Education
Should I learn a new language?
Is learning a new language worth hundreds of hours now that translation apps are everywhere?
Machine translation handles menus and emails, yet it cannot give you friendships, jobs or the inside of another culture — things only speaking the language unlocks. The real costs are honest ones: 600-2,000 hours to professional fluency and a daily habit that must survive your motivation dips.
Pros
- Unlocks real relationships and cultures, not tourist transactions8/10
- Career value in specific markets and roles6/10
- +Opens jobs, clients and relocation options closed to monolinguals6/10
- −Pay premium is modest unless the language is core to the role4/10
- Documented cognitive benefits and sharper native-language skills4/10
- Cheapest era ever to learn: apps, tutors and native media on demand5/10
Cons
- Huge time investment: 600-2,200 hours to professional fluency8/10
- −The intermediate plateau kills most learners around month six6/10
- +Basic conversation arrives much sooner, within 150-300 hours5/10
- Needs a daily habit for years; skills decay fast without use7/10
- Translation apps already cover casual travel needs5/10
- Those hours compete with other skills you could build5/10
Frequently asked questions
- How long does it take to learn a new language?
- The US Foreign Service Institute's estimates are the most cited benchmark: roughly 600-750 class hours for languages close to English like Spanish or French, and 2,200 hours for distant ones like Japanese, Arabic or Mandarin. Conversational comfort arrives much earlier — many learners hold basic conversations after 150-300 hours. The practical translation: 30 minutes a day gets you conversational in a near language within a year or two.
- Is learning a language pointless now that AI translates everything?
- For transactions — menus, directions, emails — translation apps genuinely are good enough now. What they cannot do is real-time friendship, humor, job interviews, or belonging in a community; conversation through a phone screen keeps you a permanent outsider. So the question shifts: if your goal is occasional travel convenience, apps win. If it is relationships, migration or career in another market, learning still pays.
- What is the best way to actually stick with a language?
- Attach it to something you already want: shows you watch without subtitles, a partner's family, a planned move, or work meetings. Learners with a concrete use survive the intermediate plateau; learners running on abstract self-improvement usually quit there. Mechanically, 20-30 daily minutes mixing an app, spaced-repetition flashcards and early speaking practice with real humans beats occasional marathon sessions by a wide margin.
Is learning a new language worth hundreds of hours now that translation apps are everywhere?
Weigh it yourself