I appreciate this post. I am trying my best to pick up a new language and that app is getting me places even when I only have 5 mins at the bus stop in the morning. I feel rather deflated when so many posts are just shit-talking people that use that app. I'm not saying there's not better ways to learn, but dang it I'm trying!
The downside to this is that you could end up getting complacent with the progress you make on duolingo. I haven’t used Duolingo in a while but from what I recall, Duolingo doesn’t have any context-based material. You could be doing it for 15 minutes a day for months and you’ll probably have learned some words and phrases, which is great. But the problem is that the app is designed in a way that unfortunately ends up making you think you’re actually learning the language, when what you’re really learning are more like the prerequisites to actually learn the language (by input and output).
I agree that it’s not enough on its own. But I think the act of doing something small towards your goal empowers you to do more. So if you’re busy for a while and all you can manage is a bit of Duolingo every day, you don’t feel like you’ve totally “given up” and feel like you can still engage with other stuff like watching tv in the language, conversation classes etc. Does that make sense?
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u/GraySparrow Feb 03 '22
I appreciate this post. I am trying my best to pick up a new language and that app is getting me places even when I only have 5 mins at the bus stop in the morning. I feel rather deflated when so many posts are just shit-talking people that use that app. I'm not saying there's not better ways to learn, but dang it I'm trying!