Duolingo - quick question

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MrsStarez
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Location: Warwickshire
Languages: I can read and write French, but my spoken capabilities are limited. I'm looking to develop further, especially in a business sense, as I'm getting increasingly asked if I would be able to use French at work.
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... php?t=8933
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Re: Duolingo - quick question

Postby MrsStarez » Mon Oct 15, 2018 8:38 pm

Ooh - thanks. My best opportunity to listen to things uninterrupted is in the car, so I’ll have a look at the app. If not I’ll have a look at their site to see if I can add it to my Friday homework.
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Soclydeza
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Actively Studying:
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French (Lower intermediate)
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Re: Duolingo - quick question

Postby Soclydeza » Fri Oct 19, 2018 2:09 am

Nothing wrong with Duolingo, I've used it on a few languages and I think it's a great resourse if you're on the go a lot and only have small pockets of time to practice. It won't get you to B1/B2; as others have said, no single program will. I've done the whole French tree and it helped with vocab and grammar structure. I remember some of the more complex contructions clicked with me while I was using it, so I do think it has value, definitely worth doing at least a few lessons a day for practice.

I wouldn't use it as the bread and butter of your routine though, I would use it as either a supplement to practice on downtime or as a lightweight way to get your feet wet in a language by introducing you to the basics and grammar structure. I'm currently using it to pick at Norwegian for 10-15 mins a day so when/if I decide to invest in some fulltime resources in the future, I'll already be acquainted with the basics.

I will say though, Duolingo is one hell of an accountability partner. Miss one day and the app won't leave you the hell alone until you practice again.
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END OF YEAR
: 108 / 108 Babbel Italian (Beginner)
: 47 / 47 Babbel Italian (Intermediate)

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munyag
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Re: Duolingo - quick question

Postby munyag » Sat Mar 06, 2021 3:31 pm

@MrsStarez-Where are you with your French? Do you use Duolingo with it still?
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MrsStarez
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Posts: 99
Joined: Mon Jul 23, 2018 11:31 am
Location: Warwickshire
Languages: I can read and write French, but my spoken capabilities are limited. I'm looking to develop further, especially in a business sense, as I'm getting increasingly asked if I would be able to use French at work.
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... php?t=8933
x 174

Re: Duolingo - quick question

Postby MrsStarez » Sat Mar 06, 2021 9:22 pm

Hi!

I’d forgotten I’d asked that question :-)

I gave up on the French as it wasn’t teaching me anything at all. I’d hoped for some advanced stuff, but it would have taken forever to get through all the basics.

I’ve been using it for Italian these last few weeks and am up to a 37-day streak. I barely knew any Italian before so I’m finding it useful.
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munyag
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Re: Duolingo - quick question

Postby munyag » Sun Mar 07, 2021 1:47 pm

@MrsStarez-I myself am on a 42 day streak with it on French. I think it works very well if you primarily need to practice production and reading. The grammar does get complex as you go up levels I must admit but overall it works better as a supplement to a main study program like French In Action or something.
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Pegasusangel
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Re: Duolingo - quick question

Postby Pegasusangel » Thu Mar 11, 2021 7:38 am

Hiya saw this and wanted to give my opinion. I just joined yesterday so sorry if it's a little late. Duolingo should (especially in French) have a test that will put you in the skills fit for your level. As many have said it's a good way to get started on the foundation of the language. If you are wanting to try higher levels busuu is your best bet as it's lessons go all the way up to a b2 level and you can test for a certificate if you are a member. Speakly and Lingvist also take you past the beginner stage as well. I personally use duolingo as more of a review then a language learning site although its the only comprehensive one that offers norwegian that I could find. Duolingo is a great way to learn to read and write in a language. I wish they actually had real voices not necessarily computer generated ones instead though. I would say for reviewing having duolingo is a good idea.
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German
Duolingo: 109 / 122 109 gold
Busuu: 45 / 10045% course
pimsleur German 1: 23 / 3023 lessons
Speakly Intermediate 2: 1408 / 1450

Icelandic
Mangolanguages unit 1: 1 / 51 chapter complete
drops tourist: 100 / 300100 words
Pimsleur: 6 / 306 completed
memrise: 24 / 8224 items

mokibao
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Re: Duolingo - quick question

Postby mokibao » Thu Mar 11, 2021 2:26 pm

Duolingo is alright for what it is but you really have to binge it and move on fairly quickly. This means a few hundred xp at the very least every day in order to golden the whole tree in a matter of months. Also you should use the desktop version whenever possible in order to be able to read the grammar tips.

