
get your first results faster then your motivation to continue and study more
will increase. So you will activate a kind of virtuous cycle to learn faster.
That's all for today and even if I couldn't give you a precise answer I
hope I have helped you to understand how much time it will take you to reach your
language learning goals. If you liked the video, please give it a thumbs up. Then
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