Learning a Language with Duolingo?
Discussion
Anybody else using this app or have used it?
Having a bit of time on my hands at the moment so am giving Spanish a go at the moment and it's quite addictive, although I don't think the prononciation is all that after a week.
My wife downloaded it today and am hearing last week's lessons from her now.
Reminds me a bit of the basic Janet and John books, just a fair bit harder. I've also learnt Juan eats a lot of apples and bread.
Having a bit of time on my hands at the moment so am giving Spanish a go at the moment and it's quite addictive, although I don't think the prononciation is all that after a week.
My wife downloaded it today and am hearing last week's lessons from her now.
Reminds me a bit of the basic Janet and John books, just a fair bit harder. I've also learnt Juan eats a lot of apples and bread.
there are some relatively cheap options on there. LordGrover said:
I tried it, also for Spanish, but didn't last long.
I'd very much like to speak a little Spanish, but not yet found anything I can stick with. Considering one of the courses that uses subtitled Spanish TV next.
I think I'm just too thick/lazy though.
Sort of think the same, spent years at school doing French and German, can understand some things but it just sounds like gibberish when I try and say any words. I'd very much like to speak a little Spanish, but not yet found anything I can stick with. Considering one of the courses that uses subtitled Spanish TV next.
I think I'm just too thick/lazy though.
Want to make a go of Spanish and from zero knowlege last week, I kind of like the repetitous way of trying to learn on the app. Just need to stop sounding stupid when saying words.
I downloaded it a few weeks ago with a view to giving German a go. I took German at school so remember a few phrases from then, but I've found the Duolingo app quite clunky to use and the voice recognition doesn't seem to work at all.
I'm persevering with it but don't feel like I'm learning much because I can't see past the issues I have with the app.
I'm persevering with it but don't feel like I'm learning much because I can't see past the issues I have with the app.
I got my streak in Dutch up to about 6 months, but having forgotten to do it one weekend and lost the streak I lost motivation to get back to it. I found it ok, but some odd choices of words to focus on (I don't come across turtles and elephants often in my day to day life), and it doesn't really explain some of the grammar, meaning you can end up knowing there's a few different ways to end words or arrange a sentence, but not figure out which should be used when. Hence I think it works better when coupled with some other form of learning as well.
I found using it on the PC a lot better than the phone app, as typing's a lot quicker and it's easier to look at the links to the forums where there's almost always a discussion and explanation of the bit you couldn't figure out.
I really should get back to it. I also have a set of Michel Thomas CD's but have never made it past disk 1.
I found using it on the PC a lot better than the phone app, as typing's a lot quicker and it's easier to look at the links to the forums where there's almost always a discussion and explanation of the bit you couldn't figure out.
I really should get back to it. I also have a set of Michel Thomas CD's but have never made it past disk 1.
I've been using Duolingo for French for a few weeks and I'm going to go against the sentiment and say I've actually been pretty impressed with it
I did French up to GCSE level and have managed a moderate level of pigeon French, not really enough to speak it properly but enough to know when French customers are taking the piss out of me or make them look surprised/worried by asking a question in English about something they were just talking about in French
I felt a bit daft with dreadful pronunciation at first but I suppose you'd feel more daft doing it in front of an actual person. After a couple of weeks of it I've found the phrases I initially struggled with a lot easier and I think I might be on the verge of the ability to be intelligible to an actual French person.
Some of it seems a bit slow with progression but it does drum the way the language works and the vocabulary into you in a way that isn't repetitive. ETA - I've got a memory like a sieve and an attention span measured in seconds so it works a lot better than trying to learn stuff in bulk parrot fashion
Probably if you did a crash course with an actual tutor it would be a faster and more effective way of learning the language, but for someone like me that's happy to drip feed it at 15-30 minutes a day I think it works well.
I did French up to GCSE level and have managed a moderate level of pigeon French, not really enough to speak it properly but enough to know when French customers are taking the piss out of me or make them look surprised/worried by asking a question in English about something they were just talking about in French
I felt a bit daft with dreadful pronunciation at first but I suppose you'd feel more daft doing it in front of an actual person. After a couple of weeks of it I've found the phrases I initially struggled with a lot easier and I think I might be on the verge of the ability to be intelligible to an actual French person.
