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How long does it take to reach B2 or C1?

Pick where you are, where you want to be and how many hours a week you can give. Get a realistic guide.

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Calculate

I am now

I want

Hours a week

50 weeks

About 12 months at 4 hours a week.

A rough guide: about 200 hours of study per level. Real time depends on where you start and how you practise.

What moves you up

  1. 1

    Speak every week

    Speaking is the skill that fades fastest.

  2. 2

    Get feedback

    Fix errors you cannot hear yourself.

  3. 3

    Use real material

    Articles and shows, not adapted text.

  4. 4

    Review in context

    Words stay when they live in sentences.

Level and exam

Levels and Cambridge exams
LevelCambridge examIn one line
B1B1 PreliminaryYou get by in most everyday situations
B2B2 FirstYou work and study in English
C1C1 AdvancedYou use English fluently and with precision

Practice

Open cloze. Write one word or phrase.

Complete each gap with for, since, during or a short phrase.

  1. 1. I have studied English

    three years.

  2. 2. I have studied English

    2022.

  3. 3. I review vocabulary

    my lunch break.

  4. 4. By the time I reach B2, I

    been studying for a year.

  5. 5. How long

    you been studying?

0 of 5 checked

Key word transformation. Use the key word unchanged.

Complete the second sentence so it means the same.

  1. 1. I started studying English in 2020 and I still study it.

    SINCE
    I2020.

  2. 2. I began learning six months ago and I am still learning.

    FOR
    Isix months.

0 of 2 checked

Questions

Is 200 hours exact?
No. It is a rule of thumb for guided study. Someone who speaks English at work every day can move faster, and someone who studies alone can take longer.

Keep going

Want to practise this with Pili?

Book a trial class. She writes back with times in Buenos Aires time.

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