The answers to these questions depend on a number of factors, which we will explore in this free course. What is your learning objective? Do you want to use the language for travel, a professional application, or for academic scholarship? Do you have any previous experience with the language you're learning? What about related languages? How long the process takes and what you do to reach your goals will depend on your actual targets and previous experience.
It is possible to determine exactly how long it will take to learn a language – but if you want a specific answer, you'll need specific inputs. This course explores everything you need to consider in order to set your learning objectives and the progression you'll need to reach those objectives.
We start off this course by defining fluency in a practical sense, breaking it apart into its main components: structural, ritual, and cultural fluency. Total fluency is a combination of these three different components, plus fluency in specific applications. But you might not need everything to meet your own specific goals.
How much knowledge do you need to acquire to reach your goal? How do you turn knowledge into skill? We'll explore how to set personal learning objectives, give concrete figures on the amount of content, work, and time required to reach different stages, and provide practical strategies for integrating language learning into your life.
This course is completely free, so sign up and find out more whenever you are ready. Please also check out our other courses in various languages, linguistics, and memory techniques for language learning. We hope you find this course useful! Please share it with anyone else you think may enjoy it.
Dr. Aaron Ralby is the founder and director of Linguisticator Ltd. He holds a BA in English and Modern Languages and Linguistics from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; an MPhil in Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic from the University of Cambridge; and a PhD in Medieval Studies from Cornell University. Aaron is the principle overseer of course creation at Linguisticator and also presents all final materials produced by his team of linguists and native speakers.