Some of it seems a bit slow with progression but it does drum the way the language works and the vocabulary into you in a way that isn't repetitive. ETA - I've got a memory like a sieve and an attention span measured in seconds so it works a lot better than trying to learn stuff in bulk parrot fashion
Probably if you did a crash course with an actual tutor it would be a faster and more effective way of learning the language, but for someone like me that's happy to drip feed it at 15-30 minutes a day I think it works well.
The Wookie said:
I've been using Duolingo for French for a few weeks and I'm going to go against the sentiment and say I've actually been pretty impressed with it
I did French up to GCSE level and have managed a moderate level of pigeon French, not really enough to speak it properly but enough to know when French customers are taking the piss out of me or make them look surprised/worried by asking a question in English about something they were just talking about in French
I felt a bit daft with dreadful pronunciation at first but I suppose you'd feel more daft doing it in front of an actual person. After a couple of weeks of it I've found the phrases I initially struggled with a lot easier and I think I might be on the verge of the ability to be intelligible to an actual French person.
Some of it seems a bit slow with progression but it does drum the way the language works and the vocabulary into you in a way that isn't repetitive. ETA - I've got a memory like a sieve and an attention span measured in seconds so it works a lot better than trying to learn stuff in bulk parrot fashion
Probably if you did a crash course with an actual tutor it would be a faster and more effective way of learning the language, but for someone like me that's happy to drip feed it at 15-30 minutes a day I think it works well.
yea middle of a meeting with a french company, when they discussed did we want a boite noire (backhander) I told them its a brown envelope in english and no thanks.I did French up to GCSE level and have managed a moderate level of pigeon French, not really enough to speak it properly but enough to know when French customers are taking the piss out of me or make them look surprised/worried by asking a question in English about something they were just talking about in French
I felt a bit daft with dreadful pronunciation at first but I suppose you'd feel more daft doing it in front of an actual person. After a couple of weeks of it I've found the phrases I initially struggled with a lot easier and I think I might be on the verge of the ability to be intelligible to an actual French person.
Some of it seems a bit slow with progression but it does drum the way the language works and the vocabulary into you in a way that isn't repetitive. ETA - I've got a memory like a sieve and an attention span measured in seconds so it works a lot better than trying to learn stuff in bulk parrot fashion
Probably if you did a crash course with an actual tutor it would be a faster and more effective way of learning the language, but for someone like me that's happy to drip feed it at 15-30 minutes a day I think it works well.
bobtail4x4 said:
yea middle of a meeting with a french company, when they discussed did we want a boite noire (backhander) I told them its a brown envelope in english and no thanks.
Yeah you get accustomed to the odd Rosbif thrown in but when it really helps is when you hear one of their technicians moaning about something they've cocked up themselves and are trying to blame you forI'm not on the frontline for that sort of stuff as often anymore but I'm looking forward to being able to tell them they're talking b
ks in their own language 
Duolingo is good to make a start but if you're serious about learning a language, it's limited. I felt I wasted my time with a 1,000 day streak in Spanish compared to better progress I am making with LingQ (13 months)
Mostly it's about motivation and attitude though. You need massive enjoyable and interesting comprehensible input to grow your vocabulary and recognise patterns.
Good luck!
Mostly it's about motivation and attitude though. You need massive enjoyable and interesting comprehensible input to grow your vocabulary and recognise patterns.
Good luck!
My wife used it for English, she learnt lots from it and made some good progress. She now uses Rosetta Stone as that is a bit more in-depth.
Both are good, duolingo for basics but if you want to start using the language for work you will probably want to combine with other platforms or online lessons
Both are good, duolingo for basics but if you want to start using the language for work you will probably want to combine with other platforms or online lessons
Its not a silver bullet, but it has its place as an aid to your learning studies.
In my own experience it takes a multi-pronged approach i.e.
In my own experience it takes a multi-pronged approach i.e.
