Russian is considered by the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) to be one of the hardest languages for native English speakers to learn. Specifically, it is classified as a Category 3 language on the FSI’s language difficulty ranking. This means it is estimated to take about 44 weeks or 1100 class hours for a native English speaker to reach General Professional Proficiency in Russian.
What is the FSI language difficulty ranking?
The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) developed a system for categorizing languages based on how difficult they are for native English speakers to learn. The system ranks languages into 5 categories:
- Category 1 – Languages closely related to English (23-24 weeks to proficiency)
- Category 2 – Languages with significant linguistic and/or cultural differences from English (30 weeks)
- Category 3 – Languages with more significant differences (44 weeks)
- Category 4 – Languages with even greater differences (88 weeks)
- Category 5 – Languages that are exceptionally difficult for native English speakers (>88 weeks)
This ranking system helps guide the US government in determining how much training diplomats and other personnel need to reach proficiency in languages required for their positions. It provides estimates for how long full-time intensive study will take to reach General Professional Proficiency, which is defined as being able to use the language comfortably in daily conversation, readings and dealings with native speakers.
Why is Russian considered a Category 3 language?
There are several key factors that contribute to Russian’s Category 3 classification:
- Different script – Russian uses the Cyrillic alphabet which is completely different from the Latin alphabet used for English. Learning a new writing system poses a major challenge.
- Complex grammar – Russian grammar is quite complex compared to English. It involves concepts like grammatical cases, conjugation of verbs based on gender, and complex rules for adjective and noun agreement.
- Non-Latinate vocabulary – The core vocabulary of Russian comes from the Slavic language family, not from Latin or Greek roots common in English academic/scientific vocabulary.
- Phonology – Russian contains sounds not used in English that can be difficult for native English speakers to distinguish and pronounce.
These key differences from English in the main components of the language – writing system, grammar, vocabulary, and phonology – contribute to Russian being substantially more difficult for native English speakers to learn compared to languages that share more similarities with English.
How long does it take to learn Russian?
According to the FSI ranking, it takes about 44 weeks of full-time intensive study to reach General Professional Proficiency in Russian. This equates to about 1100 class hours. For many people studying part-time, this can translate into 2-3 years of study.
However, time to proficiency can vary significantly based on factors like:
- Intensity of study – full immersion leads to faster proficiency
- Prior experience with related languages – background in another Slavic language helps
- Language aptitude – individuals vary in language learning abilities
- Use of language – needing Russian for work/personal reasons accelerates learning
- Age – children generally acquire languages faster than adults
So while the FSI estimate of 44 weeks to general proficiency provides a useful guideline, individual experiences can be faster or slower than this timeframe.
What are the DLI language difficulty rankings?
In addition to the FSI rankings, the Defense Language Institute (DLI) has its own system for assessing language difficulty. The DLI system categorizes languages into 4 groups:
| Category | Hours to General Proficiency |
|---|---|
| I | 600 hours (25 weeks) |
| II | 900 hours (36 weeks) |
| III | 1100 hours (47 weeks) |
| IV | 2200 hours (88 weeks) |
On the DLI scale, Russian is classified as a Category III language. This also equates to about 1100 hours or 47 weeks of intensive study to reach general professional proficiency, very similar to the FSI Category 3 estimate.
How do other organizations classify Russian?
Most language education organizations concur that Russian is one of the more difficult languages for native English speakers to learn:
- Peace Corps – Places Russian in the top tier of Language Difficulty Rankings, requiring extensive training prior to deployment for volunteers.
- CAL/ACTFL – Rates Russian as a “Super-Category IV” language along with other Slavic, Turkic, Uralic and Caucasian languages, among the most difficult for English speakers.
- ILR – The Interagency Language Roundtable scale rates Russian at level 3 (General Professional Proficiency) for most learners after 1100 class hours, aligning with FSI Category 3.
While the exact difficulty category varies, these organizations agree that Russian requires substantially more time and effort for an English speaker to learn compared to languages more similar to English.
Conclusion
Based on the structured language difficulty ranking systems developed by expert institutions like the Foreign Service Institute and Defense Language Institute, as well as consensus among language education organizations, Russian is firmly established as one of the most difficult languages for native English speakers to learn. The key factors that contribute to Russian’s difficulty include the Cyrillic alphabet, complex grammar, non-Latinate vocabulary, and different phonology requiring new sound discrimination skills. While individual experiences may vary, most native English speakers require about 1100 hours of intensive study to reach general professional proficiency in reading, writing, speaking and comprehending Russian according to these standardized difficulty category systems.