So, you’re thinking about learning a new language, and the first question that pops into your head is: How long does it take to learn a language? Well, you are certainly not alone! In fact, the Foreign Service Institute has done the math, ranking languages by difficulty for native English speakers. Nice job, right? Yet, before you start calculating years of study, let’s break this down—you might be pleasantly surprised.
The FSI Language Categories
The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) groups languages into four categories based on their similarity to the English language and the estimated hours needed to reach full professional working proficiency (C1). Here’s the good news though, you don’t need to go that far to actually use a new language confidently on a daily basis, but we’ll get to that in a bit. First, let’s break down the categories:
- Category I: The Fast Track (552-690 hours)
- Languages under this category include: Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, Portuguese, Norwegian…
- Why? These languages have similar vocabulary, grammar, and alphabet, making them faster for English—speakers to pick up.
- Category II: A Bit More Effort (828 hours)
- Languages you can learn in this amount of time are: German, Swahili, Indonesian…
- Why? While still holding some linguistic connections with English, their grammar might seem tricky which add an extra challenge, like for exemple the German’s cases.
- Category III: Getting Serious Here! (1,012 hours)
- This category includes: Russian, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Thai, Polish, Turkish, Vietnamese…
- Why? This category refers to languages that have a more significant linguistic and/or cultural difference from English. In fact, these languages introduce new alphabets, complex grammar, and sounds that don’t exist in the English language.
- Category IV: The Language Olympics… Almost! (2,200 hours)
- If you’re up to the challenge, you could learn: Arabic, Chinese (Cantonese or Mandarin), Japanese, and Korean.
- Why? These languages have vastly different writing systems, tones, and grammar structures compared to English. That’s why this category of languages can be more time-intensive for English-speakers to master.
Wait… Does this mean I need 2,200 hours to speak Korean?
The answer is not at all! The FSI’s estimates focus on reaching an almost native level (C1)—which is great for debating philosophy or for writing a whole PhD thesis. But let’s get real… For most learners, a strong B2 level is more than enough to travel, work, study, and have meaningful conversations in a new language. And the best part is… You can get there so much faster!
Tips to make the most of your language learning journey
- Talk, talk, talk! – You heard us! Speaking from day one and having real conversations beat textbook drills everytime. Talking helps solidify what you learn so even if you make mistakes, just speak!
- Learn What Actually Matters – Prioritizing practical vocabulary over memorizing entire grammar charts saves time and, let’s be honest, is much more fun and engaging. Do you really need medieval poetry vocabulary? Probably not.
- Use the Right Materials and Methods – At inlingua Utah, our lessons are designed to get you speaking faster with content tailored to your goals. We want to make sure your learning experience is engaging, fun, and made just for you!
So, how long does it take to learn a language? There is no one size fits all answer but to summarize, learning a language isn’t about racing to the finish while checking off hours—it’s about enjoying the process, making meaningful connections, and discovering a whole new way to communicate. So, take your time and let the adventure unfold naturally… And who knows? With the right method (and the right dose of curiosity), you might just prove the FSI wrong!
