learning rate

Hi everyone, how much success have people had at learning French using Rocket French i.e. how long has it taken to become competent.

I have been studying Rocket France for about 45 days. I started with no knowledge of the French language and have been studying everyday on Rocket French and using you tube and other sites which are free to supplement Rocket French. I can say that my vocabulary has improved the most over this time. My listening skills have also improved. I enjoy using Rocket French and it is giving me the tools to learn French and hopefully with practice and time I will be able to hold a conversation in French. For me its takes a lot of study to learn French, but I am moving forward at a pace I like.

This is my third non-English, European language, and all are difficult for me. I just don't learn other languages very easily. That said, I'm pleased with my progress over the past two years, of which only about one year is RF. I can say I've learned a lot from RF. Most important: Are you meeting the goals you want? Second: Why are you studying French? If you're studying to understand the beauty of the language and the culture that formed it, you may not want to speed along. However, if you will need the language to make a trip to France, you may want to learn a bit more quickly. How long it takes to be competent is purely an individual matter that can be worked out by a simple mathematical formula: "ease of learning" times "amount of time studying" equals "competency."

I agree with what Jim and Diana have said, "competency" is a personal benchmark. French is my fourth language also, but the first I pursued on my own as an adult. RF also wasn't my first exposure to French. I took it in college, restarted some six years ago now with Rosetta Stone (all levels) then finished the three levels of RF French last year. After finishing RF Platinum, I could get by in French speaking cities (ordering, taking the metro, asking directions). But when there was a problem with my shuttle service not showing up, I had to resort to English to ask the hotel staff for help (I understood the automated message on the shuttle service's phone though). So, if your expectation is to go tête à tête with a French-speaking person, that's not going to happen just with RF or any single program. You will not be fluent. For me, what I liked about RF was that after I finished, I felt that I had a good foundation to continue, so I'm getting tutored now twice a week to get acclimated to the speed, build up vocabulary and just practice speaking. So in that sense, I think the idea of competency is a bit defeatist because it implies reaching a level that's "passable", and not striving for fluency.

I agree with Diana and Torusan it takes a lot of practice. What I like today is that there is a large amount of free information on the internet to help build a strong foundation along with Rocket French. I remember my high school days of trying to learn Spanish with a text book which was very difficult. Learning with audio files, video and text helps a lot.

Thanks to everyone for the replies it is much appreciated.