How long does it usually take a person to become fluent in a second language?

The correct answer is: “it depends,” but you probably already knew that. The next and most accurate answer is that it can take anywhere between three months to two years to learn how to speak, write, and read in a new language fluently.
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How long does it take to perfect another language?

When it comes to learning anything, it's all about time. The US Foreign Service Institute (FSI) says that if you can study for ten hours a day, lower grouped languages take 48 days for basic fluency. Meanwhile, difficult languages should take you 72 days.
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How long does it take to fully learn a language?

How long does it take to learn a language? The research suggests it takes between 400 and 2200 hours of study plus a lot of practice to learn a foreign language. In this post we'll explore key variables – including the language and the level you'd like to achieve – so that you can pace yourself realistically.
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Can you be fluent in a language in 2 years?

They've suggested that a person can become fluent in language for social contexts in six months to two years. However, it can take 5-7 years to become fluent in academic language. So within one year, it's absolutely possible to get fluent in a language for social uses, although probably not for academic purposes.
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Is 25 too old to learn a language?

They concluded that the ability to learn a new language, at least grammatically, is strongest until the age of 18 after which there is a precipitous decline. To become completely fluent, however, learning should start before the age of 10.
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How Long Does It Take to Learn a Language to Fluency?



Can I learn a language at 30?

Adults can learn languages just fine, they just learn differently. Kids pretty much need immersion, thousands of contact hours over many years so they can try stuff out and get corrected. Adults benefit from at least some degree of deliberate study.
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What is the hardest language to learn?

1. Mandarin Chinese. Interestingly, the hardest language to learn is also the most widely spoken native language in the world. Mandarin Chinese is challenging for a number of reasons.
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What's the easiest language?

15 of the easiest languages to learn for English speakers - ranked
  • Frisian. Frisian is thought to be one of the languages most closely related to English, and therefore also the easiest for English-speakers to pick up. ...
  • Dutch. ...
  • Norwegian. ...
  • Spanish. ...
  • Portuguese. ...
  • Italian. ...
  • French. ...
  • Swedish.
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How many hours a day should I study a foreign language?

The short answer is as much as possible.

Realistically, however, at least 20 minutes per day should be dedicated to learning a new language. The ideal amount of time to spend on daily study, if you can find the time, is an hour, but you don't need to cram it all in at once.
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What is the most useful language to learn?

8 Useful Languages to Learn
  • English. You might be surprised that English isn't the most commonly spoken language in the world. ...
  • Chinese. With more than 1 billion native speakers, Chinese dominates Asia and the world as the most frequently spoken language. ...
  • Spanish. ...
  • Arabic. ...
  • French. ...
  • German. ...
  • Portuguese. ...
  • Russian.
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How do you know if you're fluent in a language?

You know you're fluent in another language when…
  1. People don't modify their language for you anymore. ...
  2. You can eavesdrop on conversations. ...
  3. A world of humor has opened up. ...
  4. You sometimes read or listen without “registering” the language. ...
  5. Going to the bank (or doctor, accountant, etc) no longer fills you with fear.
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How many languages can you be fluent in?

An average person can speak two to four languages in a lifetime. However, human brains work differently, and an average person's brain can handle a maximum of four languages. It takes one year to learn the basics of a language for an average person.
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Does completing Duolingo make you fluent?

You can learn as many words or sentences as you want, but until you're able to have a conversation with another person, you'll never be fluent. Or, according to the CEFR model, you won't even be halfway there.
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Does Duolingo really work?

Duolingo is not a stand-alone language course, but it's an excellent addition to a language learner's toolbox. It's easy to use, it's fun and it works. Don't forget to do the homework, though. If your aim is to achieve real fluency, remember to read, speak, and truly live the language that you're learning!
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Is 1 hour a day enough to learn a language?

For most people, around 30 minutes of active study and 1 hour of language exposure a day is a schedule that will give you great results. It's a model that's sustainable over a long period to help you reach fluency.
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What language is closest to English?

The closest language to English is one called Frisian, which is a Germanic language spoken by a small population of about 480,000 people. There are three separate dialects of the language, and it's only spoken at the southern fringes of the North Sea in the Netherlands and Germany.
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Should I learn French or Spanish?

Spanish is simpler to pronounce and most English speakers will find it easier to learn speaking fluently Spanish than to learn speakinf fluently in French. In terms of vocabulary, French and English are very close due to their shared history.
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Which language has hardest grammar?

Top 10 Hardest Languages To Learn – Finnish

After the Hungarian grammar, the Finnish language has the most challenging grammar. It sounds and looks a bit similar to English because of its pronunciation and lettering.
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Can I learn a new language at 40?

But research shows that learning a second language offers proven benefits for intelligence, memory, and concentration, plus lowered risks of dementia and Alzheimer's. So what if you are over 40 and want to learn a second language? The good news is, it can be done.
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What is the most spoken language in the world 2021?

The most spoken languages in the world
  1. English (1,132 million speakers) Native speakers: 379 million. ...
  2. Mandarin (1,117 million speakers) ...
  3. Hindi (615 million speakers) ...
  4. Spanish (534 million speakers) ...
  5. French (280 million speakers) ...
  6. Arabic (274 million speakers) ...
  7. Bengali (265 million speakers) ...
  8. Russian (258 million speakers)
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How many languages make you a polyglot?

A person who can speak four or more languages is multilingual. Only three percent of people around the world can speak over four languages. Less than one percent of people worldwide are proficient in many languages. If someone is fluent in more than five languages, the person is called a polyglot.
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Is 50 too old to learn a language?

Though learning a language at any age has been found to stimulate the brain, it's not easy to master a second language when you're older. But it's not impossible, says Joshua Hartshorne, a researcher and director of the Language Learning Laboratory at Boston College.
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What is the best age to learn second language?

Is it as soon as they can talk, or should you hold off until they have mastered English? Well, all researchers agree that the earlier a child starts learning a second language, the better, for more reasons than one. Some researchers say that second language acquisition skills peak at or before the age of 6 or 7.
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At what age do you stop learning?

Hobbies also help us keep learning. This is key as we tend to stop learning as we get older. Research suggests that by age 25 our brains tend to get "lazy." It's not that our gray cells can no longer learn new things, but rather we rely on a set number of neuro pathways to do our thinking.
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Is Duolingo a waste of time?

It's a waste of time. In fact, it's just as bad as the education system Von Ahn criticizes. Duolingo outsources its translation services, allowing for awkward sentences to slip in undetected. And translation (the core of its platform) is already widely known to be an ineffective way to learn a language.
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