How long should it take to learn a new language?

So, you found yourself wondering, ‘How long should it take to learn a new language?🤔 Well, the answer to your question is layered and depends on several factors.

Linguists and language institutes generally estimate that it takes at least 480 hours of learning (usually about 4 months) to reach elementary conversational fluency in a relatively easy language. In contrast, it takes a minimum of 720 hours of learning (about 6 months) to attain the same conversational fluency in a more complex language.

Note that the 4 to 6 months is just for basic conversations. Learning a new language to fully express your thoughts would take well over 6 months.

Language learning is a journey that is different for each learner. While some people learn well with language apps and videos, others prefer to work with books or podcasts, and some opt for language classes.

A couple of other factors, like the aptitude of the learner and the language of choice, also affect how long it should take to learn a new language. Purportedly, learning a new language in multilingual communities like Nigeria should take less time because most natives were raised bilingually.

Regardless of background, every language learner needs to set a realistic time expectation for learning a new language so that they won’t get frustrated with their learning pace.

In this piece, I will discuss the factors to consider when setting duration goals for learning a new language. Then, bring the points home by analysing how long it should take to learn a new language as a Nigerian.

Factors affecting how long it takes to learn a new language

The three key players that determine the time it takes to learn a new language are:

• The learner
• The language
• The learning method

Each of these contributing factors has layers. So, let’s burrow down into the nuances to understand how they affect the duration of language learning.

The learner

When you want to learn a new language, you should know that these factors affect how fast or slow your learning experience will be.

• Aptitude

Learning aptitude is how well you capture and store sounds in long-term memories. This also has to do with how well you can recognise patterns. Language learning thrives on repetition. You would have to match sounds and words with meanings continually.

• Motivation

Your reason for wanting to learn also influences how long it should take to learn a new language. For instance, learners who want to learn a new language for a language proficiency test often take their learning more seriously. You need to define why learning a new language is important to you, and that informs your proficiency goals as well. This can motivate you to pick up the pace with your language learning.

• Attitude

When you’re fascinated with the language you want to learn, you take the lessons more seriously. And that can help your self-motivation and attentiveness to details when learning. The more enthused you are with a language, the faster it would take to learn to speak.

• Proficiency goal

Most language learners want basic fluency with a new language for their travel and tourist goals. At the same time, others want professional fluency for work or relocation purposes. This difference in goals means the time it takes to achieve them would also differ.

The language

The language in focus undoubtedly plays a significant part in how long it should take to learn a new language. And not just the language but also your native language as a learner. Here’s how the involved languages play a part in your learning time.

• Language familiarity

How familiar are you with the new language you want to pick up? If you have occasionally interacted with content from your desired language, your aptitude for gaining fluency in the language would be much better than that of the complete novice.

• Language difficulty

As I mentioned earlier, the languages you know how to speak also influence your grasp of any new language you want to learn. For example, English speakers find it easier to understand French because they share certain words and etymologies. However, languages like Chinese would prove more difficult. I will go into more detail on language difficulty when I elaborate on language categories later in this article.

The method

There are different methods for learning a new language. Language apps, classes, videos, podcasts, and informal conversations with language speakers are the most common examples. All these methods will help you get closer to your language goals, no doubt. However, the time it takes for the different techniques will certainly differ. 

Apart from the method’s efficacy, the best method to learn a new language depends on whoever is asking. Here are other ways the learning method affects how long it takes to learn a new language.

• Time spent

Different learning methods present varying degrees of language immersion. More immersive methods like language classes can demand up to 10 hours of weekly lessons. These tend to produce faster results than less immersive methods like language apps, which could go as slow as only one cumulative hour of learning a week.

• Available resources

Any language method has an array of resources for learners to explore. Language classes use a learning curriculum. Some language apps use lists of words and phrases gamified into tasks and rewards. Language videos combine language speakers with translated video transcripts. 

A structured curriculum and transcribed videos ideally cover more language topics than word memorisation with apps. This means language classes and videos are more likely to get learners proficient faster than apps.

How long should it take to learn a new language?

From the list of factors affecting the time it takes to learn a new language, we can identify two universal constants for every language learner: the attained proficiency level and the category of language difficulty. 

