That’s the exact same question many students ask early on in their language studies. Some teachers will say six months; other will say a year. In truth, time is really not a good measuring stick when it comes to your road towards fluency.
A guy who spends 4 hours a day learning and working with his language practice software, for instance, will obviously get fluent faster than someone who spends 4 hours a week on the same endeavor. That’s why a time estimate, such as 3 or 6 months, isn’t such a good way to forecast fluency.
For those whose curiosities cannot be satiated, a better measuring stick could be the number of words they can actively use in their vocabulary. In many languages, a moderate level of fluency can be achieved with around 6,000 words that you can employ without much forethought. However long it takes you to go from zero to that number will be the time you need to become fluent.
Chances are, you’ll find yourself comfortable with a language well before that number even comes up. Personally, I can confidently hold interactions in a language with just a hundred words to draw from. Sure, my conversations will rarely be smooth or flawless, but you need not be fluent to be effective, after all.
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