English with Mina
Professionelle LehrkraftHow many hours of study do you need to move to the next level of English?
Everybody is different and we all have different needs, different goals and different reasons for learning English. If you are an experienced language learner and a polyglot, it can be easier for you to know what to do, how to do it, how much to do it and how often to do it to make progress to the next level.
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Even polyglots say that they like learning with a teacher/language coach. Lýdia Machová (a famous polyglot) advocates independent study but she also used an italki teacher for learning Swahili (I think that's the language she was learning with an italki tutor but it may be a different one. I do remember her saying she studies with an online Italki tutor).
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Language teachers have been trained to get the most out of every text, recording, conversation or even picture to help you make the quickest progress. You are still the ones setting your goals, they just show you how to get there and guide you through activities that will get you there. Your goal may be to become fluent, reach C2 level or just to get from your level to the next level. Or maybe you just want to be comfortable talking as a tourist in which case your goal may be much easier achieved.
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Generally, the guidelines for how many focused hours of study you need to move to the next level are: around 200 hours. (more on this here: <a href="https://support.cambridgeenglish.org/hc/en-gb/articles/202838506-Guided-learning-hours?fbclid=IwAR2Kk4-axET6IQ2c7ZVkjDdFZDO4BY1Z7XscVGb9kfwtNCjqSE20OP7ExeQ" target="_blank">https://support.cambridgeenglish.org/hc/en-gb/articles/202838506-Guided-learning-hours?fbclid=IwAR2Kk4-axET6IQ2c7ZVkjDdFZDO4BY1Z7XscVGb9kfwtNCjqSE20OP7ExeQ</a>;) This is active learning time not just watching a movie. These are exercises designed to improve either your vocabulary or grammar or speaking or writing or reading or listening - usually one or two are the main focus of each exercise.
What is your English goal? How are you getting there?
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Remember, if you just use English passively by watching content and listening/reading, chances are you will stay at your level (this is still great, it means you will not lose the skills you already have) but you may not progress to the next level. And of course, if you just read and listen but don't speak, you will lose the speaking level that you have now because only speaking keeps your speaking skills strong. You need to work on ALL your skills and do something every day or a minimum of 2-3 times a week to achieve results. You can do it by yourself if you know how, you can work with a teacher or you can ask your teacher to train you to do it independently but then just remember you have to ve VERY disciplined, do it regularly and track your progress by yourself.
2. Aug. 2019 10:17
Kommentare · 7
3
Hello, Mrs Mina and thank you so much for your help, I really appreciate it
4. August 2019
3
I see several problems with either your post or the article you have cited.
First, in the article the author talks about "guided learning hours" and not "hours of study", and those two are clearly not the same. You probably need at the very least two or three hours of self-study for every hour you spend with a teacher.
Second, I don't think the article behind the link could indeed be described as formal guidelines. It looks more of an opinion for me. Even if there are formal guidelines that say pretty much the same thing, I don't think they are very helpful. They are in fact misleading, because a guided learning hour could be a private lesson, and it could be a lesson in a class with 20 other people. You could have a professional teacher, you could have a teacher who is not so professional. You can have classmates that are better then you, you can have classmates who speak so much poorer then you that the teacher is forced to give them extra tasks. The are so many variations that any such guidelines or opinions have little practical implication.
Third, certainly in my experience, whereas the difference between A1 and A2 may be not as great, it becomes larger from level to level. Im my experience you need more time to go from C1 to C2 then to go from zero to C1.
Finally, the numbers in the article seem way too low. I don't know the right number either, but there is an opinion out there that 10000 hours is the right number of hours to become successful in your field. For the purposes of this discussion I am going to assume that achieving the C2 level is what could be reasonably described as success in language learning, and that the number of 10000 hours is indeed more or less correct; it certainly seems closer to reality then three or four thousand (1000 to 1200 guided learning hours + 2000 to 3000 hours of self-study). I am going to suggest the following number of hours to reach each level:
B1: 1111
B2: 2380
C1: 4920
C2: 10000
2. August 2019
1
Continue wrtting this interesting discussion because I find it interesting, and reading the comments down below I'd like to know what skills should a B2 english learner have?
Thank you
19. Juli 2020
1
Listening Skills
<ul><li>I can understand the main points of clear standard speech on familiar, everyday subjects, provided there is an opportunity to get repetition or clarification sometimes.</li><li>I can understand the main points of discussion on familiar topics in everyday situations when people speak clearly, but I sometimes need help in understanding details.</li><li>I can follow clearly spoken, straightforward short talks on familiar topics.</li><li>I can understand simple technical information, such as operating instructions for familiar types of equipment.</li></ul>Reading Skills
<ul><li>I can understand the main points in straightforward factual texts on subjects of personal or professional interest well enough to talk about them afterwards.</li><li>I can find and understand the information I need in brochures, leaflets and other short texts relating to my interests.</li><li>I can understand the main points in short newspaper and magazine articles about current and familiar topics.</li><li>I can understand private letters about events, feelings and wishes well enough to write back.</li></ul>VOCABULARY
4. August 2019
1
Hello Pablo! There are ways to find out what your level is. There are many free online tests for grammar/vocabulary level and also one conversation with a professional teacher is usually enough for them to tell you what your level is in Speaking.You may be at a different level in Speaking, Writing, Reading, Listening and Grammar. There are checklists that tell you what you need to know at which level - in the common European framework.
Here is an example for B1 (intermediate):
Speaking Skills
I can start, maintain and close simple face-to-face conversations on topics that are familiar or of personal interest.
I can give or seek personal opinions in an informal discussion with friends, agreeing and disagreeing politely.
I can have simple telephone conversations with people I know.
I can ask for and follow detailed directions
I can give descriptions of a variety of familiar subjects related to my interests.
I can talk in detail about my experiences, feelings and reactions.
I can briefly explain and justify my opinions.
I can give a short prepared presentation on a very familiar area (e.g. “My country”) and answer clear questions.
GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY OBJECTIVES
To learn how to use English in these situations, you will need to know most of these language areas.
<ul><li>Adverbs</li><li>Broader range of intensifiers such as too, enough</li><li>Comparatives and superlatives</li><li>Complex question tags</li><li>Conditionals, 2nd and 3rd</li><li>Connecting words expressing cause and effect, contrast etc.</li><li>Future continuous</li><li>Modals – must/can’t deduction</li><li>Modals – might, may, will, probably</li><li>Modals – should have/might have/etc</li><li>Modals – must/have t</li><li>Past continuous</li><li>Past perfect</li><li>Past simple</li><li>Past tense responses</li><li>Phrasal verbs, extended</li><li>Present perfect continuous</li><li>Present perfect/past simple</li><li>Reported speech (range of tenses)</li><li>Simple passive</li><li>Wh- questions in the past</li><li>Will and going to, for prediction</li></ul>
4. August 2019
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