Other Is there anybody else using Duolingo?

[Larry]

I thought I'd give it a go there a few weeks ago, and I'm having a great time with it!

I've been learning Irish again, for obvious enough reasons, and I'm glad to say that I'm coming across things I didn't when I was in school, though that was moreso down to me being poor with it.

So for those of you who are using it, what languages have you been studying, for how long and how would you rate your proficiency with your studied language after downloading the app?

I'm looking forward to what ye have to say!

 

[Rubix]

I love how Duolingo gamifies language learning!

I use it mostly to learn Russian actually. I’m a complete beginner, given that English is my native tongue, and have been only using it for a few months. I’m not so sure about the grammar lessons, but it’s a lot of fun to practice and learn vocabulary.

 

[Larry]

Russian sounds like it must be quite difficult!

With Irish, it's a matter of revision but even then, I wasn't that good at it in school so I'm coming across stuff I didn't know then.

 

[SillyString]

I've been using duolingo to learn French. Though admittedly, I haven't been using it as much as I want to.

 

[Wilder28]

I've been using duolingo to learn French. Though admittedly, I haven't been using it as much as I want to.

Ayy French gang!

I've been using Duolingo for over three years now, alternating between Spanish, French, Italian, German, and Latin. My focus has been on the last two as of late, though, just because I've been trying to keep them all at a relatively equal level, and Spanish and French just happen to have a lot more content than the others lmao. It's been pretty nice though! I'm not by any means fluent in most of these, but it's been a help.

 

[peritwinkle]

I'm trying to learn Spanish but to be fair I can learn it at a much faster rate through Spanish tv shows

 

[toriable2016]

I have used Duolingo to practice my Japanese and to learn Spanish. I think it's an okay learning platform, but it's most beneficial for practice and for acquiring vocabulary. I find it often not great for grammar/reading. I use it as a supplement to my regular language learning routine.

 

[TaperedNightjar]

Do any of you all know if it offers Canadian French?
My family is French Canadian American but my dad wasn't taught how to speak it as a kid because it wasn't safe for the family. As a result my siblings and I never learned it either and I have been wanting to.

 

[Jannah]

Do any of you all know if it offers Canadian French?
My family is French Canadian American but my dad wasn't taught how to speak it as a kid because it wasn't safe for the family. As a result my siblings and I never learned it either and I have been wanting to.

There's French, but not the Canadian dialect specifically. However, French Canadians can still understand standard French. The main differences are in region-specific slang and such.

 

[TaperedNightjar]

There's French, but not the Canadian dialect specifically. However, French Canadians can still understand standard French. The main differences are in region-specific slang and such.

Thanks for the info! I don’t know much about it and what I do know is from looking around on the internet or what little my grandparents told me. I know my gram said she took French in school but wasn’t really able to communicate with my grandfather’s family very well. She said my great aunts had to translate for her

I can’t remember the specifics of how they spoke, but I believe they were living in the part of Maine that borders New Brunswick. Or it could have also been Quebec.

 

[Jannah]

Thanks for the info! I don’t know much about it and what I do know is from looking around on the internet or what little my grandparents told me. I know my gram said she took French in school but wasn’t really able to communicate with my grandfather’s family very well. She said my great aunts had to translate for her

I can’t remember the specifics of how they spoke, but I believe they were living in the part of Maine that borders New Brunswick.

Ah, Acadian French. I assumed you meant Quebecois. Yea, there's definitely some more distinct differences in Acadian French from what I understand. I'm Canadian myself (not French Canadian) so I have a bit of knowledge on this subject. Perhaps an apt comparison here would be standard (high) German vs. Swiss German.

 

[TaperedNightjar]

I believe Quebecois is what they have mentioned in the past, thank you! The comparison is also helpful.

 

[Jannah]

I believe Quebecois is what they have mentioned in the past, thank you! The comparison is also helpful.

