One language I speak very fluently is Spanish.
I’m usually mistaken for a native speaker. Today I was thinking of how much time and money it took to reach my current high-advanced level.
See below for a breakdown. For context, I actively learned Spanish from 2008 to 2014.
Money spent: at least $14,500
Classes: at least $9500
These were university classes. I did a double major in French and Spanish
This does not include the cost of books
This also does not include any lessons I paid for outside of university
Three intensive study trips: about $5000
This is only a rough figure for the flights. I don’t know anymore how much I spent while I was in each country since it was such a long time ago
Time spent: at least 1680 hours
High school (classroom instruction): 250 hours
High school (homework + self-study): At least 50 hours
University (classroom instruction): 540 hours
University (homework + self-study): At least 540 hours
Intensive trips: At least 300 hours over 3 separate trips
I’ve spent even more on Mandarin.
I’ve been learning Mandarin on and off since 2014. I recently reached about an upper-intermediate level.
Money spent: at least $28,750
University classes: at least $8150
I did part of an East-Asian Languages Studies degree with a concentration in Mandarin
Intensive lessons: $20,600 for flights and classes
2015 to Beijing
3 weeks x 30 hours/week of classes
Lived with a homestay
2016 to Beijing
8 weeks x 20 hours/week of classes
No homestay
2019 to Taipei
4 weeks x 20 hours/week of classes
4 weeks x 6 hours/week teaching English…in Mandarin
Lived with a homestay
2023 to Taipei (almost no classes, but lots of immersion)
38 days total
Lived with a homestay
Time spent: at least 1366 hours
University (classroom instruction): 396 hours
University (outside of class): at least 396 hours
Intensive lessons: 354 hours
Immersive trip in 2023: at least 120 hours
Other time: Maybe 100 hours? Hard to say.
I’ve paid for private lessons, but don’t know how many
I ran a Mandarin conversation club and taught free beginner classes for a number of years
I’ve done other self-study
For 1 year I had a Mandarin-speaking friend group in Calgary who I hung out with regularly
Learning French and Gujarati have required lots of time and money too.
I won’t give an exact breakdown like I did for Spanish and Mandarin. I’m wondering if it was necessary for me to spend the money that I did. Could I have achieved similar results without all the travelling and classes? My gut says I could have, but:
It would have taken a lot longer
I would have lost something valuable by not going abroad