What Are the Hardest Languages to Learn Infographic

What Are the Hardest Languages to Learn Infographic

In the What Are the Hardest Languages to Learn Infographic you can get a look at which languages are easiest and most difficult for English speakers to pick up.

The Foreign Service Institute of the U.S. Department of State compiles learning expectations for many languages based on the amount of time it takes a native English speaker to achieve speaking and reading proficiency.

Each learner is different. The time it takes to learn a language depends on a number of factors:

• How close the new language is to your native language or other languages you know
• How complex the language is
• How many hours each week you devote to learning the language
• The language learning resources available to you
• Your motivation

Easy
Languages closely related to English. These languages are: Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Romanian, Dutch, Swedish, Afrikaans, and Norwegian. You can achieve language proficiency in 23-24 weeks or 575-600 class hours.

Medium
Languages with significant differences from English. These languages are: Hindi, Russian, Vietnamese, Turkish, Polish, Thai, Serbian, Greek, Hebrew, and Finnish. You can achieve language proficiency in 44 weeks or 1,110 class hours.

Hard
Languages that are difficult for native English speakers. These languages are: Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. You can achieve language proficiency in 88 weeks or 2,200 class hours.