Poll of the Day > How long do you think it would take?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Lets say some who doesnt know Spanish or Japanese wanted to learn one after the other (Spanish, then Japanese). About how long on average do you think it would take to be fluent enough to understand both languages?
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Probs about 13-13.5 years

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I believe less. High school can usually learn one enough within 2-4...
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Nah idk man

based on my experience, after 4hrs of Spanish a week over 2 years I was fluent, not native level fluent but I definitely didnt struggle.

so minimum 400hrs I would say.

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Hmmm... That doesnt seem to bad. Thanks!
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Depends on your age - it's pretty much proven that it gets harder for humans to learn new languages as they get older.

It also probably depends on how many languages you already know - it seems like it's easier for people who know multiple languages to learn a new one than it is for someone who only knows one.

It also probably depends on just how much effort you're devoting to learning. If you're just taking classes to learn a language you could go years and still be completely unable to communicate with native speakers at anything more than the most basic level, but if you go live somewhere where most people are only speaking that language, you can become quite proficient in a matter of months (this is the main mechanic behind immersion learning).

"Average" time to learn really isn't all that useful to generalize your own potential success, because there's a huge range of learning time for different people, and no guarantee that you're going to fall anywhere close to the middle.
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While I cant really move anywhere right now, I can go to a bunch of places where that mostly speak spanish. And have a friend whos like fluent in it and could probably help. Learning japanese will bring different problems. But I think I have a way to help with that, as well...
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LinkPizza posted...

I believe less. High school can usually learn one enough within 2-4...

i am definitely not fluent in german despite taking it for three years in high school.

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PMarth2002 posted...

i am definitely not fluent in german despite taking it for three years in high school.

Yeah. For some, it doesnt work. Like, I know many people who took a language in school and dont know any of it. I also know people who took 2-4 years of a language and are pretty good at it...
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I am friends with a research scientist in Australia. She is from Taiwan and speaks 6 languages I believe. However she is older and constant struggles to find words or jumbles them up. She says it's even in her native language now as well.

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Does she ever mix up the languages?
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LinkPizza posted...

Does she ever mix up the languages?

Not when she talks to me.

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Technically, while it isnt mixing them up, I also know some people who go back and forth between english and another language when talking to people sometimes...
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