Duolingo

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Morgana

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So has anybody here tried learning a language using the free version of Duolingo.com?
I just signed up a few days ago, and I'm more impressed than I thought I'd be. It's cute, and humorous, and nonthreatening, and stuff does seem to stick in your head after.
I'm not being very ambitious about it -- just doing the basic few minutes a day -- but I figure it will add up eventually.
And it's one way -- if you've had to temporarily cut back on seeing the world due to Covid, gas crisis, inflation, war, or whatever -- to have a bit of the world come to you. There's a ton of different languages to choose from.
 
I use Google Translate on my smartphone You just hold it up to the speaker and it will translate in over 40 languages No need to learn anything
 
Couple months ago I had to translate for a kid who was in tears because the people using Google Translate to communicate with her couldn't figure out what she needed.

I had heard these people speak repeatedly about how good intentions + Google Translate could get them through any situation. Then I saw them in action: LOL not even close.

We do lots of things that we could get machines to do for us. And we are still a long way off from the Babel fish.
 
So has anybody here tried learning a language using the free version of Duolingo.com?

I'm not being very ambitious about it -- just doing the basic few minutes a day -- but I figure it will add up eventually.
I've regretted not learning a second language ever since I dropped Spanish class in high school. Illinois law no longer required a language class for graduation. This was in 1975 or '76.

Let us know how well it is working for you. Maybe I'll give it a try!
 
Amen -- never too late!

So far I'm liking it very much. Small, bite-size segments with lots of positive feedback from amusing little cartoon characters (I used to want to punch Mister Clippy [or does even knowing who he is give away my age?] -- but these are actually fun). A nice mix of words, pictures, and sounds. Whatever spaced repetition system they're using, it seems to work.

If you want to learn fast, or get serious about grammar, there might be better options. And I read somewhere that their advanced levels aren't as user-friendly as the beginning ones. But it looks like a great way to get your feet wet, and it's free.

Here's a nice article on how learning a new language helps your brain:
https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/how-learning-a-language-changes-your-brain
 
I've started learning Spanish, French, German and Japanese.
Sadly never made it past the initial phase in all 4.
Really need to revisit French since it's my heritage as a Cajun Creole.
But Japanese is more interesting, easier to pronounce and unique because it's an isolate.
Got Lingodeer on my phone but have yet to knuckle down.
Something about living in a van kind of interferes with my routine of studying.
 
My experience:
- Childhood learning sticks with me through life.
Grandparents spoke saami (lapp), still understand some.
- Adult learning needs to periodically used to be retained.
Took spanish in college, unused since, retain little.
 
Learning languages is my hobby.

And OF COURSE like for any activity under the sun, there is a FORUM for that: https://languagelearning.stackexchange.com/

LL.SE forum is quite different from this one, they do not tolerate debate (they have comments and chat for that), very focused on getting one best answer for any question, supported by data (less opinions).

There are several questions related to duolingo:
https://languagelearning.stackexchange.com/questions/184/what-are-the-drawbacks-to-duolingo
https://languagelearning.stackexcha...ingo-effective-in-learning-to-speak-languages
https://languagelearning.stackexchange.com/questions/2838/next-step-after-duolingo

Summary: duolingo is good, but not 100% solution, other tools are necessary to complement duolingo.

(note how URLs on LL.SE improve page rating by using SEO - Search Engine Optimization).

To learn vocabulary, SRS (Spaced repetition system, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaced_repetition - flash cards on your smart phone ) are PROVEN to have superior results:

https://languagelearning.stackexcha...traditional-study-for-vocabulary-augmentation
Anki is free SRS, with many free decks for free download. I use it and like it.

To practice your language (beyond Duolingo), there are many online language exchanges (google it - and you are in the luck, because MANY people wants to learn English, ready to exchange to their own language).

Disclosure: I am member of https://mylanguageexchange.com/ with freemium business model. Promoting it has no direct financial benefits to me, only increasing the size of the membership.

Also, there was research (also on LL.SE) that learning a language in retirement delays onset of dementia and alzheimer, so it is good for your brain :)
 
Duolingo uses spaced repetition too. I imagine that all of the automated online language-learning tools (of which there are dozens) use it to some extent.

Anki is more of a study aid than a language-study program per se. It's basically a flashcard system, but a huge improvement over the paper version (because the spaced-repetition algorithm "knows" when you need to review a card). I like it a lot, too.

As mentioned, Duolingo doesn't seem to get as many good reviews at the advanced levels as it does at the beginner level. But it is a cheerful, fun way to get at least a taste of a language you're interested in.

I you decide to get serious about it, I'd recommend shopping around -- there are many language-learning apps, from free to pricey, using different methods -- and several non-app-based ways to learn, including MOOCs (like on Coursera) and language exchanges, and relatively inexpensive online tutoring.

