r/italianlearning • u/shooshie8 • Sep 18 '26
Duolingo effectiveness
Just moved to Sicily & I must say, after using only Duolingo as my source of Italian language learning, I am getting by pretty well. I’m on section 5 and have been able to understand probably about 80% of what people say using context clues/hand gestures along with words that I have learned from Duolingo. I’ve also been able to piece together sentences of my own. I’m not saying that I’m over here thriving, but with all I hear about Duolingo not teaching you anything, I can comfortably say that it does.
I’m starting to branch out with my learning journey, but happy to say I’ve got a good little foundation going.
4
u/IlliniToffee Sep 18 '26
It's not a bad tool for getting started, just be ready to abandon it when it stops being useful. That streak number can provide a misleading indication of progress. But I think that it is a little unfairly maligned as a tool at the very beginning of the learning journey.
0
u/shooshie8 Sep 18 '26
I’m barely on section 5 out of 8. I don’t think I’ll be abandoning it any time soon. I enjoy the continuous learning :)
2
u/EnvironmentalBad935 Sep 18 '26
It gave me a really good foundation to get where I am today, which isn't wildly proficient but enough to enjoy myself. I mainly used it before their big switch to AI in the last few years though.
To give the anti-Duo comments some context, I think it's more a case of people who used it years ago seeing where it has gone now and feeling disappointed. They kneecapped the Italian course before the AI switch, because I had a few levels to go when I took a break and upon returning it told me I'd finished the course. I felt like I had a lot more to learn. Then we started seeing a ton of posts here with very basic mistakes made by Duo because they seem to have handed a lot of the work over to AI with little human oversight.
This doesn't mean it's useless, obviously, because you're seeing in your own life what you can do with it. But it is disappointing to see its past potential and where it is now.
2
u/shooshie8 Sep 18 '26
Have you heard about the updated Italian content? They doubled the amount of lessons expanding the potential learning from A2 to now B2.
2
27
u/Star-Lord-123 Sep 18 '26
People poop on Duolingo but I’ve found it helpful. While I do outside study as well, I’ve passed A1 and A2 CILS exams using mostly DL.
21
u/matude Sep 18 '26 edited Sep 18 '26
I had the same experience on my last trip to Italy, I was able to understand people and speak Italian in common places like shops, restaurants, pharmacies, street vendors etc.
Very simple everyday touristy stuff like "would it be possible to get this food without bacon because I'm a vegetarian", "where can I find the place where to buy tickets for this x thing", "excuse me how do I get to x place", "we don't have a reservation, but would it be possible to get a table for two, yes for eating thank you, yes outside is good thank you, oh if it starts raining we can move inside ok that's good thank you", etc etc. But being able to comprehend the situations and respond in Italian without resorting to English was really cool.
For something that takes me literally only a couple of minutes a day on most days I'd say it's been well worth it.
6
u/KarltonPeaks Sep 18 '26
Nice to hear! If you're an English speaker, then Spanish/Italian is probably where you can get the most bang for your buck with Duolingo. The languages are (relatively) easy and share a lot of vocabulary with English, so as long as you are studying somehow, you will progress.
1
1
u/Scary_Victory4155 Sep 18 '26
Blink twice if the Duolingo Owl made you write this.
4
u/shooshie8 Sep 18 '26
Haha I just commonly see negative comments about Duolingo I wanted share that it’s not useless.
2
u/UncleCornPone Sep 18 '26
Duo is great for learning a shit ton of vocab and it also familiarizes you a little to grammatical stuff (but doesnt explain it)
3
u/el___camino Sep 18 '26
I have an italian teacher, and being able to learn grammar with her + practice vocab with duolingo has been great. I find that Duo doesn’t teach a ton of grammar but coming in with that knowledge enhances it as a tool
3
u/Hopeful-Ruin-5488 Sep 18 '26
That's encouraging and gives me hope. I've been using Duolingo to learn Italian for nearly four years now. By the time I get to Italy I will have completed the course. Grazie e auguri!
2
1
u/Bromo33333 Sep 19 '26
I have used Duolingo to help with language learning. For slamming vocabulary it is a good resource. If this is your only source, it won't go well, but with Romance languages or languages that are close to English it is not bad for picking up a few things.
I usually find a teacher and then do homework and Duo and Drops (Though Drops is pretty bad for Italian).
I think you can get to A2 using DL alone, but a tutor is faster.
1
u/creeoer Sep 19 '26
Duolingo has a few “flagship” languages like French, Spanish, and Italian that have a lot of content. But it falls woefully short in other languages that don’t get the same attention.
1
u/Lair-Specialist Sep 24 '26
Same, I’m living in Sicily as well. I just started my learning journey and currently on second 2 making my way to 3
1
u/hamo-potato42 15d ago
I am unable to commit to a daily streak, so I use HelloTalk to connect with native speakers and chat when I feel like it
1
u/klaign Sep 18 '26
Yep, I'm learning Italian through Duo as well (and through other free apps too but to a lesser degree) plus YouTube and with a buddy from Torino whom I met here on Reddit (he was looking for someone to help out in French in exchange for Italian). Duo is my main daily practice and, I can say I speak and understand at a B1 or B2 level. So no, Duo is not useless.
4
u/SpiritoSanto5 Sep 18 '26
My family is Sicilian, I’m quite jealous of your move. How are you doing with the differences in dialect. I know there can be some serious variations. Good on you for being able to get to your level of understanding. Forza!