If you’ve spent any time online recently, you will no doubt have come across a wide variety of language-based promotional materials. Specifically, there are banner and editorials all over the place making the suggestion that it is possible to pick up almost any language in less than a month. In turn meaning that multiple language can be mastered within the course of a single year.
The question being, do such claims have any kind of realistic grounding whatsoever?
Is it Really Possible to Learn a Language Fluently in a Month?
In the business world, the appeal of being able to carry out your own French document translations, Spanish web translations and so on is obvious. Save time, save money and take full control over the process personally. Unfortunately, while picking up a foreign language in such a short period of time is an appealing prospect, it also simply is not realistic.
Despite the fact that these adverts claim to be able to reveal the key to picking up a language in as little as 10 days, it just isn’t going to happen. If any such system existed, it would have already been put into comprehensive use across the world’s leading language schools. Which it hasn’t, thus highlighting the fact that it isn’t going to work.
There may be some truth in the fact that it is perfectly possible to pick up the basics of a language in a week or a month. After all, if you were to spend 20 hours out of every 24 studying a language every day for 10 days, 240 hours will certainly see you pick up a few bits and pieces.
But at the same time, language experts all over the world tend to agree on the fact that as a rule of thumb, somewhere in the region of 10,000 hours of training are required to master a language fluently.
What’s more, this particular estimate is based on actual scientific research, as opposed to empty marketing strategies.
Which is why the best advice is to exercise common sense and realism, when it comes to these kinds of offers. The idea of picking up a language in a matter of days is nothing short of fantastic – the reality of it all not being quite so reassuring.
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