Language difficulty ranking. the foreign service institute (fsi) has created a list to show the approximate time you need to learn a specific language as an english speaker. after this particular study time you will reach “speaking 3: general professional proficiency in speaking (s3)” and “reading 3: general professional proficiency in reading (r3)”. The 10 hardest languages to learn for native english speakers based on data from the foreign service institute at the us department of state.. Compiled using information from multiple sources, including the foreign service institute of the us department of state, the infographic breaks down the amount of time it generally takes english speakers to pick up foreign languages..
Japanese is one of the hardest languages to learn if you're a native english speaker. ryo matsubara/flickr. based on their experience training us diplomats, the foreign service institute (fsi. Mandarin is one of the few languages ranked as the most difficult to learn for english speakers by the foreign service institute. the alphabet is made of very elaborate characters; the language is tonal; there are lots of idioms, and the ability to speak the language doesn’t help you read it.. The map below shows how long it takes to learn almost 70 different languages, estimated by the foreign service institute, which teaches these languages to would-be or current diplomats..
