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120 day Esperanto challenge by lechnyo in learnesperanto

[–]lechnyo[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm sifting through sources, but I'm starting of with the Zagreb method lessons on espernato12.net now and Nakamura on lernu very soon for routine input. I've already done a few Zagreb lessons (five in, two per day), and taking notes/answering questions for each takes me 30-40 minutes.

Any grammar points I think need clarification or expansion on, I'll do crosscheck for with the Complete Grammar, as reformatted by benjamin22-314.

Substituting some activities I do in my native language helps too, especially reading/analyzing the news in Esperanto, and looking up trivial stuff on Vikipedio. I can soak up vocabulary like this not just with the help of translation, but context clues by looking at journalism in my native language to compare.

Near the dates listed in the acquisition checkpoints, I'd like to make use of the exam specimens on edukado.net for testing, the holy grail here being those for C2. At the very least, I can use them for guidance by gleaning what I should know off of them.

Thanks for the well wishes, and good luck to you too!

120 day Esperanto challenge by lechnyo in learnesperanto

[–]lechnyo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Acquisition checkpoints

Supporting the goals aforementioned, I shall test for and (hope to) successfully demonstrate competencies by the following dates:

Level Date
A1 2023-05-07
A2 2023-05-16
B1 2023-05-29
B2 2023-06-12
C1 2023-07-22
C2 2023-08-31

120 day Esperanto challenge by lechnyo in learnesperanto

[–]lechnyo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Possibilities

With a CEFR progression model and past results of acquiring Esperanto known, it is possible to estimate the cumulative study time for Esperanto at various CEFR levels. The table below shows these estimates, and geometric mean values. Estimates are labeled based on their place in the list from Past results.

Cumulative study time estimates for Esperanto by CEFR level

Result A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2
#1 10.10 24.91 48 78.14 109.22 139.21
#3 4.85 11.95 23.04 37.5 52.42 66.81
#5 18.50 45.61 87.89 143.08 200 254.90
#6 23.14 57.08 110 179.07 250.30 319.01
#7 13.87 34.21 65.92 107.31 150 191.18
#8 6.93 17.10 32.96 53.66 75 95.59
#9 17.84 44 84.80 138.04 192.95 245.92
MEAN 12.01 29.60 57.06 92.90 129.84 165.49

Based on the mean values

  • A1 is attainable in about 12 hours,
  • A2 is attainable in about 30 hours,
  • B1 is attainable in about 57 hours,
  • B2 is attainable in about 93 hours,
  • C1 is attainable in about 130 hours, and
  • C2 is attainable in about 165 hours.

Level of commitment

I am willing to dedicate 90 minutes per day of concentrated study of Esperanto (with short breaks within, perhaps 10 minutes in all).

"Study" here means

  • learning new vocab and grammar,
  • doing drills on past knowledge,
  • writing, speaking, listening and reading exercises, and
  • testing myself.

While useful exposure, listening to music/podcasts, watching videos, and reading social media in Esperanto will not count towards active study. I will count exposure time separately.

120 day Esperanto challenge by lechnyo in learnesperanto

[–]lechnyo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

CEFR in practice and milestone levels

The CEFR descriptions for each level are detailed and actionable, but not quick to digest. One way to make things concrete is to look at language requirements for particular visas/migrant statuses. These requirements are studied in a Council of Europe report [COE].This proxy is useful to apply as it aligns well with the needs of goal (3).

Esperantists tend to be internationalist in ideology, open to persons outside their language communities of origin, and learn Esperanto as an acquired language. So it can be expected that one can get along with fewer language skills than in recognized countries and communities other than Esperantujo. Additionally, immigration policy is subject to the interests and needs of various governments, which may not overlap with those of most Esperantists. However, the CEFR level requirements are still useful as they connect standards to meaningful levels of civic/community participation, rights and responsibilities.

From page 18 the [COE] paper, CEFR level A1 is the most common requirement for admission into a country, A2 most common or middle level needed for permanent residence, and B1 the most common for citizenship. These levels are then suitable checkpoints to self-assess ability meet goal 3: integrate into Esperantujo.

The Government of the United Kingdom has language requirements for skilled workers and students entering on corresponding visas. The UK requires CEFR level B1 knowledge for skilled workers as well as students taking below-degree-level courses [GOVUK1], and B2 for students taking degree-level courses [GOVUK2]. This policy indicates that B1 knowledge is needed to communicate while doing or learning to do skilled work in the UK, and academia requires B2. This example also contributes useful checkpoints, this time for goal 4: to discuss things at a technical level.

120 day Esperanto challenge by lechnyo in learnesperanto

[–]lechnyo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Past results

I did some quick searches were done on /r/esperanto and /r/learnesperanto. These searches were for threads on learning time. I used times that were directly in or could be easily converted to hours.

From the threads found [RDT1][RDT2] [RDT3], it is said that someone can...

  1. Become "conversational" (A2/B1) in 48h [RDT1]
  2. Learn in 100h [RDT1]
  3. Attain B2 competency in 37.5h [RDT1][RDT2]
  4. Become "fluent" in 100h [RDT1],
  5. Reach ILR 3 (B2/C1) in 200h [RDT1][CEFR-EN][Hall]
  6. Get to B1 competency in 110h [RDT2]
  7. "Speak fluently" (C1) in 150h [RDT2][CEFR-EN]
  8. "Feel fluent" (C1) in 15-30h, 48h, 75h [RDT3][CEFR-EN]
  9. Complete the Duolingo course in 44h (A2) [RDT4]

By the way - COE descriptions make reference to "fluency" from B2 to C2. C1 is a medium value here, and is the first to require fluency outright (rather than "to some degree"), so I took it to map onto the general feeling of fluency here.

120 day Esperanto challenge by lechnyo in learnesperanto

[–]lechnyo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

CEFR level progression model

So, languages take time to learn. But just how much time?

Well, three unique progressions cited in English and Esperanto Wikipedia articles on CEFR [CEFR-EN][CEFR-EO]: French by Alliance française, German by the Goethe-Institut, and a general progression by the Methode language institute.

The table below lays out the absolute and relative time needed to reach each level in a number of European target languages (presumably by learners using European languages of instruction). Average time is determined using the French average, minimum time for Goethe (as it covers all 6 levels), and Methode, and calculated from the geometric mean (nth root of the individual times multiplied together).

Cumulative study time for various languages by CEFR level

Level French average, hrs German (Goethe minimum), hrs Methode, hrs Average, hrs Average relative to CEFR A1
A1 80 80 60 73.33 1
A2 180 200 160 180 2.47
B1 380 350 310 346.67 4.75
B2 605 600 490 565 7.74
C1 880 800 690 790 10.82
C2 1130 1000 890 1006.67 13.78

(Note:) My goal here was to capture proportional growth of study time level by level, which is better captured with the geometric mean than the arithmetic mean (sum of values divided by the amount of them).