How Long Does it Take to Become Proficient in a Language?

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 Workin...