General tips:
-disable all animations and encouraging messages and get an adblocker so as to minimize the disruptions and have the lessons load quickly
-regularly browse forums whenever you don't understand something, chances are lots of people will be as stumped as you are and the explanation will be already there
-don't be afraid to just level up with their test thing
-it's ok to get bored and move on to a more serious course, the whole point of the app is to "get your feet wet" and give you a sense of direction in case you don't know where to start. Once you have a solid grounding you'll know how you want to learn. I for one still maintain a streak so it keeps me committed in some way whenever I don't feel like doing the serious course
-if you're starting duo in a language you've already tried to learn (at school or wherever) do the final checkpoint, if you pass it will unlock level 1 in the whole tree so you can move at an accelerated pace and focus on the parts you want (as opposed to having to go through the very basic stuff). If you feel cheeky you can also do it for a language that's close to what you know, I did it for Esperanto just to check if I could lol

Also, I don't listen to the available Duolingo podcasts (too much English) but people generally like them.
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MrsStarez
Yellow Belt
Posts: 99
Joined: Mon Jul 23, 2018 11:31 am
Location: Warwickshire
Languages: I can read and write French, but my spoken capabilities are limited. I'm looking to develop further, especially in a business sense, as I'm getting increasingly asked if I would be able to use French at work.
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... php?t=8933
x 174

Re: Duolingo - quick question

Postby MrsStarez » Sun Mar 14, 2021 10:17 pm

Thanks for the opinions :-)

I gave up on French as it just felt like I was spending a lot of time on the basics and I wasn’t going to get to anything like B2 quickly.

However, I started on Italian pretty much from scratch about seven weeks ago and I’m really enjoying it. I discovered the stories a few days ago and find that I understand an awful lot without too much guess-work. The sentences I’m learning aren’t necessarily useful (“gli insetti bevono latte” springs to mind) but I’m picking up lots from it and am now thinking of getting more into Italian ready for a summer holiday.
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Pegasusangel
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Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2021 9:04 am
Location: United states
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Re: Duolingo - quick question

Postby Pegasusangel » Mon Mar 15, 2021 4:25 am

I wish you all the luck in the world! It's exciting to hear how much progress you've made! Since you are understanding duolingo stories in Italien possibly see about Italien music, books, and shows are understandable for you to. I couldn't believe how much I could understand and read after Taking Duolingos courses.
2 x
German
Duolingo: 109 / 122 109 gold
Busuu: 45 / 10045% course
pimsleur German 1: 23 / 3023 lessons
Speakly Intermediate 2: 1408 / 1450

Icelandic
Mangolanguages unit 1: 1 / 51 chapter complete
drops tourist: 100 / 300100 words
Pimsleur: 6 / 306 completed
memrise: 24 / 8224 items

munyag
Yellow Belt
Posts: 68
Joined: Tue Jul 09, 2019 4:22 pm
Languages: Shona (N), Spanish (Beginner), French (Beginner)
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Re: Duolingo - quick question

Postby munyag » Mon Mar 15, 2021 11:27 am

Someone said earlier to use Duolingo as a form of review and that's how I am also using it. @Mrs Starez-has found a great way to use it and by the sounds of it is advanced for Duolingo. I am using a course by Euonia on Memrise (Top 5000 frequency words for French) and an A1/A2 grammar course with audio and text and there is quite a lot of vocab overlap between all three which is working wonders for me I might say. Next month or two, I will introduce Assimil New French With Ease and during the Second Wave will start 1 to 1 lessons on Italki.
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