Becoming proficient in a language involves many moving parts. From the moment you begin learning a language, your experience may differ from others doing the same.
A person's language proficiency level is ever-evolving and depends on their individual aptitude and the time spent practicing and using the language. The amount of time it takes an individual to increase their proficiency in a language may depend on a variety of factors. For example, native English speakers may require less time to gain proficiency in languages like French, Portuguese, Italian, and Spanish but will likely require more time to develop skills in languages like Arabic, Japanese, or Korean.
For over 70 years, the United States Foreign Service Institute has studied the amount of time required to progress in language learning and, as a result of their findings, classified languages into four categories based on the number of hours of training usually required for native English speakers to reach “Professional Working Proficiency.”
For instance, according to the Foreign Service Institute, the time to gain “Professional Working Proficiency” for native speakers of English learning Category I languages like French or Spanish can range from 24 to 30 weeks. For Category II languages like German or Indonesian, approximately 36 weeks or 900 class hours are needed to achieve the same level. For languages in Category III like Greek, Hindi, Russian, or Thai, about 44 weeks or 1100 class hours are needed, and for Category IV “super-hard languages,” 2200 class hours or 88 weeks are likely needed to obtain the same results. Category IV languages include Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.
Language proficiency describes an individual's ability to communicate in a language when speaking, reading, writing, and listening. Language proficiency can be developed in a variety of settings, including one-on-one sessions, group lessons, and immersive experiences. Proficiency changes over time, but can be increased with consistent practice and use of the language in real-world applications.
How Long Does It Take to Learn a Language?
Learning a new language is different for everyone. Like playing a musical instrument, some people have a greater natural ability to learn a language as compared to others. Even so, just as with an instrument, practice makes proficient, and all learners benefit from time spent using the language in a variety of settings.
Research carried about by ACTFL and the Foreign Service Institute (as mentioned above) has shown that language learning does not always occur through a linear progression in which learners can expect to make steady and consistent gains over time. Instead, learners may be able to quickly progress from the Novice Low to the Intermediate Low level of proficiency but then may need much more time to move from Intermediate Low to Advanced Low and even longer to progress from Advanced Low to Superior.
Learning depends on a wide variety of factors, including the learner's needs and prior knowledge, the correspondence between their native language and the target language, the learning setting, and much more. These are some of the factors that can affect the time required to develop language proficiency:
Aptitude
Every learner develops speaking, reading, listening, and writing skills at different rates.
Language aptitude, your natural ability to use and acquire language, varies depending on prepossessed cognitive skills. Those with the highest world language aptitude:
- Store vocal sounds in long-term memory,
- Recognize and apply grammatical patterns
- Learn by observing examples.
Having a background in world languages or real-world experiences using more than one language may also increase aptitude.
Type of Language
Based on the language's categorization, the time required to increase proficiency could differ greatly. Different languages have unique alphabets, rhythms, grammar rules, and pronunciation. Languages like Chinese or Arabic are, by nature, more challenging to learn for native speakers of English because of their complex rules and structures and the fact that they share few common traits with English.
Desired Proficiency
Your intended proficiency goals determine how long you need to learn to reach that level. Some language users are interested in conversational applications and won't need to achieve a proficiency level higher than Intermediate. If you need to develop proficiency on a more professional level, you can expect it to take longer to reach your goals.
Amount of Instruction
How you use your language learning time is just as important as the time you spend in learning sessions with qualified instructors. Whether you're self-taught or attend language-learning classes, feedback can be a valuable tool for becoming proficient. Qualified instructors can play a significant role in achieving your desired proficiency level because they have the skills and training to help you learn and retain information.
Group I Languages:
IncludingAfrikaans, Danish, Dutch, French, Haitian Creole, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish…
| Length of Training | Minimal Aptitude | Average Aptitude | Superior Aptitude |
| 8 weeks (240 hours) | Intermediate Low | Intermediate Mid | Intermediate Mid |
| 16 weeks (480 hours) | Intermediate High | Advanced Low | Advanced Mid |
| 24 weeks (720 hours) | Advanced Mid | Advanced High | Superior |
Group II Languages:
IncludingBulgarian, Dari, Farsi, German, Greek, Hindi, Indonesian, Malay, Urdu…
| Length of Training | Minimal Aptitude | Average Aptitude | Superior Aptitude |
| 16 weeks (480 hours) | Intermediate Low | Intermediate Mid/High | Intermediate High |
| 24 weeks (720 hours) | Intermediate High | Advanced Low/Mid | Advanced Mid/High |
| 44 weeks(1320 hours) | Advanced Mid/High | Advanced High/Superior | Superior |
Group III Languages:
IncludingAmharic, Bengali, Burmese, Czech, Finnish, Hebrew, Hungarian, Khmer, Lao, Nepali, Filipino, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Sinhala, Thai, Tamil, Turkish, Vietnamese…
| Length of Training | Minimal Aptitude | Average Aptitude | Superior Aptitude |
| 16 weeks (480 hours) | Novice High | Intermediate Low/Mid | Intermediate Mid/High |
| 24 weeks (720 hours) | Intermediate High | Advanced Low | Advanced Mid/High |
| 44 weeks(1320 hours) | Advanced Mid | Advanced High | Superior |
Group IV Languages:
IncludingArabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean…
| Length of Training | Minimal Aptitude | Average Aptitude | Superior Aptitude |
| 16 weeks (480 hours) | Novice High | Intermediate Low | Intermediate Low/Mid |
| 24 weeks (720 hours) | Intermediate Low/Mid | Intermediate Mid/High | Intermediate High |
| 44 weeks(1320 hours) | Intermediate High | Advanced Low | Advanced Mid/High |
| 80-92 weeks (2400-2760 hours) | Advanced High | Superior | Superior |
Source: Judith E. Liskin-Gasparro. ETS Oral Proficiency Testing Manual. Princeton, N.J.: Educational Testing Service, 1982. ILR ratings have been converted to reflect the equivalent ACTFL ratings.
ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview Ratings
The following ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) Ratings represent levels of expected performance for language learners who complete full-time intensive and/or immersion, proficiency-based language training under the supervision of an instructor and with one to four students per class.
Take ACTFL Proficiency Tests
Whether you're working toward Novice-level communication skills or Advanced-level proficiency, taking a language assessment is the best way to know when you've reached your desired level. As the exclusive licensee of ACTFL proficiency tests, Language Testing International® offers reading, writing, listening, and speaking assessments of your language abilities.
After taking ACTFL tests, your language skills will be rated according to the ACTFL proficiency scale, from Novice to Superior. Depending on your desired outcome, your results can lead you to new educational and professional opportunities.
Once you've put the time into becoming proficient, get your certification to make it official. Learn more about ACTFL proficiency tests by contacting our team today!
