Language Learning Time Calculator
Choose the language you're learning, where you are now and the CEFR level you want to reach, then how many minutes a day and days a week you study. The calculator turns the U.S. Foreign Service Institute's class-hour figure for that language into hours left, study sessions and a target date, and shows how a shorter or longer daily session changes the date.
Language Learning Time Calculator
Language
Categories and hours from the U.S. Foreign Service Institute. FSI says its Category III list isn't complete; if your language isn't listed and is very different from English, pick "Other hard language".
Your level (CEFR)
Where you are now
Level you want to reach
A1-A2 Basic user · B1-B2 Independent user · C1-C2 Proficient user
Your study routine
Where these numbers come from
FSI: Spanish is Category I (24-30 weeks, 552-690 class hours to an ILR 3 in speaking and listening) at 30 weeks; the calculator uses 690 class hours.
Your hours may need to be higher than this. FSI's figures count class time only, for full-time students who also self-study about 17 hours a week, and solo study is usually less intensive than a small, taught class.
The level split is this calculator's own model, shaped on Cambridge English's cumulative guided-hours table for English learners. It also treats FSI's figure as the hours to C1 and counts each hour you study as one FSI class hour; both are this calculator's simplifications.
When you pass each level
| Level | Hours from now | Target date |
|---|---|---|
| A1 | 86 | |
| A2 | 173 | |
| B1 | 345 | |
| B2 | 518 |
Same goal at other paces
Same language, levels and days a week; only the minutes a day change. Your row is highlighted when your minutes match one.
| Minutes a day | Hours per week | Months | Target date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 1.3 | 95.2 | |
| 30 | 2.5 | 47.6 | |
| 45 | 3.8 | 31.7 | |
| 60 | 5.0 | 23.9 | |
| 90 | 7.5 | 15.9 |
Goal4
Habit Tracker & Streaks
Make daily practice a Goal4 habit
Set a daily or weekly goal for study sessions and tap once each time you study. The streak and grid show if you're keeping the pace you picked here.
Free · No sign-up needed
Where the hours come from
The figures come from the U.S. Foreign Service Institute (FSI). Its foreign language training page lists the time usually expected for its students to reach an integrated score of 3 in speaking and listening on the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) scale. ILR calls Speaking 3 General Professional Proficiency. FSI adds that the actual time can vary with a learner's natural ability, earlier language-learning experience and time in the classroom.
These are class hours for full-time students. FSI describes a typical week as 23 hours in class and 17 hours of self-study, and the self-study isn't part of the class-hour figures.
| Category | FSI's current figure | Languages |
|---|---|---|
| I | 24-30 weeks (552-690 class hours) | Spanish and French (30 weeks); Danish, Dutch, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Romanian and Swedish (24 weeks) |
| II | About 36 weeks (828 class hours) | German, Haitian Creole, Indonesian, Malay, Swahili |
| III | About 44 weeks (1,012 class hours) | 40 listed, including Russian, Polish, Greek, Hindi, Turkish, Thai and Vietnamese |
| IV | 88 weeks (2,200 class hours) | Arabic, Chinese (Cantonese), Chinese (Mandarin), Japanese, Korean |
For Category I the page gives one range plus the weeks for each language, so the calculator uses 552 class hours (the low end) for the 24-week languages and 690 (the high end) for French and Spanish. FSI says its Category III list is not exhaustive. If your language isn't on it and is very different from English, the "Other hard language" option uses the Category III figure.
Many other sites still quote 600-750, 900 and 1,100 class hours for the first three categories. Those numbers come from earlier versions of the same FSI page. This calculator uses the figures on the current page.
How the calculator splits the hours by CEFR level
FSI gives one figure per language and no CEFR breakdown. The Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) from the Council of Europe has six levels, A1 to C2, grouped as Basic, Independent and Proficient User. It defines them by what you can do, not by hours of study. There is no official one-to-one conversion between the ILR scale and the CEFR; published comparisons put ILR 3 at about B2 to C1.
So the calculator makes its own estimate. It treats your language's FSI figure as the hours to reach C1 and gives each level a share of it:
| Level | Share of the FSI figure | Spanish (690 class hours) |
|---|---|---|
| A1 | 1/8 | 86.25 hours |
| A2 | 1/4 | 172.5 hours |
| B1 | 1/2 | 345 hours |
| B2 | 3/4 | 517.5 hours |
| C1 | 1 (the FSI figure) | 690 hours |
| C2 | 1.5 | 1,035 hours |
The level split is this calculator's own model, shaped on Cambridge English's cumulative guided-hours table for English learners. That table gives roughly 90-100 guided learning hours (lessons and supervised study) for A1, 180-200 for A2, 350-400 for B1, 500-600 for B2, 700-800 for C1 and 1,000-1,200 for C2, counted from beginner level and meant as a guideline only. Divided by the middle of its C1 range, those come out close to 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, 1 and 1.5. C2 goes past anything FSI measures, so it's the least certain row.
Here's the default example. Starting Spanish from nothing and aiming for B2 is 517.5 hours (3/4 of 690). In 30-minute sessions that's 1,035 sessions, and at 5 study days a week those take 1,449 calendar days (1,035 × 7 ÷ 5), about 47.6 months or 4.0 years. The calculator shows 518 hours because it rounds the display, but it counts sessions from the unrounded 517.5.
