Duolingo Finnish released today in beta

[lavengro]

Already has 1,870+ learners within a few hours on its first day (there was quite a bit of pent-up demand for this).

[tarvos]

Maybe I should test out duolingo then?????? I've never actually used it.

[lavengro]

Maybe I should test out duolingo then?????? I've never actually used it.

My guess from following your log is that you are already beyond the point where the beta version of Duolingo Finnish may be useful for you. However, I expect Duolingo would be appreciative of feedback from those trying out the beta version who already have some Finnish learning experience (or a Finnish partner). The Finnish course is presently relatively short, and I believe even the fuller Duolingo courses are not designed to take one past A2.

I'm giving it a go out of interest because Finnish is an enigmatic blank slate for me, other than the word "sauna" and because (at risk of cuing the haters), I really like using Duolingo.

If you do decide to try Duolingo, I would strongly suggest using the web-based version, rather than app version, as generally the "Tips" (pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary notes) are not available on the app. Also, use the typing option rather than the word bank option.

[tarvos]

Eh, I'm pretty sure there's a lot of obvious words I don't know yet. Maybe in terms of grammar it won't be that thrilling though. But I might just give it a shot just to see what it's like - at this point in time, even my mom has used Duolingo more than I have.

[lavengro]

Eh, I'm pretty sure there's a lot of obvious words I don't know yet. Maybe in terms of grammar it won't be that thrilling though. But I might just give it a shot just to see what it's like - at this point in time, even my mom has used Duolingo more than I have.

Paljon onnea! The beta version seems to be getting reviewed fairly positively so far, including by one English/Finnish bilingual poster who took it for a test drive just out of curiosity.

[lavengro]

for anyone who may be interested, here is a link to a Duolingo forum post which provides a bit more information concerning the course, including its present limitations and request for assistance in improving/expanding it.

https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/39838113

I did not read the whole first entry; I got scared by the mention of inessive, adessive and essive cases and had to retreat to my safe place.

[sporedandroid]

Looks like something fun for me. I’ve already been experimenting with casually studying Finnish. I just find duolingo reminders obnoxious. Is there a way of turning them off. I’m not planning on studying Finnish seriously for a long time.

[lavengro]

Looks like something fun for me. I’ve already been experimenting with casually studying Finnish. I just find duolingo reminders obnoxious. Is there a way of turning them off. I’m not planning on studying Finnish seriously for a long time.

I do not anticipate going any further with Finnish than just Duolingo (and even there, only as long as it remains fun - but it has been quite fun so far).

I have not bothered to try turning off notifications in Duolingo - I signed up with a google mail dumpster account that I use only for stuff like that, and once a month I go through and mass delete all the spam, product offers, etc.

And to be honest, sometimes I am so starved for attention that I kinda like knowing someone cares about how I am doing. Same for the motivational messages that pop up when working through a lesson (the occasional "that's okay little buddy, everybody makes mistakes!" comment from the Owl).

I think if you click on your profile in the top right corner, then open Settings then under Account Settings, you can toggle on/off the motivational messages, and if you go to Notifications, you can turn off specific email notifications and the dreaded daily reminder.

[NongfuSpring97]

As is typical of new courses on Duolingo, it will probably be so buggy and limited at first that it won't be worth using for at least another 2-3 years.

[lavengro]

As is typical of new courses on Duolingo, it will probably be so buggy and limited at first that it won't be worth using for at least another 2-3 years.

Love the optimism!

There have been some premature beta launches of new Duolingo courses in the past that attracted negative critical comments and reviews, but the beta version of the Finnish course is getting quite positive reviews, including from native Finnish speakers. I believe one of the main contributors to the course was involved in creating an 88 hour, 5200+ vocab Memrise Finnish course, which seems also to be working quite well.

As of today, four days post launch, over 45,000 learners are giving it a try. Some may wind up concluding that it "won't be worth using for at least another 2-3 years" but hopefully they do so only after actually trying it. I and lots of others providing comments who have tried it do not share your view.