Benny Lewis's book and blog Fluent in 3 months (https://www.amazon.com/Fluent-Months-Anyone-Language-Anywhere/dp/0062282697, https://www.fluentin3months.com/articles) offer a lot of tips. There seem to be quite a few language-learning groups on Facebook too. And once you get the basics down and want some "immersion"-style practice, there's tons of non-English content online, from news shows to full-length movies to amateur YouTube videos. I spent much of my Covid downtime watching Spanish-language travel vlogs, and it actually helped quite a bit.

Music is great for this too. Find the lyrics in the original language, and a good video, and sing along!

I picked Duolingo because it had a free version, it had the language I wanted, and it breaks lessons down into very small chunks (which I happen to like). But there really are a lot of options out there.

And if the program you're using doesn't explain something to your satisfaction, Uncle Google can often help fill in the blanks -- and in the process you can find great new resources.

Спробуйте, можливо, вам сподобається!
 
So has anybody here tried learning a language using the free version of Duolingo.com?
I just signed up a few days ago, and I'm more impressed than I thought I'd be. It's cute, and humorous, and nonthreatening, and stuff does seem to stick in your head after.
I'm not being very ambitious about it -- just doing the basic few minutes a day -- but I figure it will add up eventually.
And it's one way -- if you've had to temporarily cut back on seeing the world due to Covid, gas crisis, inflation, war, or whatever -- to have a bit of the world come to you. There's a ton of different languages to choose from.
I'm 682 days into Duolingo without missing a day. I like it but should spend more time at it as I'm still in present tense sentences.
 
I'm going to have to give Duolingo a shot. I've been married to a Spanish speaker for 37 years and never learned her language (I tried early on, but she pissed me off laughing at me in public so I quit trying.) Now, however, after spending the past 5 months in Puerto Rico I have learned a few words and it would be nice to get to the point where I could maybe ask for help in a store. Especially since we are looking at moving here. I'm about done with Maine winters, and there is a house across the street from my in-laws that we'd like to buy.
Guess I'll go find Duolingo now.....
 
So has anybody here tried learning a language using the free version of Duolingo.com?
I just signed up a few days ago, and I'm more impressed than I thought I'd be. It's cute, and humorous, and nonthreatening, and stuff does seem to stick in your head after.
I'm not being very ambitious about it -- just doing the basic few minutes a day -- but I figure it will add up eventually.
And it's one way -- if you've had to temporarily cut back on seeing the world due to Covid, gas crisis, inflation, war, or whatever -- to have a bit of the world come to you. There's a ton of different languages to choose from.
Yes! I love it. I've completed the Latin course, and am working on French, Spanish, Greek and Russian.

It was definitely my stress-relieving obsession at the beginning of the pandemic.
 
I studied Norwegian before during and after Covid in person (we ended up meeting in my teacher’s backyard) for two years. It was my 7th language (I was a bilingual teacher for ten years and have a secondary Spanish credential as well so languages are my thing) and used Duolingo just for accent practice. It’s a waste of time for grammar, vocabulary and practical use. You would do better using free language lessons on YouTube or real textbooks. There is no such thing as conversational language learning. Grammar is like building a house without framing first.
 
Duolingo still strikes me as a fun way to explore/get started; and the structure may be kind of silly ("Hello, we eat rice! I am a boy!"), but at least it gives you some kind of structure, and it's not too overwhelming.

Absolutely agree, though, that there's no reason to limit yourself to it. And if you decide to get serious, you probably will have to move beyond it at some point. There are so many great free resources online these days! and if you can pay a bit, so many more.
 
I studied Norwegian before during and after Covid in person (we ended up meeting in my teacher’s backyard) for two years. It was my 7th language (I was a bilingual teacher for ten years and have a secondary Spanish credential as well so languages are my thing) and used Duolingo just for accent practice. It’s a waste of time for grammar, vocabulary and practical use. You would do better using free language lessons on YouTube or real textbooks. There is no such thing as conversational language learning. Grammar is like building a house without framing first.
What would you recommend for learning Spanish to be conversational? I can read it and usually understand the gist of it, but have trouble in real time actually conversing. I travelled in Mexico a bit with a friend who is married to a woman from Peru and listen to him having conversations with locals. I understand some of, but not enough of what is being said to participate much. I'm interested in traveling more in several Spanish speaking countries, which of course have differences in how the language is used in conversation. I like meeting people from different cultures and being able to communicate verbally I think would make it a more rewarding experience.
 
Lerca is probably better qualified to answer this, but I'll throw my two bits in.

This is all stuff you can do on your computer; finding a live person to work with you would be much better.

There's a ton of free Spanish-language content on YouTube, including a lot of travel vloggers (so you could kind of kill two birds with one stone). Those expose you to a bunch of different accents (at least, if the YouTubers are interviewing local people, which they often do).

Keep in mind that even the poorer-quality videos -- too much background noise or poorly enunciated -- are good for this purpose, because you want to get comfortable dealing with real-life distortions. Ditto for when they interview people with pronounced local accents or who just slur a lot.

Somebody once told me that there's supposed to be a sweet spot -- maybe 70% ?? -- at which you learn best if you understand that much of the broadcast. Enough to keep it fun but also keep your brain working learning new words.

