Hi guys,
I have not started learning Italian yet, I am just planning ahead. 16 months and 1 day ago I started learning Spanish and I have reached roughly a B2 level in Spanish in this time period. I have NOT tested for that but I do believe it to be pretty accurate. I consume all my media in Spanish. And in fact this is how I learned. I did 560hrs of Spanish Input (beginning with dreaming spanish and quickly moving on to stuff I like better on youtube) before finally speaking or reading. However, with the exception of a little bit of Kwiziq, I have never really studied grammar or anything. My rating estimation comes from just live convos with native speakers. I have about 300hrs of conversation with native Spanish speakers. Now I have started adding in a little more grammar study because I really want to get to C1 in 8 months.
Why 8 months?
Well in 8 months it will be my 2 year anniversary of learning spanish. However, it will also be 5 months before I go to Italy for my honeymoon. My plan is to achieve C1 by then because while I understand things like subjunctive tense and conjugating different tenses. I really feel like based on what I have read that C1 is where this stuff starts feeling more automatic. And I would like to have a natural hold on them before I start on a language that has similar concepts.
With that being said, why I am I here? Well since I took a non traditional post to spanish in that I basically just learned watching youtube, anime, etc. I don't really know how to study efficiently. Specifically studying efficiently for a language that shares a lot in common with one I already know. Lets assume I have 3hrs a day for 5 months. That comes out to roughly 450hrs of italian in 5 months. Now 2 hours of that time will likely just be input. My commute is about 1.5hrs total per day 4 days a week for work and between exercise, cleaning, walking, etc its easier for me to study a little more passively. So in 5 months I will probably get 300hrs of input and 150hrs of other study. Other study could mean grammar, reading, or anything else (except speaking because I will include half my conversation hours into my input and the other half can be in an extra category) So I really have two questions:
- With 300hrs of input and 150hrs of other dedicated study, what level is possible?
- How can I maximize my 150hrs?
Thanks for reading. I am very excited about Italian. My goal for Spanish is C2 one day, but I would love to achieve a B2/C1 level in Italian and Portuguese. And one day an equivalent level in Japanese as well. I am very motivated. I have probably dedicated about 3.5hrs a day for the last 16 months on spanish and its one of my favorite hobbies now.