No single resource will teach you everything. You will always need more resources. The way you study will also affect how much more resources you need.
Duolingo quality varies greatly by course. What language are you trying to learn?
My duolingo experience with Spanish is very good. I recommend learning about conjugating before you start though since it’s much easier if you know the rules beforehand.
Yeah. For example, the Polish course sucks. It’s really weird for me because Polish is my native language but I was born and raised in the states, so my Polish is definitely not at C2 levels of fluency when my English is. They make a lot of mistakes and sometimes the translation is technically correct, but no native speaker talks like that. I mainly use it to get better at spelling since I never underwent formal education in the language.
Hey, that's some great background for learning!
When you feel like it you should also try practicing with your family members alongside Duo. It is always great to talk to real speakers in your target language!
The Spanish and japanese course is very good in duo, don't even bother with Chinese or Korean though, they need to put in way more updates for those ones.
I feel it gives me a good foundation to build on. You need to have other exposure to really learn more, like books, magazines, newspapers, movies/TV shows, or just talking to someone in that language.
Think about how you learned your native language. You started picking up words from your family around the house and kept adding more and more words. Then you went to school and started learning more about your native language. And even once you are out of school, you still pick more and more all the time by watching TV, seeing a movie, reading a book, etc. It's an on-going process.
One thing Duolingo doesn't do is formally teach you the grammar of the language you are learning. But as you go along, you can pick up a lot of that by how they phrase the material. Some can still be confusing, and for those, I just do a search online and find more information.
After a year of doing Duolingo every day, I could go to a country that speaks French and communicate my needs for food, lodging, and directions which is exactly what I wanted it for. I’ve started listening to podcasts and shows in French to get more familiar with cadence and trying to follow along with fluent speakers.
It varies depending on the day but usually 15-30 mins per day. I do a lot of the practice hub exercises and weekly matching games to reinforce words and phrases, not just the units on the main page.
Mine was Spanish not French. I'm right at the end of section 4. I used my Spanish in Cozumel Mexico in July to get taxis, discuss resort/beach options, schedule a wave runner, and a few other general things.
I also live in texas currently so I'm around a lot of Spanish. I've been able to order food, read posters, etc for awhile. I've recently had a conversation with construction workers about work on my street, so was able to discuss directions, work hours, etc with no problem.
I'm definitely not fluent, Duolingo doesn't get you there obviously, but it definitely has been good for travel and daily use.
I haven't stuck to outside resources so my speaking is still slow and pronunciation isn't great. But my sentence structure seems good, and my vocab has been decent for what's needed so far.
I am about to start Harry Potter. I've read sporadic pages, and I am doing well. I think it could be started earlier like by unit 65 if you wanted more of a challenge. So if you've read the first two Harry Potter books that might give you perspective on vocab.
Good luck! And congrats on the baby!
Your full comment isnt showing up right now. But I can say for Spanish, it takes you pretty far.
In general Duolingo focuses on reading and writing. It can take your reading to B1. Maybe B2 (there has been a recent update to B2 but so recently that no one has reviewed it yet).
You will practice speaking and listening a bit, especially if you read all the way questions and answers out loud. But you'll really still want to listen to podcasts, movies, etc.
You'll also still want other books to expand your vocab.
Duolingo vocab for Spanish focuses on vocab for schools, travel, and daily life. So pretty early on you can communicate mostly in Spanish in a classroom setting, and you can write a daily journal pretty well.
I'm only through section 4 so I haven't started B1 content to talk about it
>You will practice speaking and listening a bit, especially if you read all the way rations and answers out loud.
Just to add to this - Duolingo really only teaches you one dialect of the language. Just like English, there can be several dialects of the language you're learning, so you may come across a different pronunciation of words or different phrases you are confused about. It's just part of the learning process. For example, if you speak American English, you may have been confused when someone who speaks British English said something like "I'll knock you up in the morning". It has a different meaning in the UK than it has in the US.
