How Many Hours to Learn a language?

We discussed the benefit of learning a language for kids, businesses and for elders. But how many hours to learn a language?

There are many official figures about the hours you need to reach different levels of a language. The hours are different for different languages, but mostly it requires about 500 hours to reach an intermediate level. At this level, you can communicate with native speakers on common topics without much difficulty. If you want to read more, please have a look at the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

There are also many unofficial discussions about how long it usually takes to become fluent in a language. Below is a summary:

However, these official figures are not for individuals. They are just a guild line for education organisations, and the unofficial discussions are for different individuals. We all know “Aesop’s Fables”, Aesop can only tell the young man how long it will take him to Athens after observing how fast he can walk.

The key point here is to focus on hours not years! If you look at the above table, it will take 8 years to master a language if you only spend 5 hours per week. This may scare away many people.

Remember, the hours you need to learn a language depends on the below factors:

1. Your goal: The hours you need really depend on what you want to achieve. This is your GOAL or destination. Some high school students just want to get an “A” on their Mandarin or Japanese class scorecard, this goal is achievable in 10 hours to 20 hours depending on their levels and abilities. We have helped a couple of high school students successfully get an “A” score.  A student wants to continue advanced Mandarin, so we have one hour per week lesson discussing tops and news interests and answering the questions. This is continuous learning, with no hour limitation.
2. Your ability: Everyone is different. This is not only the IQ or learning ability, it also includes your ability to allocate your time. Someone can be sponsored by the company and have an extensive lesson during business hours, but most people have to learn in their own spare time.
3. The teacher: We all know how important a teacher is. A good teacher not only teaches the content but also increases your interest in the subject. We know some children hate learning a language because they didn’t meet a good teacher. For children’s class, we not only teach the basic language skills we also keep their interest in the language; for business class, we not only teach the language but also the way to learn the language.
4. The Class: We offer small group classes, duo classes and private lessons. No matter what your situations are we can find a solution for you. Some people are good at group lessons, some people prefer private lessons. We would suggest children start with group lessons so they can learn with friends; for people who have specific goals like high school students, a private lesson is suitable to help them with their homework and assignments; for business people who need to visit overseas, an extensive language course is more efficient.

Here at Lyrebird Language Centre, we believe the best way to learn a language is task-based, not academic level based. Certificates are important, but language is practical and vivid. If you can use the language to communicate, you are perfect.

So how many hours do you need to learn a language? Tell us your goal and your ability so we will give you the answer.