As a Romance language speaker, you're starting with a massive head start. Research shows you'll reach fluency in roughly half the time of learners from other language backgrounds. Here's exactly why—and how to maximize your advantage.
You can reach B2 English proficiency in 500-600 hours (6-8 months with consistent practice). You already recognize 30-40% of English vocabulary thanks to shared Latin roots. Your main challenges will be phrasal verbs and prepositions—not building vocabulary from scratch.
Based on Cambridge English and FSI research data
English learning speed depends heavily on your native language's linguistic distance from English. As a Romance language speaker—whether Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, or French—you're in the fastest-learning category, requiring roughly half the hours of speakers from Asian or Middle Eastern language backgrounds.
Source: FSI (Foreign Service Institute) language difficulty classifications and Cambridge English proficiency studies tracking thousands of learners across language backgrounds.
You're starting with thousands of recognizable English words. This isn't just helpful—it's transformative. While other learners memorize vocabulary from scratch, you're building on a foundation you already have.
Once you learn these transformation patterns, you can accurately predict thousands of English words.
Source: Lexical similarity analysis and cognate recognition studies across language pairs. Academic vocabulary overlap research from corpus linguistics.
All Romance languages use the Latin alphabet—the same writing system as English. This saves you 60-200 hours that learners from other backgrounds must spend just learning to read and write before meaningful language study begins.
Source: Script mastery research showing time required for phoneme-grapheme correspondence learning across writing systems.
English has 44 phonemes (distinct sounds). The closer your native language's phoneme count, the fewer new sounds you need to master. Romance languages have significant overlap with English pronunciation.
Source: Phonological inventory research and comparative linguistics studies on sound system distances between languages.
While you have significant advantages, certain English features create persistent difficulties for all Romance language speakers. Understanding these helps you target practice effectively.
Source: Error analysis studies and Cambridge research on persistent learner mistakes by Romance language speakers learning English.
Calculate realistic timeframes based on your weekly study commitment. These estimates are calibrated specifically for Romance language speakers (Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French).
Source: FSI and Cambridge English proficiency data adjusted for Romance language speakers and real-world learning conditions.
As a Romance speaker, you start faster and reach proficiency sooner. Your cognate advantage creates a steeper initial curve compared to learners from distant language backgrounds.
Source: Comparative proficiency development curves based on longitudinal studies of English learners by native language background.
Research consistently shows adults have significant cognitive advantages over children when learning languages. You can use strategies, recognize patterns, and apply knowledge transfer that children simply cannot access.
Source: Cognitive linguistics research and adult learning theory studies from Applied Linguistics journals. Comparative analysis of child vs adult language acquisition.
Research shows intrinsic motivation (internal desire to learn) dramatically outperforms extrinsic motivation (external rewards/pressure) for language acquisition. The difference affects both persistence and ultimate achievement.
Source: Gardner's socio-educational model and Deci & Ryan's self-determination theory applied to language learning. Meta-analysis of motivation research across 75+ studies.
Frequency matters more than session length. Research shows 3-5 days per week optimizes memory consolidation and prevents burnout. Use this tool to see how different schedules affect your progress.
Source: Spaced repetition research and memory consolidation studies. Ebbinghaus forgetting curve applied to language acquisition schedules.
Making mistakes isn't just acceptable—it's essential. Research shows errors trigger deeper cognitive processing that passive exposure cannot replicate. The key is making errors in low-stakes practice environments.
Source: Bjork's research on desirable difficulties and Kornell's studies on the benefits of making errors during learning. Applied to language acquisition contexts.
100 hours of study over 3 months produces dramatically better results than 100 hours spread over 12 months. Compression creates momentum, maintains context, and prevents the decay that happens between sporadic sessions.
Source: Studies on massed vs distributed practice in skill acquisition, and longitudinal research on language learning intensity effects. Memory consolidation research from cognitive psychology.
Language learning physically changes your brain. Neuroimaging studies show measurable structural changes within months of beginning intensive study. These changes persist and create cognitive benefits beyond language.
Source: MRI studies of language learners including MĂĄrtensson et al. (2012) Swedish interpreter trainees, and longitudinal neuroimaging research on bilingual brain development.
The largest study ever conducted on language learning ability (669,498 participants) found that while children have advantages in some areas, adults retain strong language learning capacity well into adulthood.
Key Finding: Grammar learning ability remains strong until ages 17-18, then declines gradually—but never to zero. More importantly, thousands of adults in the study achieved native-range proficiency when they started after age 20. The "critical period" affects the probability of reaching native-like proficiency, not the ability to become fluent.
Source: Hartshorne, Tenenbaum, & Pinker (2018). "A critical period for second language acquisition." Cognition, 177, 263-277. The largest study of language learning ability ever conducted.
Project Fluency combines conversation practice with AI characters who remember your progress, adaptive drilling that targets your specific weaknesses, and the science-backed approach you've just learned about.