Let’s talk about time in ELT: How much time do you need to learn English?

I’m sure every teacher has met a beginner student who wants to study English one hour per week and reach B2 in six months. 

But of course, the reality differs from such expectations, so a real professional won’t hesitate to inform the notorious students about that. 

However, with the growth of the online teaching industry and an increasing amount of breathtaking offers from various tutors and schools to “teach you THE WHOLE English only in six months or less”, it’s getting more and more important to be able to explain why such promises sound simply impossible and why giving such a promise is likely to end up with disappointment and (hopefully) not too much wasted money. 

Here are some of the proofs to give if you find yourself talking to such students again. 

First of all, teachers are not the people who decide how much time students are supposed to spend to get from A1 to B2+. Naturally, there are certain requirements to follow.

Implementing such a system has helped to:

Six levels of language proficiency are categorized by the CEFR. Depending on the “can-do” list of the student there are the following levels one can reach:

Since 2001, when the system was introduced, it has been used to assess students’ knowledge and, in a nutshell, define how proficient they are. 

Students may be surprised that CERF even defines the amount of time they spend working on a certain level.

The level one wishes to attain will determine how long it will take. 

Naturally, the range is so vast because there are many variables that might affect the answer to the hard question of how lengthy something should be. 

However, knowing CERF requirements is not only useful in terms of spotting fraudsters in ELT but also to build realistic expectations, to better prepare for the trip ahead and to have a more detailed grasp of the time and work required to achieve a goal like learning a language. 

Students learn how to welcome people, introduce themselves and others, and comprehend simple expressions and phrases at this level. 

Students also get the idea of how to effectively converse with others when they speak slowly and clearly.

Students should be able to understand common expressions at the end of this level, communicate basic pieces of information, and be able to contribute to basic conversations by expressing their opinion on the most common topics.

Having reached this level, students are able to comprehend the main ideas about well-known subjects, have the necessary travel vocabulary, compose brief and straightforward prose.

After working for this amount of time, students will be able to comprehend texts that are more complex, whether they are abstract, concrete, or technical. Students will also find themselves participating in discussions more easily, coming up with understandable language outside of the classroom, defending their points of view, and writing in a variety of genres.

Students should be able to communicate freely and spontaneously with others at this level, and understand longer and more complex texts as well as their implicit meanings. 

Students are also supposed to have the ability to express themselves and apply English in a variety of ways. 

Additionally, students should be able to write with clarity, precision, and a thorough grasp of all grammatical concepts. 

Moreover, any communication with international clients, customers, or business partners is effortless at this stage.

At this level, students have to understand most of what they consume in English, sum up discussions and papers, recall the arguments made, and effortlessly integrate linguistic nuance into everyday speech.

Presenting a CERF table itself is a great way to sum up all the information mentioned above. So, here it is:

Their previous exposure to the language, their motivation, their knowledge of other languages, their ability to study, and the amount of time they spend studying without you — all of that matter. 

Therefore, we may divide the progress factors into two categories:

As we can see, there are a lot of things that actually influence progress and either make it faster or slow it down.

Consider some things you can advise your students to do if they want to progress faster.

Build the greatest level of exposure that is possible

Also, advise your students to find a niche that is interesting for them because forcing yourself to watch boring documentaries where everybody speaks a language you don’t fully understand has never helped anyone. 

What about looking for English-speaking content that students are excited to watch/read and would choose to read or watch even without having a goal to learn English? 

I clearly remember my teenage craze about “The Vampire Diaries” which I loved so much and followed so hard that I wasn’t just able to wait for the translation to come out. 

My point is that this kind of thing will help to build a consistent habit and will definitely increase a student’s exposure and therefore the level of understanding English.

Set goals

o stay motivated over a long period of time students have to obtain a real goal which is much more important than any marks. 

So, before the start of the course ask your students why they want to study English.

I bet people who decide to study “for fun” won’t last as long as those who “dream about that promotion”.

Use additional materials

Mobile apps are convenient, fun, and quick. 

Ask your students what they do on the subway, during their lunch break, or after work when they are tired and unmotivated. Of course, they kill time with different games and videos. 

However, the thing is that when they want to kill time or are bored, they may use some helpful studying software or English-speaking games. 

The amount of opportunities on the Apple Store and Play Market are numerous, so motivate your students to research the best options for them.

To sum up, the real professional will never lie about the hardships and struggles of learning a language and especially about the level of commitment which is waiting for every student once they have decided to start learning a language. 

The real professional should explain an actual situation without creating false expectations about “learning English in three months”. 

Well, if your students really want to learn English in three months, start with solving a little Math problem. Are they ready to study that much? If they are, well, let the journey begin!