This video breaks down why common rankings (like the Foreign Service Institute estimates of ~2000 hours) don’t tell the full story. Language difficulty depends on who you are, your native language, and how different a new language is in: sound systems, grammar structure, writing systems. This video explores where and why difficulty actually shows up and how that changes as you advance.
00:00 Intro 00:01:32 Dimension 1: Distance in Sound Systems 00:03:10 Dimension 2: How Grammar Actually Works 00:05:10 Dimension 3: Writing Systems and Psychological Friction 00:06:53 My Perception 00:08:57 My Advice To You Here is my curated collection of videos on learning languages on your own: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAg1DP01xg5vnn0GQ5zcG30_pj3XgSf2- Follow for more tips, resources, stories and insights about language learning. My instagram: Zoe.languages
