MaggieMae wrote:I think you're missing MY point in all of this. They aren't starting from zero. They're starting from a B1 understanding of the language.
I'm not missing any points. The additional question of folks moving from zero to C1/C2 is present in the thread. B1 onwards is also a struggle, it's an intermediate level and the gap upwards from what is often a grinding plateau can be huge. Especially those who are competent at B1 reading, but not quite that in listening and speaking. There are always broad differences between students designated 'B1' (or any level).
I answered the question comprehensively regardless of whether it is from zero (wiping my eyes from laughter) or B1. It's hard and it is also traversing a narrow syllabus to pass an exam. I understand from reading your posts that you need a certificate for professional reasons, I understand that, many need one. If people just want to learn a language they don't really need to worry about exam names, they need to just get busy learning and spend less time on chit-chat about how to do things at the speed of light due to impatience. And also to get into their granite heads that a certificate doesn't mean the language has been mastered or they've necessarily become 'fluent'; certainly if it only took a year or less.
It's always going to be impossible to answer this from every angle because at every turn there are those offering exception after exception, saying 'but this is my particular situation! You're wrong!'. Here's the concise version:
1. If you're suddenly in a situation where you have to move to a foreign country and learn the language it can go many ways. If you already speak more than one language you might have an easier time. If you speak one closer to the TL, it may well be considerably speeded up.
If on the other hand you're a monoglot starting from scratch you have a hill to climb. Also I'm considering this as heavily focusing on one TL, not juggling many.
2. If you've been preparing for some time before you have to move you have a head-start. And yet it can also go several ways, You may be slower or faster at getting over the tiresome intermediate hump. Not considering these variables is naive.
3. In an immersion situation you'll be forced to learn faster and get more practise...every.single.day. The courses are also intense and practical. But they don't cover everything, the gaps get filled-in by long experience.
4. The alternative version is
not being in a practical immersion situation. The heat is off, the chance for natural acquisition is considerably reduced so you have to work much harder to recreate it. If you're a superhero polyglot it may be speeded up, if you're a beginner and perhaps a monoglot beginner, it will be harder. The coveted trajectory to the C2 trophy will be very different for these situations, and even then its not even guaranteed for the more experienced learner.
In real life a lot of people go a year or longer to get from zero to B1 and considering the jump from there to C2 is more steep, the proposition above is not just doubtful, its heading towards ludicrous when considered as something applied to the majority.