Thank you! It depends on how you go about learning it. If you just take classes, you're unlikely to learn the language, especially in compulsory schooling like most students. I know people that have taken years of Spanish in school yet can't understand basic phrases.
The way to learn a language with, say, 500 studying-hours is as follows:
1. Pick a language adjacent to one you already know
2. Take an introductory and intermediate formal class to understand its grammar (essentially, what its working parts are)
3. Daily exposure: change your phone, browser, TV, Kindle, & video game language, start with own-language audio + foreign subtitles
4. Continued exposure: switch to foreign audio + foreign subtitles, you'll begin to form basic sentences and even think
5. Practice speaking & pronunciation: find native speakers and videos to mimic facial patterns for proper pronunciation
6. Switch to just foreign language audio if you want to refine your pronunciation and conversation skills
7. Go live in a country that speaks the language, for a few months (if you can)
8. You should now have working proficiency to fluency and even be able to write well (thank you subtitles)
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It's also super helpful to periodically flash-card lists such as "1000 most common words in XYZ language with pictures"
Same with reviewing "most common grammar patterns in XYZ language"
I honestly don't really recommend memorizing verbal conjugations, you'll pick them up just by "what sounds right" like native speakers
It's also depressing to memorize verbal conjugations.
Languages like Mandarin or Japanese will take
way longer than 500 hours, so good luck with that:
https://www.atlasandboots.com/best-lang ... #gallery-2