A Great Little HR Training Tool
We are often asked - usually by HR who are designing staff training programs - about the number of study hours required to reach a certain CEFR level in English profiiciency.
It's not easy to give a simple answer to this.
The hours of study you need will vary depending upon several factors, such as your intensity of study, your inclinations and your age, as well as the amount of exposure to English outside of lesson times.
However we can put together an approximiate guideline that can help you design a training regimen and schedule.
The Study Hours Table
The figures in the table below can be seen as an approximate guideline.
Some Examples
The chart assumes the student starts at the absolute beginning level (A1).
For example, for a beginner to reach a B2 level, it would take some 500 to 600 hours of learning. If the student studied say 3 times a week for 2 hours each time (6 hours per week), it would take approximately 1.6 to 1.9 years to reach this intermediate level.
Here's an example of someone who's already has some English ability.
Let's say they're at the A2 level now and need to reach the B2 level. You simply subtract the lower level's hours. The B2 level needs 500 - 600 hours, so subtracting the A2 lever's 180 - 200 hours gives us a new range of 320 to 400 hours. Using the same 6 hours of study time per week of the fist example means that some 53 to 67 weeks would be required.
How eLearning can Help
Learning a langugae is more like learning to play the guitar or some other activity involoving the development of a motor skill.
You need practice...hence all the time in our Study Hours Table.
eLearning now let's you easily ge those additonal hours outside regular classroom time. And now with mLearning (mobile learning), you can easily asscess your smartphone or tablet almost anywhere and anytime you have a couple of free mintues.
Your waiting "downtime" just got productive.
Want your own Copy?
You can download your own copy of our Study Hours table on this page...just scroll down to the bottom.
About the Author
I’m the Managing Director at Vantage Siam, an authorized Cambridge English Exam Centre and management training firm.
We offer English language training via blended learning to both students and professionals in Thailand and also to remote learners throughout China.
