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| Language Learning Difficulty |
* Languages that refer to the same category but are a little more difficult to learn for English speakers:
35. Estonian
36. Finnish
37. Georgian
38. Hungarian
39. Mongolian
40. Thai
41. Vietnamese
Category III - Languages which are exceptionally difficult for native English speakers
1. Arabic
2. Cantonese
3. Mandarin
4. Japanese
5. Korean
Other languages
1. German
2. Indonesian, Malaysian, Swahili
The Foreign Service Institute of the Department (FSI) of State offers to study given languages:
1. 23-24 weeks (575-600 class hours) for 1st Category languages
2. 44 weeks (1100 class hours) for the 2nd Category languages
3. 88 weeks (second year of study in-country) (2200 class hours) for the 3rd Category languages
4. 30 and 36 hours of study for the 4th Category languages
Duration of language instruction in US colleges and universities
A typical language course contains 3-5 hours a week, or 108-180 hours per year plus preparation outside of class. It's no wonder that students who start a foreign language from scratch in college, rarely achieve higher levels of proficiency. Unless they have done significant language work in high school, they will need to supplement their college program with intensive summer schools and study abroad in order to achieve a high level of proficiency.
The inevitable conclusion is that one must begin the study of a foreign language as early as possible and pursue it for many years in order to achieve higher levels of proficiency.
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