Published on
September 30, 2025
by
Tom Challenger, BA.
Revised on
November 4, 2025
The time it takes to learn a language can vary a lot, but if you’re an English speaker tackling a fairly similar language (like French, Italian, or Swedish), a good ballpark figure is:
190–250 hours to reach CEFR A2 level (roughly equivalent to Intermediate Low on the ACTFL scale)—a level where you can understand sentences and frequently used expressions about familiar topics, handle simple routine exchanges of information, and describe basic aspects of your life and environment in simple terms
530–750 hours to reach CEFR B2 level (roughly equivalent to Advanced Mid on the ACTFL scale)—a level where you can understand the main ideas of complex texts, interact fluently and spontaneously with native speakers, and produce clear, detailed writing or speech to explain viewpoints and discuss advantages and disadvantages of different options
These figures come from a Cambridge University Press research paper called How long does it take to learn a foreign language? (2018). The hours include both class time and self-study, and they assume good levels of motivation, an effective teacher, and solid learning materials. To put it into perspective, 250 hours is the same as doing two hours of class plus two hours of homework each week for about 63 weeks, while 750 hours works out to about 188 weeks.
TipLearning a language takes time, and Quillbot Translate—with support for over 50 languages—can help you make the most of the valuable time you set aside for self-study.
A strong thesis statement communicates the purpose of your essay or research paper, engages the reader, and anchors the structure of your writing. Learning how to write a thesis statement—and how to refine it as your argument develops—will help you stay focused and express your ideas with clarity.
AI thesis statement generators, like Quillbot’s free thesis statement generator, are useful tools for developing your thesis and expressing it as a well-crafted statement.
Thesis statement exampleWhile social media has democratized access to political information and broadened participation, it has contributed to the degradation of political debate by fostering misinformation and privileging emotional appeals over substantive policy discussion.
Published on
September 4, 2025
by
Tom Challenger, BA.
Revised on
November 4, 2025
The internet is often the first port of call for language teachers and learners looking for resources like vocabulary and grammar activities and worksheets, lesson plans, and teaching and learning tips. However, the quality of online resources can be very mixed.
This list of 10 top English learning websites will help you find reliable, high-quality resources to support your teaching or learning.
The word into is a preposition that can mean “to a place within something” or “in the direction of something.” It can also indicate the result of a transformation or what something is about. When it’s part of a phrasal verb, “into” is a particle.
Quillbot’s free Grammar Checker can help you use “into” correctly in your writing.
Into in a sentence examplesThe cat jumped into the box. [Preposition]
Look into the camera, please. [Preposition]
Now chop it into pieces. [Preposition]
The results of a study into the long-term benefits of the treatment were inconclusive. [Preposition]
Rising inflation is eating into people’s hard-earned savings. [Particle of the phrasal verb “eat into,” meaning “deplete”]
Published on
August 14, 2025
by
Tom Challenger, BA.
Revised on
January 22, 2026
Knowing how to revise your academic writing will help you produce clearer, more cohesive, and more persuasive texts. The revision stage of the writing process involves stepping back to evaluate the bigger picture and consider elements such as the logical flow of your arguments, the consistency of your thesis, and the clarity of your ideas.
Quillbot’s free AI writer can help you identify potential changes to implement when revising your texts.
Knowing how to write key takeaways enables you to capture the most important points from a talk, presentation, or meeting to share with others—helping to reinforce understanding, support decision-making, and ensure your main messages land.
TipYou can use Quillbot’s free Summarizer tool to help you extract key takeaways from a text or transcript.
Harness Quillbot’s team style guide feature to support content and document creators across your entire team with real-time suggestions for terminology, preferred wording, and punctuation consistency—based on your custom rules, so you can spend less time fixing and more time creating.
If you’re a creative working in a visual field in 2026, you probably already know a lot about how to make a portfoliobecause you had to create a physical portfolio for a college application or assessment.
But what about an online portfolio? And what does a professional digital portfolio look like if you’re not an artist or designer—a freelance copywriter, marketing specialist, journalist, or consultant, for instance?
TipQuillbot’s free AI copywriting tool can help you draft the text for your online portfolio—a short bio or the project descriptions, for example.
Key takeaways
Build a compelling portfolio by showcasing a small, curated selection of your best and most relevant work in a clean, easy-to-navigate digital format.
Focus on quality over quantity, present each project as a clear case study (problem, approach, results), and include a brief “About Me” plus accessible contact details to make a strong first impression.
By tailoring your portfolio to your target role and highlighting your process and impact, you make it easy for employers or clients to quickly see your value and want to learn more.
To write an effective character reference letter in support of an application for a job, internship, or program, you need to know the applicant well enough to convincingly highlight the personal qualities that make them a strong fit.
The best character references are tailored to the specific opportunity, focusing on the most relevant aspects of the applicant’s personality. A tool like Quillbot’s AI letter of recommendation generator can help you craft a persuasive, credible recommendation.
Grouping idioms into different categories is a useful way of approaching learning and teaching idioms. This article defines over 20 common English idioms with animals, including cats, dogs, and horses, with examples of how they’re used in a sentence.
TipIf you’re studying idioms to improve your English, Quillbot’s free AI chat can help you practice using the idioms in this article.
For instance, you can try writing some personalized example sentences using the idioms you want to learn and then asking the chatbot to check that you’re using them correctly.
Download our FREE All-in-One Content Workflow Guide to learn how to create, refine, and repurpose content more efficiently with Quillbot. Packed with actionable tips and real-world workflows.
