In the 18-week semester, you will cover a lot of ground. But of course, the more effort you put in, both in and out of the classroom, the more progress you will make. From experience, students who stay in an LTL homestay with a local family will gain oral fluency more quickly than those who live with other English-speaking foreigners.  It’s also important that you use what you have learned in the classroom when you are out and about in Shanghai, and resist the temptation to revert to English when it seems easier. As a general guideline, a motivated student on the Semester program arriving as a complete beginner could expect to reach at least HSK 3 level after 18 weeks, and their spoken language and listening comprehension should be well beyond that.