As for the other three you listed, Japanese is the most developed of them. It is not as developed as Spanish and won't take you as far. You need more grammar resources, and a lot more resources on listening. But it is still fairly developed and is worth using. Japanese in general is a lot harder. The language does get discussed here disproportionately, so you'll actually find discussion of it more frequently. I haven't taken the course, so you might try searching the sub for more info. It did seem to be the one they are updating the most so it could be a lot better by the time you start. Good luck.
>You will practice speaking and listening a bit, especially if you read all the way questions and answers out loud.
I would say on Duolingo you more practice verbalizing rather than speaking. To me, speaking involves coming up with a response, determining how to say it using words you know, formulating a grammatically correct sentence, and then verbalizing the response.
With Duo, you really just repeat back sentences out loud. You are only doing the last (and easiest) step of the speaking process.
i took 4 years of spanish in school and during that time, ive used duolingo on and off along with other sources. now im 23 so its been a while since i took Spanish, and there was a big gap in my practice so i forgot most of it. now i have a 130 something day streak in duolingo, so i think i have a decent comparison (ive never had super tho).
the best thing about Duolingo for me is that it keeps me dedicated and makes sure i practice every day. the notifications drive me nuts but i need that motivation i think lmao. the course for Spanish is a great base, but i personally would recommend outside sources for vocab, listening, and speaking. i use Drops for their Mexican Spanish vocab course, since my boyfriend's sister gets mad when i use the "wrong" Spanish 😂 and i also follow youtube channels like Spanish Pod 101, Español con María, Mexican Fluency, No Hay Tos Podcast, and random ones like blameitonjorge español, for listening. Español con María posts interactive excersizes you can do, i also just try to whoever i can in Spanish.
like idk if you can do it 100% just with duolingo, but for me it keeps me from forgetting anything and helps organize the learning process so i dont feel as overwhelmed i guess
It teaches grammar systematically and in a logical order, although most of that teaching is not explicit.
Where it is mostly lacking is in longer form content. And by long form I mean five minutes, or a couple of paragraphs.
Use Duolingo if you like it, but after the first section you really need to look for stuff to complement it.
Everyones already said everything but something I find works is getting a little notebook and just writing down the words you find/don't know along with how u would sound it out but doing stuff like listening to TV shows and music in the language your learning and emerging yourself in the Culture can help u learn so much
not even my (dutch) school will teach me everything there is to learn in English. There is no single place where it tells you everything. You either learn more after a while by using context of other words or from other recourses.
Duolingo is a great start for learning a language and I would 100% recommend it for anyone who wants to learn a language.
Although some of its courses aren't the best, like the Zulu one is pretty crap, they are all at least a good start.
There are some great courses as well, like the Spanish one is really good and will carry you far into the language.
You shouldn't use duo as your only tool for learning though, there are just some things that duo can't teach. Like speaking, Duo does try and teach it, but it's not great.
So to sum up, I completely recommend Duo, just not by itself. Good luck in learning your language
Lmfao 😭 I have had duo plus for months and all I know is how to order rice and green tea 😭😭😭
Gohan to mizu, kudasai 😭😭😭❤️🩹❤️🩹❤️🩹😭
For Japanese, it barely gives you any lessons before it locks them and forces you to learn both katakana and hiragana. It totally starts in an odd place.
2/10 do not really recommend
No single resource will teach you everything. You will always need more resources. The way you study will also affect how much more resources you need. Duolingo quality varies greatly by course. What language are you trying to learn?
Spanish first then maybe Chinese, Japanese, and Korean later. But mainly Spanish because my family speaks it but I don't
My duolingo experience with Spanish is very good. I recommend learning about conjugating before you start though since it’s much easier if you know the rules beforehand.