Minutes a day vs. days a week
Two things set the date: how long each session is and how many days a week you study. Here is the same goal, Spanish from no experience to B2, at 5 study days a week:
| Minutes a day | Hours per week | Months to B2 |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | 1.3 | 95.2 |
| 30 | 2.5 | 47.6 |
| 45 | 3.8 | 31.7 |
| 60 | 5.0 | 23.9 |
| 90 | 7.5 | 15.9 |
Going from 30 to 60 minutes a session roughly halves the time. Studying 30 minutes on all 7 days instead of 5 brings it from 47.6 months to 34.0. The calculator spreads your study days evenly through each week (calendar days are sessions × 7 ÷ days per week, rounded up), so it doesn't model which weekdays you skip. Months use an average of 30.4375 days and years 365.25 days; the target date itself counts real calendar days.
Treat the date as the earliest you'd get there. FSI's figures count class time only, for full-time students who also self-study about 17 hours a week, roughly 74% more time than the class hours count. The calculator also counts each hour of your own study as one FSI class hour. That's its own simplification, and solo study is usually less intensive than a small, taught class.
Turning the number into a routine
Pick a pace you could keep up in a bad week, not your best one. The hours left only go down on days you actually study. Over a year, 20 minutes on 5 days a week adds up to more than an hour a day that you give up after a month.
Missed a session? Add it back later in the week instead of starting over: the hours you already put in still count. The don't break the chain method has a section on what to do when a chain breaks.
Once you know your pace, track the sessions rather than the minutes. In Goal4 that's a weekly habit with a goal of 5 (one tap per study session, Sunday to Saturday) or a daily habit with a goal of 1. The contribution grid shows how consistent you've been, and the streak counts the weeks or days in a row you hit the goal. Goal4 doesn't time your study, so the session length from this page is your plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about language learning time calculator
How many hours does it take to learn a language?
It depends on the language. FSI's current page gives approximate class hours for its full-time students to reach an integrated ILR 3 in speaking and listening: about 552-690 hours for languages close to English, such as Spanish, French and Dutch; 828 for German, Indonesian and Swahili; 1,012 for "hard" languages such as Russian, Polish and Thai; and 2,200 for Arabic, Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese and Korean. Those students also self-study about 17 hours a week on top of 23 class hours. For English learners, Cambridge English suggests roughly 1,000-1,200 guided learning hours from beginner to C2, as a guideline only.
What are the FSI language categories?
FSI sorts languages into four groups by how long its students usually take. Category I: 24-30 weeks, 552-690 class hours (Danish, Dutch, French, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Swedish). Category II: about 36 weeks, 828 hours (German, Haitian Creole, Indonesian, Malay, Swahili). Category III: about 44 weeks, 1,012 hours (40 listed "hard languages", and FSI says the list is not exhaustive). Category IV: 88 weeks, 2,200 hours (Arabic, Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean). Older versions of the page, still quoted widely, listed 600-750, 900 and 1,100 class hours for the first three.
How long does it take to learn Spanish at 30 minutes or 1 hour a day?
In this calculator's model, B2 in Spanish is 517.5 hours, three quarters of FSI's 690 class hours. At 30 minutes every day that's 1,035 days, about 34.0 months (2.8 years). At 1 hour every day it's 518 days, about 17.0 months (1.4 years). FSI's full 690-hour figure would take 1,380 days at 30 minutes daily (about 45.3 months, 3.8 years) and 690 days at 1 hour daily (about 22.7 months, 1.9 years). All of these are the calculator's estimates, not FSI figures.
Is 30 minutes a day enough to learn a language?
Thirty minutes is a workable habit if it happens most days, but it's slow. Done every day, it adds up to 182.5 hours a year. At that rate, FSI's 690 class hours for Spanish take about 3.8 years and its 2,200 for Japanese about 12 years. That math also counts each hour of your study as a full FSI class hour, which is generous. To move the date, add minutes or study days a week: the pace table in the calculator shows the same goal at 15 to 90 minutes a day.
Does FSI say how long it takes to reach B2 or C1?
No. FSI publishes one figure per language, for an integrated ILR 3 in speaking and listening, and gives no CEFR breakdown. The CEFR itself, from the Council of Europe, defines levels with "can-do" descriptors and gives no hour counts. Published comparisons put ILR 3 at about B2 to C1, and there's no official conversion. This calculator treats FSI's figure as C1 and splits it across levels with its own model (1/8 at A1, 1/4 at A2, 1/2 at B1, 3/4 at B2, 1.5 times for C2), shaped on Cambridge English's guided-hours table for English learners.
Does an hour on an app count the same as an FSI class hour?
The calculator assumes it does, to keep the math simple. In practice you'll probably need more hours. FSI's hours are small-group, full-time classes with native or near-native instructors, plus about 17 hours of self-study a week that the class-hour figure leaves out. Treat the result as a floor and expect solo study to take longer.
Which languages are hardest for English speakers?
By FSI's timelines, the hardest are its Category IV languages: Arabic, Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese and Korean, at 88 weeks (2,200 class hours). That's about four times the 552 hours of the quickest Category I languages. FSI describes them as languages "which are exceptionally difficult for native English speakers".
What is ILR level 3?
The Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) scale is the U.S. government's 0-5 proficiency scale. ILR names Speaking 3 "General Professional Proficiency". FSI's timelines aim at an integrated score of 3 across speaking and listening.