It seems the U.S. Foreign Service Institute finally got fed up of people misquoting their estimates of how long it takes to learn a language and updated their website (the Internet Archive records this change occurred at the end of January 2025). Now they clearly state on their main Foreign Language Training page the typical weekly hours of self-study.
https://www.state.gov/foreign-service-institute/foreign-language-training
Quote (emphasis mine):
The following language learning timelines indicate the time usually expected for a student to reach an integrated score of 3 (Speaking + Listening) on the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) scale, though the actual time can vary based on several factors, including the language learner’s natural ability, prior language-learning experience, and time spent in the classroom. A typical week is 23 hours per week in class and 17 hours of self-study.
Category I Languages: 24-30 weeks (552-690 class hours)
…
Category II Languages: Approximately 36 weeks (828 class hours)
…
Category III Languages: Approximately 44 weeks (1,012 class hours)
…
Category IV Languages: 88 weeks (2200 class hours)
We can use this information to estimate the total number of hours spent learning to reach their decent level of fluency and pass the exams.
| Language category | Approx. classroom hours | Approx. self-study hours | Approx. total study hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | 552 - 690 | ~408 - 510 | ~960 - 1,200 |
| II | 828 | ~612 | ~1,440 |
| III | 1,012 | ~748 | ~1,760 |
| IV | 2,200 | ~1,320 | ~3,520 |
Edit: Those studying the category IV languages probably have a typical week with a higher proportion of classroom hours than the other categories. If you assume a standard 40 hours of study per week (as they already have), for 88 weeks, this is 3,520 hours. The ratio between the stated classroom hours and this indicates that the typical week for category IV language students is 25 hours in class and 15 hours of self-study. This would mean 1,320 hours of estimated self-study in the above table. You could’ve just came up with these same estimates for the other categories by just multiplying the number of weeks by 40 hours per week. I updated the above table to reflect this.
This is obviously a rough estimate, as the FSI clearly states.
For instance, the FSI estimates it takes approximately 30 weeks to learn Spanish, which is approximately 1,200 total study hours following our above estimate. However, one report of someone who did the FSI Spanish course passed the exams in 24 weeks, but with higher levels of self-study, resulting in their estimate of approximately 1,300 hours of total study.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Spanish/comments/wqusu3/24_wks_1300_hrs_of_spanish_at_fsi_what_ive_learned/
The Internet has been plagued with misinformation and misquoting of the FSI on how long it takes to become fluent in a language. It’s a welcome update to the main page of the Foreign Language Training section of the FSI website.
This confirms the simple rule of thumb of doubling the FSI classroom hour estimates to get a rough idea of the total study hours required to reach a solid level of fluency in the desired language for monolingual native English speakers.