Other factors determining how long it should take to learn a new language depend on the learner. This means we can estimate how long it takes to learn a language, assuming an average learning aptitude and positive learning behaviour on the learner’s part.

According to the US Foreign Service Institute (FSI), a body that has researched language learning for over 70 years, measuring the time it takes to learn a language is relative to the proficiency level achieved in that period. 

The time it takes to go from a complete novice to basic fluency differs from the time it takes to go from basic to intermediate. But first, let’s define these language proficiency levels.

Proficiency level

Language proficiency levels have been stipulated by various language bodies across the globe. The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) is prominent among these. Then, there’s the 5-level proficiency grade adopted by the FSI. I have matched both language scales as detailed below:

• Level A1 (Elementary proficiency)

The learner is introduced to the language at this level and can construct basic greetings and requests while speaking slowly. At best, you can ask for directions and say your name.

• Level A2 (Higher elementary proficiency)

This level is higher than the basic elementary because the learner can now talk about things in their immediate environment. At this stage, you’ll be able to talk about your location, family, and people around you. Information about other people and situations would yet prove incomprehensible. Hence, the A2 language level isn’t high enough for conversational fluency.

• Level B1 (Limited working proficiency)

The B1 language proficiency level is the first stage of independent language learning, whereby the learner can make minimal contributions to familiar subjects. With this fluency level, you can briefly share your experiences and give reasons for your opinions. This is the stage where language learners can hold honest, meaningful conversations.

• Level B2 (Minimum professional proficiency)

At B2, the learner is past the intermediate stage of the language and can now spontaneously hold conversations on complex texts and topics. With the minimum professional proficiency, you can naturally hold conversations with natives without the natives having to tone down their use of language.

• Level C1 (Full professional proficiency)

The full professional language proficiency level is an advanced stage of language learning where the speaker can use the language fluently and accurately across long texts requiring implicit understanding. At the C1 stage, you will not only use the language well but also be flexible with it and able to use connectors and cohesive devices.

• Level C2 (Native or Bilingual proficiency)

At the C2 stage, you can understand almost anything you hear or read in the language. Native or bilingual proficiency means you can use the language like an educated native. This stage is quite advanced; not all natives can claim this about their language.

Category I – IV

Alongside the proficiency level for language learners, the category of the language being learned determines how much time is needed to go from one stage to the other. How does this work, then? A language’s category is always relative to the learner’s first language.

For a linguistically diverse country like Nigeria, the learning experience varies for indigenes from different tribes. Using the categorisations below, I estimate how long it takes Nigerians to learn a new language.

• Category I

These languages are closely related to the learner’s first language due to a common linguistic categorisation or origin. For example, French is a Category I language for English speakers. Often, these languages share alphabetical similarities as well. For most bilingual Nigerians who can speak English well, learning French and Spanish is the easiest you get. 

To reach basic conversational fluency (Level B1) in a Category I language, you must spend 480 hours. At a maximum of 8 hours of learning a day, while accounting for days off, this means going from complete novice to level B2 (being able to hold conversations) takes at least 3 months or 12 weeks. 

As most people can only learn effectively for about 6 hours per day, the standard estimated time for learning to achieve conversational fluency in a Category I language is 4 months or 16 weeks.

• Category II

This category is for languages sharing a common linguistic origin with the learner’s first language but poses a striking difference in phonological structures. This is how the German and Greek languages pose to English speakers.

On average, it takes 720 hours of learning to move from novice to basic conversational fluency for Category II, Category III, and Category IV languages. This is equivalent to 6 months or 24 weeks of learning at the standard 6 hours daily.

• Category III

Category III languages differ in phonemic structures, linguistic origin, more nuanced vocabulary, and grammatical structures from the learner’s language. For English speakers, Hebrew and Russian would fall into this category.

• Category IV

Languages in Category IV pose complex challenges for learners, cutting across phonology, tonality, alphabets, vocabulary, and grammar. Imagine learning Chinese, Japanese, or Arabic as an English speaker.

