The timeline of actively learning a language should be viewed as a marathon, not a sprint.

There is frankly nothing more annoying than people who ask questions like, "Can I learn German in two weeks?" or "Will I sound like a native speaker after a year?" No, you cannot learn any language in a short amount of time other than Esperanto. You won't be able to sound like a native speaker in just a year. Actually getting good at a language although it takes a long time of work, in my experience is one of the most fulfilling things I have ever done. I have learned Portuguese, German, Russian, and Polish, and it has allowed me to talk to a lot of cool people and allow me to appreciate different cultures. The impression people get that they can learn a language in a year or two is most likely from polyglots like Steve Kaufmann and Lindie Botes. They have dedicated their lives to learning languages and to imply that you can learn a language in a couple of years is like saying that you can be as good at basketball as Stephen Curry or LeBron James in a year or two. Being good at languages or anything else takes a lot of time.