I’ve been in Singapore since 2006. Before moving here, I had taken classes in Dutch, English, German, French, Ancient Greek, Latin and Spanish, and the first thing I did in Singapore was signing up for a full-time Mandarin course. No joke!
So you can say I have gone through the language learning process a good number of times. Not that I always went ‘all the way’, but I do know what it takes to learn a new language now!
How long does it take to get fluent in a language?
Here is the short answer: as a ballpark number, you can achieve 80% fluency 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.
Ok, that answer’s maybe a bit too short. It depends on a number of things, such as what languages you already speak and the way you learn.
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Hmm I think it takes relatively longer or depends on your definition of fluency. My definition is being able to watch a movie and effortlessly understand everything. I learnt French in school for 6 years. Then had a break of 18 years before trying to learn it again. I’ve now been learning maniacally again for 3 years and I’d say I’m only at 50% mark. I am doing everything….listening to music, news, reading, watching films as well as attending classes and 2 weeks in an immersion school in France. I can hold a conversation relatively well and sort of get the gist of French news but I’m far from fluent.
Thanks for your thoughts. Like you say, what is fluency means is very personal. But I do note that many of the things you list are on the passive side, i.e. the French comes to you. I’ve tried that when starting out to learn Mandarin, putting audio lessons on my mp3 player and the like. But I found that little stuck until I actually challenged myself to speak and write. Suddenly the understanding also leaped. But even that is highly personal. f you’re interested, I’m sharing more in the newsletter