I'm sorry, but the title of the post is completely misleading. Passing a B2 (=basic) level exam is definitely not equal to "I learned French". It is a realisti

I'm sorry, but the title of the post is completely misleading. Passing a B2 (=basic) level exam is definitely not equal to "I learned French". It is a realistic goal to get to the B2 level in a year, if you devote sufficient time to it. But a B2 exam is just that - an exam, with certain types of questions that you can prep and pass, without that actually meaning much in terms of your language skill. How do I know? I am currently attending a C1 course in German. Yes, we do learn new words, phrases and expressions, but actually, the major parts of a C1 exam are: * understanding and summarizing texts (either written or spoken) * doing a 5 minute presentation on a given topic, with very strict rules (the outline structure is given, the expected speech parts are given etc). * knowing grammar rules, which even the native speakers don't really know or care about. As a matter of fact, C1 is more like a university preparation course, and not so much like a language course. Also, it is so much more dense than the previous levels, that it might take one person the same time to go from A1 to B2 as another person to go from B2 to C1. In the meantime, the following are not really checked or prepped: * understanding real native speakers (not on radio or giving a speech, but the real everyday speech) * making sure the basics are there, eg. how do you organise your life? How do you make a phone call, talk to the postman, your colleagues during lunch, how do you ask your mechanic what is that creaky noise while you are driving your car...? * speaking and writing without (many) errors. Yes, you can speak, but judging the face of the person who is listening to you.... not very well. Actually, in my case I almost always immediately recognize when I say something stupid, but I still say it... One can pass the C1 exam, and be almost completely unable to fit in everyday life. This is even more so if the area you live in doesn't speak the "mainstream" of the language, but some weirdo variation of it. For example, if you think you speak German B2, I challenge you to try to speak to a random person on the backstreets of Munich or Vienna... if you are lucky, they speak some English :) To end on a more positive note, achieving B2 is ABSOLUTELY a worthy goal in any language, and your life will be better for it. Just set your expectations accordingly.