- Get some actual taught lessons, either as a group or one to one (italki or similar). This will give you exposure to correct grammar, 'why' certain words are the way they are (gender nouns, verb conjugations, prepositions etc.) as well as correcting your pronunciation and improving speaking skills
- Duolingo or similar for learning and retaining nouns and verbs
- Listen to podcasts, tv shows, films etc. in the language you are learning
- Set your phone to the language you're learning (its a quick learning curve!)
- Consider using Tandem app or similar for language exchange
- Use a book to structure your learning (a tutor will usually recommend one)
vixen1700 said:
Anybody else using this app or have used it?
Having a bit of time on my hands at the moment so am giving Spanish a go at the moment and it's quite addictive, although I don't think the prononciation is all that after a week.
My wife downloaded it today and am hearing last week's lessons from her now.
Reminds me a bit of the basic Janet and John books, just a fair bit harder. I've also learnt Juan eats a lot of apples and bread.
I've been using it for Italian for 3 years, over the last year I have managed to do it every day.Having a bit of time on my hands at the moment so am giving Spanish a go at the moment and it's quite addictive, although I don't think the prononciation is all that after a week.
My wife downloaded it today and am hearing last week's lessons from her now.
Reminds me a bit of the basic Janet and John books, just a fair bit harder. I've also learnt Juan eats a lot of apples and bread.
For free it is very good.
But it is obviously not going to make me fluent, and it is very grammar focused. It is quite irritating to work out a complicated translation and then have it mark me wrong for missing a double letter.
I try to supplement it with listening to Italian broadcasts and learning vocabulary on Youtube.
There will come a time when I need to hire a tutor (though that is a long way away) and / or spend a good deal of time in the country.
I am hopeful that doing it for twenty minutes will slow the rate at which my brain turns to mush.
tobinen said:
LingQ
I had a quick go with this last night. Lesson 1, the alphabet.
Lesson 2, months
Lesson 3, days of the week
Lesson 4, a long sentence with loads of words I had no idea about
Slightly strange interface and I've not quite worked out how it works yet, but I guess they're all a bit like that.
I've used it to bring my Welsh up to a half decent standard, my missus is a first language Welsh speaker and we're raising our daughter to be bilingual (no sniggering at the back!) so thought I should make an effort to bring my level up from the very basics I learnt in school / from my Grandfather (Taid!)
I've 'completed it mate' so I've gone as far as Duolingo can take me, I've got a fair understanding now, I can listen to people speaking Welsh and know what they're on about, it's constructing sentences and trying to reply I find the hardest, Duolingo doesn't really drill this kind of practice into you.
It's definitely a good starting point, but I would doubt you could become truly fluent using it alone.
I've 'completed it mate' so I've gone as far as Duolingo can take me, I've got a fair understanding now, I can listen to people speaking Welsh and know what they're on about, it's constructing sentences and trying to reply I find the hardest, Duolingo doesn't really drill this kind of practice into you.
It's definitely a good starting point, but I would doubt you could become truly fluent using it alone.
M5-911 said:
bobtail4x4 said:
yea middle of a meeting with a french company, when they discussed did we want a boite noire (backhander) I told them its a brown envelope in english and no thanks.
We call it an "enveloppe" in France. I think that you misunderstood the meaning of their conversation. Ive been learning Duolingo French for 101 days! (because of my streak)
(and have been paying premium for a couple of months, partly because i think they deserve the money and partly to make sure i stay interested.
Ive racked up 21673 xp.
I have found the Duolingo podcasts to be really helpful too, although i will freely admit i am only at the stage of understanding the outline.
Im planning to get some sort of B2 or A1 test and certificate in the summer.
Edit: Im user "BenjaminBa372717" if anyone want to "follow" me
(and have been paying premium for a couple of months, partly because i think they deserve the money and partly to make sure i stay interested.
Ive racked up 21673 xp.
I have found the Duolingo podcasts to be really helpful too, although i will freely admit i am only at the stage of understanding the outline.
Im planning to get some sort of B2 or A1 test and certificate in the summer.
Edit: Im user "BenjaminBa372717" if anyone want to "follow" me
Edited by Benbay001 on Tuesday 2nd February 10:11
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