English · Curriculum
The English curriculum, start to finish.
32 chapters, 406 lessons. A new band of the 3,000 most common words every hundred ranks, the grammar that turns those words into sentences woven in, and a graded reader closing each chapter that you can read using only what you have learned so far.
- 32
- Chapters
- 406
- Lessons
- 60
- Grammar primers
- 41
- Story milestones
A frequency-first English course for learners: master the 1000 highest-frequency words - about 80% of everyday speech - before the exceptions, and use image-led word pages to learn meaning without translation.
Is English hard, and how long does it take? Read first.
Is English hard to learn?
English is easy to start and hard to finish. Because it is the world's most-taught second language it has no FSI difficulty rating (FSI ranks languages for native English speakers, not the reverse), so it is better judged by its features. The grammar is comparatively light - few verb endings, no grammatical gender, simple plurals - which is why beginners progress fast. The hard parts come later: spelling that rarely matches sound, thousands of phrasal verbs, the a/an/the article system and stress-timed rhythm that reshapes how words actually sound.
How long does it take to reach conversational English?
Plan on roughly 150-200 hours to a functional A2, 350-450 hours to B1, and 600-800 hours to a strong B2, the level at which you work and study comfortably in English. The single biggest accelerator is frequency: the first 1000 word families cover around 80% of everyday speech and text (Nation, 2006), so learning them first means you understand most of what you meet almost immediately. Reading and listening to graded material from the start does more than any grammar drill.
What A1 to C1 actually mean in English
A1 is survival English: present tense, greetings, numbers, simple needs. A2 adds the past simple and enough vocabulary for shops, travel and routine small talk. B1 is where conversation flows and you handle the present perfect and common phrasal verbs; B2 is where you follow fast native speech, films and meetings and express opinions with nuance. C1 is near-native control of idiom, register and implied meaning - the level universities and professional exams like IELTS and Cambridge Advanced test for.
British vs American English: which to learn
Learn whichever fits your goals, because British and American English are mutually intelligible and mixing them will not stop anyone understanding you. Choose British English if you are aiming at the UK, Ireland, much of Europe or Commonwealth study, and American English if you are oriented toward the US or global tech and entertainment. The differences are mostly spelling (colour vs color, programme vs program), a few hundred vocabulary items (lift vs elevator) and accent. Be consistent within a piece of writing and you are fine.
What English apps get wrong
Most apps teach low-frequency, picturable nouns first - apple, elephant, umbrella - while the function words and verbs that actually build English sentences arrive late. That is the wrong order: the top 1000 word families carry roughly 80% of speech (Nation, 2006), yet gamified courses delay high-frequency verbs and the phrasal verbs (get up, look after, put off) that define natural English. We sequence by real corpus frequency and teach meaning through images rather than translation, so learners of any first language build the densest, most useful English first.
The chapters
What you can do when you finish
- Read the rank-3,000 graded reader at the end with no lookups - every content word is from the chapters you just worked through.
- Hold a present-and-past tense conversation: ask questions, talk about routines, narrate what happened yesterday.
- Hedge a request politely, follow everyday speech, and recognise the core grammar that turns vocabulary into sentences.
- Cover the 3,000 most frequent words - roughly 80% of everyday speech by the frequency curve.
English learning: common questions
Frequently asked
How many English words do I need to be fluent?
Around 3000-5000 word families gives you everyday fluency. The first 1000 cover about 80% of ordinary speech and text (Nation, 2006), and roughly 3000 word families is enough to read most non-specialist material with occasional gaps. 5000 puts newspapers and novels within easy reach.
How long does it take to learn English?
There is no FSI figure because FSI rates difficulty for native English speakers, but a common working estimate is 600-800 hours to a solid B2 for a motivated learner. At an hour a day that is around two years, faster if you front-load the top 1000-2000 words and immerse yourself in reading and listening.
Why is English spelling so hard?
English spelling is hard because it froze in place while pronunciation kept changing, and because it borrowed words from many languages and kept their original spellings. The result is that the same letters can make different sounds (through, tough, though) and the same sound can be spelled many ways. Learning common patterns and high-frequency words by sight, rather than trying to sound everything out, is the practical fix.
What are phrasal verbs and do I need them?
Phrasal verbs are verb-plus-particle combinations like get up, look after and put off, where the meaning is not obvious from the parts. Yes, you need them - they are everywhere in natural spoken English and often replace a single formal verb (put off instead of postpone). Learn the highest-frequency ones in context rather than memorising long lists.
Should I learn British or American English?
Pick the one that matches your destination or goals and stay consistent, because both are fully mutually intelligible. British English suits the UK, Ireland and much of Europe and the Commonwealth; American English suits the US and much of global media and tech. The gaps are mainly spelling, some vocabulary and accent, none of which will block communication.
Can I learn English in a year?
Yes, you can reach a confident B1-B2 in a year with an hour or more of daily study plus real reading and listening, which covers work, travel and study. Full native-level command in a year is not realistic. Concentrate the year on the top 2000-3000 words, phrasal verbs and heavy comprehensible input rather than grammar exercises.