Study Time Goal Calculator

Calculate how many hours you need to study per day to reach your language learning goals in your desired timeline.

How this Calculator Works

Read the full guide: “The Nerdy Way to Set Language Learning Goals“

This calculator is designed to break down how many hours you need to study per day to reach your language learning goals.

As a starting point, this calculator uses the timeline created by The Foreign Service Institute. The FSI Timeline estimates the “hours of study” it would take to learn different languages.

The 4 Categories of Difficulty

Note: The FSI Timeline was created using native English speakers learning foreign languages. However, this system can still give us a good base to build our language learning goals from (even if you’re a native speaker of a different language).

For example, Korean is listed as one of the most difficult languages for a native English speaker, but it may be one of the easier languages for a native Japanese speaker. Pick the category you think best fits your target language.

The Math

Total Goal - Current Hours Studied = Total Study Time to Reach Goal

÷

Time to Complete (Days) * Active Study Ratio = Days of Active Study

=

Hours of Study Per Day

What is the “Active Study Ratio”

You’re not a robot, right?

Then that means you have to plan for rest days (or for days that may not have complete study sessions).

The calculator starts at 80%.

For example, if you want to learn a language in 2 years, 80% of the total days (584 days) will go to active study. 20% of the days (146 days) will go to resting.

In other words, a 4 : 1 ratio (4 days on; 1 day off).

AKA: For every four days you study, you can skip one day and still maintain the goal.