How long does it take to learn French? What the published figures say

How long does it take to learn French? There is no single official answer, and the few published figures describe specific learners, not you. This page shows one government figure that names French, says whose learners it describes, and lists what changes the time. To know what each level means, read French levels explained. To see how those levels relate to the Canadian scale, see CLB 7 in French. For the whole path as an adult in Canada, start at Learn French as an adult in Canada. To space your review of new words, see French flashcards.

How long does it take to learn French?

One published figure comes from the US Department of State. Its Foreign Language Training page lists French as a Category I language, “languages close to English”, with a timeline of 30 weeks [1]. The whole category runs from 24 to 30 weeks, which the page gives as 552 to 690 class hours [1]. French sits at the long end of that group, with Spanish [1].

The page says what the timeline measures: the time usually expected for a student to reach an integrated score of 3 (speaking plus listening) on the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) scale [1]. It also says the actual time can vary with the learner’s natural ability, prior language-learning experience and time spent in the classroom [1]. A typical week in that programme is 23 hours in class and 17 hours of self-study [1].

Which French learners does the learning-time estimate describe?

The figure describes the Directorate of Language Studies of the National Foreign Affairs Training Center, which trains US government employees with job-related language needs [1]. Its timelines come from its own classes, so the learners are people studying for their work on a typical weekly load of 23 class hours plus 17 hours of self-study [1]. The page speaks of “a student” at this school and does not say the figure applies to other learners [1].

That is why it is not a promise for anyone else. A learner in Canada who studies after work, with a different starting point and a different target, is not the group the figure was measured on. Treat it as one reference point for how large the task is for those students, nothing more.

Does the CEFR say how many hours each French level takes?

No. On the Council of Europe’s pages for the CEFR, the global scale describes six levels, A1 to C2, by what a user can do, and the levels page does the same [2][3]. Neither page states a number of study hours or weeks for any level [2][3]. The CEFR is a description of ability, not a course length.

If you see an “hours per level” table elsewhere, check who published the figure and what learners it measured before using it. For what the levels mean in plain words, see French levels explained.

What changes how long learning French takes?

These are general factors. The sources above do not put numbers on them, and neither does this page.

• Hours per week. More regular hours move you faster, and the State Department page ties its timeline to a stated weekly load of class time plus self-study [1]. A lighter week stretches the same total over a longer calendar.
• Your starting point. Someone who studied French at school, or who knows another language close to it, starts further along than a complete beginner. The State Department page names prior language-learning experience as a factor [1].
• The target level. Reaching a level where you can cope with everyday topics asks for less than a level where you can argue a point in writing. Decide the level first, using the descriptions in French levels explained.
• Which skills you need. A target that names all four skills, as Canada’s immigration scale does, asks for more than one that names reading only. See CLB 7 in French for how the skills are scored separately.
• How you spend the hours. Time spent listening and speaking, with feedback, counts differently from time spent on word lists. The State Department page itself mentions time in the classroom as a factor [1].

How do you estimate your own time?

Start from your target, not from a number of months. Pick the level or the skill you need, read what the Council of Europe says a user can do at that level [2], and compare it with what you can do now. Then plan the weekly hours you can keep up for a long period, since the published school figure assumes a full weekly load [1].

After a few weeks of steady study, measure how far you moved and project from your own pace. That estimate is yours, not a published figure, and it will change as your habits change. If your target is NCLC 7 for immigration, How long to reach CLB 7 in French turns this into a plan per skill. For how to use the hours well, see How to learn French fast, and for what English speakers tend to find hard, Is French hard to learn.

Common mistakes

• Reading the State Department weeks as a promise. The figure describes students at a government school on a typical 40-hour week, not part-time learners [1].
• Mixing up scales. The State Department timeline targets an ILR score, not a CEFR or CLB level [1].
• Quoting hours per CEFR level as official. The Council of Europe pages give no hours [2][3].
• Counting calendar time instead of study hours. Twelve weeks of one lesson a week is not twelve weeks of a 40-hour study week.
• Setting a target without naming the skills. Speaking, listening, reading and writing do not move at the same speed.
• Trusting a figure from a blog, including this one. The official pages change. Check the page’s own date against ours.

See also: French immersion.

See also: how adults learn a language.

Sources