How U.S. diplomats learn languages | FSI language courses review

CC subtitles available in multiple languages.

I often get asked how long it really takes to learn a language. In this video I discuss the FSI language difficulty ranking and whether it's really possible to achieve a high level of fluency within the timelines they provide.

⏲️ TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 FSI language courses
0:22 plan of the video
1:02 FSI language difficulty ranking
4:51 promised results
6:04 learning activities
8:39 language-related factors
11:22 other factors

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[Thelinguist]

❓Do you think it's possible to reach B2 in such a short amount of time? Let me know in the comments!

[williebrown]

I retired from the State Department in 2021. And I went through the French course at FSI. During the course the teachers as well as the administration stressed that the learning didn't end at FSI. We were also encouraged to continue studying our respective languages at our overseas assignments, which is what I did. I totally agree, going from zero to B1 in less than a year is a bit of a stretch. But the training at FSI/NFATC was an excellent starting point.

[Jean-wjtn]

I learned English basically just by watching YouTube videos and reading over the years. I didn't even remember the first time I was be able to really understand to what I was watching.
Now I'm starting to study Russian because I really like some Russian songs and I want to understand them without translate.
I don't care if "Russian grammar is difficult" because I'm just enjoying the process

[patrickmills]

The idea of languages continuing to gestate is so liberating. Thank you!

[jbwbc]

Through Covid I had to get an elbow reconstruction and decided to pick up Spanish.. I took the total immersion approach of listening or reading 11 hrs a day and with one Spanish class a day with an excellent teacher who believed in comprehension based learning. I’d say I reached a b2 level of receiving input in 8 months and took around 2 years to feel the same with output. I now can safely I’m honestly fluent in Spanish although I do make errors in pronunciation and conjunction but it was an amazing experience.. I went and lived in South America for a year totally immersed in the language and it was so great.
I’m doing the same in French now but trying a much more holistic approach of pure immersion without classes. Thanks Steve, great video.. you truly are a hyper polyglot gigachad

[wastingtimeop]

I studied Thai full time at the US Defense Language Institute. One year course, 7 hours a day, 6 people in the class. I was able to reach B1 in 10 months. I achieved C1 after a few years of living in Thailand. The hardest part by far was the writing system. I have self studied Vietnamese. It is Cat 3 like Thai but much easier due to an easy writing system. I am also self studied Mandarin, Indonesian and Spanish. For me, the hard part is the writing system. I don't find Chinese speaking so hard, but reading is really hard. For Spanish and Indonesia, you basically learn to read with no effort just by studying the language. At least this is my experience.

[simonsmatthew]

Very true what is said here. I think it really depends on individuals and circumstances. I have seen people do intensive language courses and generally been quite surprised how little they knew after a year of intensive study.

I have learned French and Japanese. Japanese was my first foreign language to study seriously. I progressed in it surprisingly fast. I put it down to the fact I had a homestay and had a lot of fun learning it. I did some classes, but mainly I learned on my own and with volunteers and exchange partners. I just remember enjoying every minute of it.

20 years later I tried French. Much slower, even though it is not supposed to be a difficult language. When I think over the same time period how much more I knew in Japanese it shows Steve's point about motivation and circumstances. The easier language will be the one your are motivated to learn. In Japan it was my desire to speak with the host family that made me really want to learn.

I can say that the French is picking up now, but it was a very slow start.

Interesting and reassuring point Steve makes about gestation.

[ManForToday]

I think most would agree that B2 is really the level we can say we are 'fluent' in the common sense of that word. I love how Olly Richards described B2 - the ability to chat and converse with native friends in a pub all evening on a variety of topics, joke, keep up the pace most of the time, etc and when you finish your mouth or head doesn't hurt (it was comfortable enough).

That's more difficult and takes longer than people think. My understanding of Russian is certainly at B2 level I think, but speaking is still a protracted process that takes me time. B1 is achievable for many but the leap from B1 to B2 is huge and takes a long time.

[helgastegh-thomeczek]

Thanks for your videos, I like the "springboard" idea, get a decent level and than continue to progress in the language and just enjoy the process .

[Tehui]

A great video Steve. Well structured and very informative. One of your best. 👍

[renegade-spectre]

Best 2 best things you can do when you are learning any language (even cat I), are

- never compare the time it takes you to how long it may take others or what a website says…reason for this is because everyone’s experience is different…some people live in the country, some people have friends or relatives that speak the language…some others just don’t do anything else in their free time than learn the language etc

- just enjoy the process. Never start learning a language thinking you will be fluent in x time…I understand some people need it for a time sensitive matter, but a language no matter how easy is always very complex to learn to any degree

[grjoqbl]

I learned katakana/hiragana in uni, it helped me learn Tibetan. Tibetan helped me learn hangeul. You're right, you have to change your concepts to the culture of the language. I had no interest in Latin cultures, so Spanish was boring in hs. This video was helpful. Thank you

[mtalhed]

I live in Canada and took French Immersion from grade four until I graduated. My French improved VERY slowly until grade twelve, where my capacities in the language suddenly EXPLODED and I couldn't figure out why — but the only difference was the way that my teacher taught our class. We learnt grammar of course, but the majority of the time we spent was simply talking. JUST TALKING. My spoken french improved from a B1 to a C1 in such a short amount of time from just talking and listening in french and being gently corrected by a kind teacher. You can definitely learn a language in 24 weeks, but it really depends on your motivations, learning styles, and support.

[tedcrowley]

Thank you. Some good ideas. I liked the "springboard" idea. I studied Japanese a bit in the 1980s, but got nowhere. This week I listened to some Japanese podcasts and was surprised how much I recognized 40 years later, with no use in between. That means I'm not starting at zero, if I start studying again. A lot of things will be "remembering", not "learning anew".

[s.espinoza]

Thanks for the video,
Viewers: be aware, the title is misleading, he really does not talk about how diplomats learn languages. He talks about his insights about why a language can be more difficult to learn than others. He higligths the similarities of the language, the alphabet, etc.

[Carol]

Love your videos, I have dyslexia so really struggle, but it is as you say, language learning has evolved. YouTube channels help with such a variety of material, it’s all about the enthusiasm and wanting to learn, you hit the nail on the head with that statement….thank you as always ❤

[bastiangierahn]

Maybe the reason Danish is in category I, is because its grammar is as easy as its pronunciation is difficult

[rikorobinson]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one! People look at me like I have three heads when I tell them that as a native English speaker, I have found that Japanese is a far easier language to learn than German, considering English and German are both Western Germanic languages.

[TheAngelOfDeath]

But Danish is not difficult... All it takes is for you to be BORN in Denmark. 😛

[scottficklin]

I have done three languages at fsi. Most of what you are saying is incorrect or outdated (or misunderstood). There are no drills in class like you displayed. Those examples were from FOIA'd documents from the 70s-90s. Instruction time usually revolves around a theme like a group of verbs or a conjugation tense. We then will use it little by little like Legos. Eventually we will combine it with past knowledge. There is reading practice in there as well as media. We study in 45 minute spurts then break for 15 usually. Those 5 hours also include an hour of independent study.

There were a lot of other inaccuracies that I'm not going to go through one by one. I think you just relied on information that is 30-40 years out of date.