How quickly can you learn a new language?
The process of learning a new language – how easy or difficult it is and how quickly or how long it takes to improve one’s knowledge of their chosen language – is different for everyone. Learning depends on a wide variety of factors, such as the needs and background of the learner, the similarities between the mother tongue and the target language, and the learning environment. The initial enthusiasm for learning must be accompanied by desire, motivation and commitment, which means you should be ready to invest time, effort and energy into it.
Research shows that progress in language proficiency is not always linear if you develop your skills in a steady and consistent way. Sometimes you can get basic language skills very quickly, and after a few lessons you can speak in simple sentences, but after that it takes much more time and effort to move up to the intermediate level, or vice versa – a new language seems difficult at first and you want to give up, but once you get through the first few lessons and develop some understanding of the structure and sound of the language, it becomes easier and easier to learn. You also need to understand that language learning never ends, and, as with your mother tongue, there are always new words, idioms, expressions and slang terms to learn.
Factors affecting language learning
Our cognitive skills and language sense
From a young age, we develop speaking, reading, listening and writing skills, each at our own pace. The innate human ability to use and learn language varies according to one’s existing cognitive skills. As with playing a musical instrument, some people have a greater natural predisposition to learn a language than others, but like any field, when we decide to learn something new, work and practice are paramount.
The language we want to learn
Languages are divided into several categories according to their complexity, and the time and effort needed to learn a language can vary considerably. Some languages have unique alphabets and spellings, prosody, grammar rules and pronunciation. Let’s be honest – languages like Chinese or Arabic will be much harder for Latin alphabet-using Europeans to learn than, for example, Spanish or English.
Goals and motivation for learning the language
What are your goals and expectations when learning a new language? What motivates you? These factors are very important when trying to work out how long it’s going to take to become fluent in a foreign language. Sometimes, you just need the basics of a foreign language to, for example, ask for directions on a trip, understand a menu or have a friendly chat with people you meet in a foreign country. For others, it’s important to acquire a higher level of language skills in order to do business abroad; others might want to pass an exam to move to a country where the language is spoken. Upon learning a new language, you should start by understanding what level of proficiency you want to achieve in, say, a year, so that you can plan your study programme and future activities more easily.
English, the #1 foreign language
Any language is a treasure, but today, one of the most popular and sought-after languages worldwide is English, the next most spoken language after Chinese and Spanish (English is the official national language in 39 countries, and is the mother tongue of a part of the population in another 19 countries). Learning English is never a waste of time – it makes you more competitive in the job market, broadens your horizons, allows you to make international contacts and meet new people, and is useful for learning other skills; it is also the international language of tourism and will save you on almost any trip. English language skills are essential for getting a job in an international company or abroad, and in business to expand your market and network beyond your home country. It is no coincidence that English is included in school curricula from an early age.
How quickly can I learn English?
It is assumed that by studying English for at least five hours a day, seven days a week, it is possible to go from a beginner with no prior knowledge to an academic level English speaker in just one year. Your existing knowledge of English and other languages (you can find out your level of English proficiency on our website by taking our free test), as well as your ability to use the language organically in your everyday life, will also influence how hard the learning process will be. It is easier to learn English if you already speak a Germanic or Romance language – German, Dutch, Spanish or French. For language to become organically set in your mind, you’ll need to spend at least 30 minutes on it every day. Read books, watch movies and TV shows, listen to English podcasts – this will develop your vocabulary and your understanding of sentence structure and pronunciation. You can also learn figures of speech and expressions(English idioms) used by native speakers.
English Courses at Skrivanek
We offer English language courses for adults in a variety of formats – you can learn English in a group or in individual sessions in person or online at any language proficiency level (A1–C1), including courses to improve your English skills for a specific purpose and creating tailor-made English language courses for your company’s employees.
Scandinavian languages – a great start to a new career
Cooperation with Scandinavian countries is growing, so having the right language skills will be a huge bonus when working in companies and on various projects. Swedish, Norwegian and Danish belong to the North Germanic group of languages, and it’s assumed that if you learn one of these languages, you can understand the others at least on a basic level.
If you know English or German, Swedish and Norwegian are easier to learn because they have many words and grammar rules that are related to English. It is estimated that it takes at least 750 academic hours to become fluent in Swedish. The biggest challenge in learning Norwegian is the pronunciation and the meaning of the stresses – changing the stress changes the meaning of a word, and the pronunciation of some letters changes depending on where they are in the word. Danish is one of the most difficult languages to learn, mainly because of its pronunciation. Danish has more than 20 vowels and the relationships between sounds and phonemes are complex, however, the grammar is relatively simple.
Beautiful French and sonorous Spanish
There’s no denying that French sounds enchanting! French is one of the richest, most sonorous and romantic languages in the world, and every phrase sounds beautiful. French has played a major role throughout history and, despite the dominance of English, it is still one of the few languages taught in every country’s educational institutions. French is ranked as one of the easiest languages for English speakers to learn by the US Foreign Service Institute. On average, it is estimated that it takes 24 weeks (600 lessons) to learn the language.
And if you want to bring a spark of passion, learn Spanish. Even a few days on a Spanish course is enough to learn the everyday phrases that travellers to Spain usually want to know, especially if you already speak a Romance language, e.g., Portuguese or Italian. Spanish vocabulary is very much influenced by English these days, so English speakers will do well with Spanish. This language is sure to bring a spark of joy into your everyday life.
What languages can you learn with Skrivanek?
Our language learning centre offers not only the most popular languages – English, French, Italian , Russian, Norwegian, Spanish or Swedish – but also Estonian, Lithuanian, Danish, Ukrainian, Polish, Arabic and many others. Just contact us and together we’ll make your ideas a reality.