Honestly, I would just advise using the French course on Duolingo as a starting point to get into the language. It will cover the basics you need to communicate so if you want to get into specific dialects then I'd say wait on that. Learn the basics of the language first.

 

[Hamlett]

I tried it in the past but didn't really feel any improvement. Though I do have friends that have claimed that it helped them in their linguistic journey.

 

[lilacwine]

I've been using it to learn Spanish on/off for the past couple of years, and it's good at teaching you the grammar if not the syntax. The nice thing about living in a high Spanish speaking area though is that so long as I'm not put off by being embarrassed while I'm learning, Duolingo gives me the necessary building blocks to go out there and actually learn Spanish through talking with other people. I've reached the point where I can have small work related conversations with customers, though I'm definitely not fluent by any definition of the word.

 

[Jannah]

I've been using it to learn Spanish on/off for the past couple of years, and it's good at teaching you the grammar if not the syntax. The nice thing about living in a high Spanish speaking area though is that so long as I'm not put off by being embarrassed while I'm learning, Duolingo gives me the necessary building blocks to go out there and actually learn Spanish through talking with other people. I've reached the point where I can have small work related conversations with customers, though I'm definitely not fluent by any definition of the word.

Works for some people for sure. For me personally it hasn't helped much. Perhaps because I lack the immersion in the languages I'm trying to learn.

 

[lilacwine]

Works for some people for sure. For me personally it hasn't helped much. Perhaps because I lack the immersion in the languages I'm trying to learn.

I think learning styles probably plays a part in it, but also I think conversation has probably helped me more than Duolingo (I wouldn't quite label what I'm doing as immersion, but I'd love to take an immersion trip some day); Duolingo really just gamifies it and makes me want to learn, but I wouldn't be learning much of use if I didn't have Spanish speaking people in my life willing to correct my mistakes.

 

[Jannah]

I think learning styles probably plays a part in it, but also I think conversation has probably helped me more than Duolingo (I wouldn't quite label what I'm doing as immersion, but I'd love to take an immersion trip some day); Duolingo really just gamifies it and makes me want to learn, but I wouldn't be learning much of use if I didn't have Spanish speaking people in my life willing to correct my mistakes.

I came across an opportunity just the other day to go learn Arabic in Qatar on scholarship. I would totally apply if I wasn't already in school here. My graduation has already been delayed due to so many factors so I just need to get through this final semester, ugh. It's a shame since I so want to learn Arabic and what better way is there than through actual immersion?

 

[lilacwine]

I came across an opportunity just the other day to go learn Arabic in Qatar on scholarship. I would totally apply if I wasn't already in school here. My graduation has already been delayed due to so many factors so I just need to get through this final semester, ugh. It's a shame since I so want to learn Arabic and what better way is there than through actual immersion?

Dang that sounds really cool, and it's on scholarship too so I can see why you're so tempted! You'll probably be grateful later on that you just focused on getting your degree, but you should definitely keep looking for opportunities in the future if you don't plan on applying to this one.

 

[Chroma Doll]

I've been learning Welsh! I've reached my 2-week streak yesterday

 

[ThAtGuY101]

German, japanese, and chinese.

Why?

- german is a funny language. I like it. Das ist gut, and stuff!

- I practice Okinawan goju Ryu. Goju Ryu is technically not Japanese karate. Long story. Thet still use Japanese as the language. We speak English predominantly but forms and terms are spoken I'm Japanese. If someone is leading class they will use Japanese terms. I'd like ty o learn the language in its entirety one day.

- I also practice Chinese martial arts. Kung fu stuff which consists of various styles like xing yi, bagua, tai chi, northern shaolin, seven star praying mantis and son much more. I don't practice most of them but I know a lot of people that do and they mostly specialize in different stuff. Very neat to see. Some of them speak chinese. I have mostly given up on this. Japanese is hard but chinese feels harder. I still wanna learn it so I might pick it up again.