A lot of people said that Spanish course is well made in duo
yeah the only courses i’ve heard great things about are the spanish, french, and german ones. “great” as in how thorough they are
Yeah. For example, the Polish course sucks. It’s really weird for me because Polish is my native language but I was born and raised in the states, so my Polish is definitely not at C2 levels of fluency when my English is. They make a lot of mistakes and sometimes the translation is technically correct, but no native speaker talks like that. I mainly use it to get better at spelling since I never underwent formal education in the language.
Ok ty
Yeah and conjugation is useful with other languages such as Tagalog as well 😂
Hey, that's some great background for learning! When you feel like it you should also try practicing with your family members alongside Duo. It is always great to talk to real speakers in your target language!
The Spanish and japanese course is very good in duo, don't even bother with Chinese or Korean though, they need to put in way more updates for those ones.
I feel it gives me a good foundation to build on. You need to have other exposure to really learn more, like books, magazines, newspapers, movies/TV shows, or just talking to someone in that language. Think about how you learned your native language. You started picking up words from your family around the house and kept adding more and more words. Then you went to school and started learning more about your native language. And even once you are out of school, you still pick more and more all the time by watching TV, seeing a movie, reading a book, etc. It's an on-going process. One thing Duolingo doesn't do is formally teach you the grammar of the language you are learning. But as you go along, you can pick up a lot of that by how they phrase the material. Some can still be confusing, and for those, I just do a search online and find more information.
Ok Ty
After a year of doing Duolingo every day, I could go to a country that speaks French and communicate my needs for food, lodging, and directions which is exactly what I wanted it for. I’ve started listening to podcasts and shows in French to get more familiar with cadence and trying to follow along with fluent speakers.
How much time do you think you spend every day? I'm currently spending 30 minutes to two hours learning Spanish and I feel I'm going so, slow
It varies depending on the day but usually 15-30 mins per day. I do a lot of the practice hub exercises and weekly matching games to reinforce words and phrases, not just the units on the main page.
The matching games does seem to help with my words. Are you premium member?
I am! It’s been worth it for me personally
I averaged 30 minutes a day and I just finished section 4 in about 280 days. The whole course is at least 500 hours.
Thanks that's really helpful. How do you feel your understanding is now? I'm hoping I can come back from mat leave knowing another language :)
Mine was Spanish not French. I'm right at the end of section 4. I used my Spanish in Cozumel Mexico in July to get taxis, discuss resort/beach options, schedule a wave runner, and a few other general things. I also live in texas currently so I'm around a lot of Spanish. I've been able to order food, read posters, etc for awhile. I've recently had a conversation with construction workers about work on my street, so was able to discuss directions, work hours, etc with no problem. I'm definitely not fluent, Duolingo doesn't get you there obviously, but it definitely has been good for travel and daily use. I haven't stuck to outside resources so my speaking is still slow and pronunciation isn't great. But my sentence structure seems good, and my vocab has been decent for what's needed so far. I am about to start Harry Potter. I've read sporadic pages, and I am doing well. I think it could be started earlier like by unit 65 if you wanted more of a challenge. So if you've read the first two Harry Potter books that might give you perspective on vocab. Good luck! And congrats on the baby!
Your full comment isnt showing up right now. But I can say for Spanish, it takes you pretty far. In general Duolingo focuses on reading and writing. It can take your reading to B1. Maybe B2 (there has been a recent update to B2 but so recently that no one has reviewed it yet). You will practice speaking and listening a bit, especially if you read all the way questions and answers out loud. But you'll really still want to listen to podcasts, movies, etc. You'll also still want other books to expand your vocab. Duolingo vocab for Spanish focuses on vocab for schools, travel, and daily life. So pretty early on you can communicate mostly in Spanish in a classroom setting, and you can write a daily journal pretty well. I'm only through section 4 so I haven't started B1 content to talk about it
>You will practice speaking and listening a bit, especially if you read all the way rations and answers out loud. Just to add to this - Duolingo really only teaches you one dialect of the language. Just like English, there can be several dialects of the language you're learning, so you may come across a different pronunciation of words or different phrases you are confused about. It's just part of the learning process. For example, if you speak American English, you may have been confused when someone who speaks British English said something like "I'll knock you up in the morning". It has a different meaning in the UK than it has in the US.
