The other day I received an email from someone who wants to reach an intermediate level (specifically a B1+ or B2) in French by this summer.
He told me he’d be willing to do whatever it takes because, for one reason or another, he needs at least a B1+ or even B2 by the end of the summer. I have never tried to reach a B1+ or B2 another language so quickly and wondered what my approach would be.
Here is what I think I’d do. I think I could reach a B1 level with this plan, maybe even a B1+, but a B2 feels like a stretch. If you have any opinions about this plan, let me know. As I said, I’ve never tried to reach a B1+ level so quickly before.
Step 1: Plan to spend almost all my free time on language learning.
I’d likely dedicate 40 hours a week on language learning.
Weekdays: 5 hours a day after work (total of 25 hours)
Weekends: 7-8 hours a day (total of 15 hours)
Step 2: Research self-study resources.
Initially, I’d spend my 40 hours a week purely on understanding and testing out every self-study resource I could find. I would look for apps, books, YouTube channels, podcasts, and social media accounts.
I would then select the resources that I thought were the most helpful. The goal would be to have at least 1 resource for each of the following categories:
Listening practice
Reading practice
Grammar explanations and exercises
Pronunciation and ear training
Step 3: Take at least 1 hour of private lessons a day
Hiring private tutors has been an important element of my language learning routine for many years. I don’t think, with how I like to learn, I’d be able to reach a B1+/B2 level within 5 months without a good tutor.
I'm not 100% sure how I’d spend my class time with the tutor. It would depend on the self-study resources I found and the language I was learning.
I currently would not choose to learn a language like this.
It’d be too expensive, for starters. It would also take both time energy away from other priorities I care about such as my work, family, and social life. If I did, however, find myself in a position where I needed (or really wanted )to reach at least a B1+ level within 5 months, that is what I would do.
Thanks for reading this post. Feel free to contact me if you have any comments/questions or if you’d like to take lessons with any instructors on my team.