How long should it take to learn a new Nigerian language

Nigerian languages are categorised into three linguistic groups: Niger-Congo, Nilo-Saharan, and Afro-Asiatic. Igbo and Yoruba both belong to the Benue-Congo subgroup of the Niger-Congo class. The Hausa language belongs to a different class: Afro-Asiatic. 

As evidenced by the chart above, several factors affect how long it should take to learn a new language in Nigeria. However, for the purpose of time estimation, all other factors are assumed to be equal. Then, we can draw parallels among major Nigerian languages based on the rough definitions of the language categorisations.

PS: To get the full picture of language use in Nigeria, read our report on the use of indigenous Nigerian languages.

How long should it take to learn Igbo?

The Igbo language is a tonal language belonging to the Benue-Congo linguistic group. Other Nigerian languages in this category include Edo, Idoma, Yoruba, Efik, Ibibio, and Anang. However, not all these languages share phonological similarities.

Judging by the tonal and phonological similarities between the Igbo and Yoruba languages, Yoruba speakers would find Igbo as a Category I language. However, Ibibio natives would find Igbo a Category II language due to sharp phonological differences between the languages.

Here are the estimated learning times to attain basic conversational fluency in Igbo based on the learner’s first language:

• English-only speakers (Category IV) – 720 hours or 6 months
• Yoruba speakers (Category I) – 480 hours or 4 months
• Hausa speakers (Category III) – 720 hours or 6 months
• Ibibio speakers (Category II) – 720 hours or 6 months
• Efik speakers (Category II) – 720 hours or 6 months

How long should it take to learn Yoruba

The Yoruba language is heavily tonal, with words deriving their meaning from exact tone, and slight inflections can completely change the meaning of words. This makes learning the Yoruba language more tricky for natives of non-tonal languages. For example, the Hausa language and the Yoruba language share very few tonal and phonological similarities.

Here is the estimated learning time to attain basic conversational fluency in Igbo based on the learner’s first language:

• English-only speakers (Category IV) – 720 hours or 24 weeks
• Igbo speakers (Category II) – 720 hours or 16 weeks
• Hausa speakers (Category III) – 720 hours or 24 weeks
• Ibibio speakers (Category II) – 720 hours or 24 weeks
• Efik speakers (Category II) – 720 hours or 24 weeks

How long should it take to learn Hausa

The Hausa language is one of the most commonly spoken languages in Africa. The Hausa language is also a tonal language with its most peculiar sounds traceable to its hooked consonants and semi-vowel. 

Here are the estimated learning time to attain basic conversational fluency in Hausa based on the learner’s first language:

• English-only speakers (Category III) – 720 hours or 24 weeks
• Yoruba speakers (Category I) – 480 hours or 16 weeks
• Igbo speakers (Category II) – 720 hours or 24 weeks
• Ibibio speakers (Category II) – 720 hours or 24 weeks
• Efik speakers (Category II) – 720 hours or 24 weeks

Let’s help you learn a new language

At Prepmewell Language Institute (PLI), we help learners find the best method for learning a new language. Often, students come in seeking the fastest way to learn a language. However, to learn a new language effectively, you must focus on your long-term goals and not be overly engrossed in short-term wins. Remember, your overall goal is to master your new language and be able to communicate effectively with it.

Here’s our solution to help you learn a new language – Structured language classes with Community interaction.

At the basic level, repetitive speaking is the best method of learning a new language. Toddlers learn language this way. At PLI, we help learners practise this basic principle by starting our lessons with applicable everyday words and phrases. Then, with our community offer, learners can access resources (workbooks, audio, and videos) that help them learn by constant use.

You can sign up for language classes and community by going here.

FAQs

• Can you learn a new language in 3 months?

You can learn a new language in 3 months if you commit 8 hours of daily learning to a Category I language (an easy language). This would only get you to basic conversational fluency.

• What is the fastest way to learn a language?

The fastest way to learn a language is to master the most commonly used words and phrases and repetitively use them in conversations. Learning by practice best helps to commit a new language to long-term memory.

• Can you learn a new language on your own effectively?

Learning a new language effectively on your own requires using the best resources available. I recommend learning words and grammar through resources like books, videos, and audio while actively practising the language in a language class or conversations with natives.