You can reach a confident B2 from scratch in about 2.5–3.5 years at two lessons a week, and one CEFR level takes 4–9 months on average depending on intensity. To see your own timeline, use the calculator below by current level, goal and lessons per week.
Pick your current level, your goal and the pace — and see a realistic timeline
Estimated on the CEFR scale and our own methodology: roughly 100–150 hours of quality practice per level (lesson plus homework). The exact timeline depends on regularity and your starting base
Not sure about your level? Take a level test
It is easier to measure the timeline in practice hours than in months: months depend on how often you study, while the volume of material per level stays stable. On the CEFR scale and in our experience one level takes about 100–150 hours of quality practice, and that includes not only the lesson but the homework between sessions.
Lower levels come a little faster, higher ones need more time to consolidate. Approximate volumes: reaching A1 from zero is around 90–120 hours, A2 adds 100–130, B1 another 110–150, B2 plus 120–160, C1 about 130–170 hours. So the path from zero to B2, which opens up work and study in English, adds up to roughly 500–600 hours.
Turning hours into months is simple: multiply your lessons per week by one and a half hours of work (lesson plus homework) and divide the target volume by that weekly pace. That is exactly what the calculator above does, showing a range from the optimistic to the steady scenario.
The same goal takes different people different amounts of time. Here are the main factors that move the timeline one way or the other
In lessons we see a simple pattern: the fastest learners are not those who cram the most new words at once, but those who come back to the language every week without long pauses. An adult with strong motivation and two lessons a week usually moves through a level in predictable time, while a month of intensity followed by silence sets progress back. That is why the calculator gives a range rather than a single number: it shows the corridor you can realistically land in with honest regularity.
The second factor is your goal. Speaking on everyday topics arrives earlier than fluent business English or a target exam score, because the latter needs accuracy and a wide vocabulary. When you plug in your goal, the estimate gets closer to reality for your own case.
For a sharper estimate, find your starting point first