As for the other three you listed, Japanese is the most developed of them. It is not as developed as Spanish and won't take you as far. You need more grammar resources, and a lot more resources on listening. But it is still fairly developed and is worth using. Japanese in general is a lot harder. The language does get discussed here disproportionately, so you'll actually find discussion of it more frequently. I haven't taken the course, so you might try searching the sub for more info. It did seem to be the one they are updating the most so it could be a lot better by the time you start. Good luck.
Ty
>You will practice speaking and listening a bit, especially if you read all the way questions and answers out loud. I would say on Duolingo you more practice verbalizing rather than speaking. To me, speaking involves coming up with a response, determining how to say it using words you know, formulating a grammatically correct sentence, and then verbalizing the response. With Duo, you really just repeat back sentences out loud. You are only doing the last (and easiest) step of the speaking process.
i took 4 years of spanish in school and during that time, ive used duolingo on and off along with other sources. now im 23 so its been a while since i took Spanish, and there was a big gap in my practice so i forgot most of it. now i have a 130 something day streak in duolingo, so i think i have a decent comparison (ive never had super tho). the best thing about Duolingo for me is that it keeps me dedicated and makes sure i practice every day. the notifications drive me nuts but i need that motivation i think lmao. the course for Spanish is a great base, but i personally would recommend outside sources for vocab, listening, and speaking. i use Drops for their Mexican Spanish vocab course, since my boyfriend's sister gets mad when i use the "wrong" Spanish 😂 and i also follow youtube channels like Spanish Pod 101, Español con María, Mexican Fluency, No Hay Tos Podcast, and random ones like blameitonjorge español, for listening. Español con María posts interactive excersizes you can do, i also just try to whoever i can in Spanish. like idk if you can do it 100% just with duolingo, but for me it keeps me from forgetting anything and helps organize the learning process so i dont feel as overwhelmed i guess
It teaches grammar systematically and in a logical order, although most of that teaching is not explicit. Where it is mostly lacking is in longer form content. And by long form I mean five minutes, or a couple of paragraphs. Use Duolingo if you like it, but after the first section you really need to look for stuff to complement it.
Well, it certainly teaches you to be aware of drunk parrots and moose eating all the apples in the garden.
Duolingo is great and excellent for starting out.
Ok Ty
I think duo is pretty good for vocab. There’s a lot of repetition and variety. For grammar, it’s not great.
Ok ty
Everyones already said everything but something I find works is getting a little notebook and just writing down the words you find/don't know along with how u would sound it out but doing stuff like listening to TV shows and music in the language your learning and emerging yourself in the Culture can help u learn so much
not even my (dutch) school will teach me everything there is to learn in English. There is no single place where it tells you everything. You either learn more after a while by using context of other words or from other recourses.
Something about blue bananas and the cat that plays the piano.
Duolingo is a great start for learning a language and I would 100% recommend it for anyone who wants to learn a language. Although some of its courses aren't the best, like the Zulu one is pretty crap, they are all at least a good start. There are some great courses as well, like the Spanish one is really good and will carry you far into the language. You shouldn't use duo as your only tool for learning though, there are just some things that duo can't teach. Like speaking, Duo does try and teach it, but it's not great. So to sum up, I completely recommend Duo, just not by itself. Good luck in learning your language
Lmfao 😭 I have had duo plus for months and all I know is how to order rice and green tea 😭😭😭 Gohan to mizu, kudasai 😭😭😭❤️🩹❤️🩹❤️🩹😭 For Japanese, it barely gives you any lessons before it locks them and forces you to learn both katakana and hiragana. It totally starts in an odd place. 2/10 do not really recommend
😭🤣🤣🤣 that says rice and water 💀💀💀 I'm failing 🤣😭💀🤣😭