News shows are probably the easiest thing to listen to, because the newscasters speak so clearly and crisply. I like the Euronews and Deutsche Welle Spanish-language programming (if you just search within YouTube you'll find them). And I like the little short videos at the bottom of the BBC Mundo news website. There are probably many more; those are just the ones I've gotten in the habit of looking at.

For very rapid-fire, high-energy current affairs "explainers," try VisualPolitik.

Netflix has a fair amount of Spanish-language programming. This site https://prende.tv/ either has a lot of free Spanish programming already or is supposed to get a lot more at the end of March (I read about it somewhere and bookmarked it but haven't really looked into it yet). Google "free Spanish language TV and movies" or the like, and you'll find more.

I think somebody up-thread gave a link for at least one resource where you can do free language exchanges (you help someone practice English, they help you practice Spanish).

This guy https://www.deliberatespanish.com/ is very engaging; I didn't particularly like his system myself, but it seemed like good quality, and diff'rent strokes, who knows, you might like it. He's specifically focused on getting people past the intermediate level into "real" fluency. He has both free and paid content.

Music is another great way to up your game. Find a musician you like, watch their peformances online, get the lyrics (letra) online, and sing along. For example, this is my currently favorite song by my favorite Spanish-singing musician, and you can find the lyrics here.

I try to do a little from each of the four "channels" -- reading, writing, listening, speaking -- every day.

^^Doing stuff like that has helped me a lot. I recently had a volunteer gig where I had to speak Spanish part of the time, and I felt confident I'd be able to understand most of what I heard, but I had no idea what would come out of my mouth when I tried to talk. That was kind of ulp! for a moment when we suddenly hit a busy time and no other Spanish speakers were on duty but in fact it worked out fine. So I swear by YouTube now.

But real-life practice, if/when you can find it, is really the gold standard.

PS Now I'm trying to learn Haitian Creole via Duolingo which, as Lerca mentioned, has its limits, but I plan on chipping away at it slowly. I doubt there will be quite as much free entertainment online as there is for Spanish.
 
Lerca is probably better qualified to answer this, but I'll throw my two bits in.

This is all stuff you can do on your computer; finding a live person to work with you would be much better.

There's a ton of free Spanish-language content on YouTube, including a lot of travel vloggers (so you could kind of kill two birds with one stone). Those expose you to a bunch of different accents (at least, if the YouTubers are interviewing local people, which they often do).

Keep in mind that even the poorer-quality videos -- too much background noise or poorly enunciated -- are good for this purpose, because you want to get comfortable dealing with real-life distortions. Ditto for when they interview people with pronounced local accents or who just slur a lot.

Somebody once told me that there's supposed to be a sweet spot -- maybe 70% ?? -- at which you learn best if you understand that much of the broadcast. Enough to keep it fun but also keep your brain working learning new words.

News shows are probably the easiest thing to listen to, because the newscasters speak so clearly and crisply. I like the Euronews and Deutsche Welle Spanish-language programming (if you just search within YouTube you'll find them). And I like the little short videos at the bottom of the BBC Mundo news website. There are probably many more; those are just the ones I've gotten in the habit of looking at.

For very rapid-fire, high-energy current affairs "explainers," try VisualPolitik.

Netflix has a fair amount of Spanish-language programming. This site https://prende.tv/ either has a lot of free Spanish programming already or is supposed to get a lot more at the end of March (I read about it somewhere and bookmarked it but haven't really looked into it yet). Google "free Spanish language TV and movies" or the like, and you'll find more.

I think somebody up-thread gave a link for at least one resource where you can do free language exchanges (you help someone practice English, they help you practice Spanish).

This guy https://www.deliberatespanish.com/ is very engaging; I didn't particularly like his system myself, but it seemed like good quality, and diff'rent strokes, who knows, you might like it. He's specifically focused on getting people past the intermediate level into "real" fluency. He has both free and paid content.

Music is another great way to up your game. Find a musician you like, watch their peformances online, get the lyrics (letra) online, and sing along. For example, this is my currently favorite song by my favorite Spanish-singing musician, and you can find the lyrics here.

I try to do a little from each of the four "channels" -- reading, writing, listening, speaking -- every day.

^^Doing stuff like that has helped me a lot. I recently had a volunteer gig where I had to speak Spanish part of the time, and I felt confident I'd be able to understand most of what I heard, but I had no idea what would come out of my mouth when I tried to talk. That was kind of ulp! for a moment when we suddenly hit a busy time and no other Spanish speakers were on duty but in fact it worked out fine. So I swear by YouTube now.

But real-life practice, if/when you can find it, is really the gold standard.

PS Now I'm trying to learn Haitian Creole via Duolingo which, as Lerca mentioned, has its limits, but I plan on chipping away at it slowly. I doubt there will be quite as much free entertainment online as there is for Spanish.
Thanks Morgana. And wow! Haitian Creole? Are you planning on visiting there? around a population that speaks it? Or interested in learning how to practice Voodoo?
 
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