• RedLink@lemmygrad.ml
    3·
    9 hours ago

    If anyone here uses duolingo for learning I promise you literally Anki flashcards are better (and thats not perfect for learning a language) Duolingo practices memorization of phrases more than actual spoken language. Its for rich tourists who need to pack in a couple phrases.

    I took duolingo for 5 years to learn spanish and I couldn’t understand anything spoken to me or really read that much at all. But I created my own study method based on how we ACTUALLY learn languages and I learned japanese in a year. OFC im not perfect at japanese but im like B1~B2 area. I’ve even started discussing marxism with my japanese friends.

    Just use Anki for studying individual words, learn grammar through free resources, and LISTEN,READ, WRITE, AND SPEAK the language for the love of god. Find books in the target language for kids, find friends who are also learning or better yet, who are natives in the target language.

    Duolingo is a massive massive massive waste of time. It’s tricking you with the “gamifying” mechanics. Opiod of the masses is a satisfying ding and bright colors sdgdfasfgsfdgasdfsgsdfgsdgfsdf.

    No but seriously, it’s way easier than it seems to learn a language. ESP now with the internet.

  • RamenJunkie@midwest.socialEnglish
    16·
    21 hours ago

    I habe used Duolingo for many years now, huge streak, but god its just gotten worse with the stupid gamey gatekeeping that punishes mistakes.

    News flash Duo, failing and fixing mistakes, is part of learning languages.

    Now its just “Oh I ran out of energy because I spelled it wrong too many times, guess I will hope I learn tomorrow.”

  • jackmaoist [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
    32·
    1 day ago

    Duolingo was never worth anywhere near 25 billion lol. It was just a pyramid scheme to transfer cash from the poorer shareholders so the richer shareholders could have a good exit.

    Duolingo has basically been a shitty mobile game since the forums were deleted and they really really enshittified even more in the last 2 years.

    • jack [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
      3·
      11 hours ago

      I remember when it started, a key part of the business model was the users would do translation work to hone their skills and the app would get paid. AI ultimately destroyed all sides of the company.

    • joaomarrom [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
      18·
      22 hours ago

      Duolingo has basically been a shitty mobile game since the forums were deleted and they really really enshittified even more in the last 2 years.

      Wait, their forums were deleted? I remember doing their German course like a decade ago and my favorite aspect of it was always the discussion boards that went into more detail on the lesson topics. That’s insane!

      • jackmaoist [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
        6·
        15 hours ago

        That was the only good part about Duolingo. Volunteers spent thousands of hours explaining languages and grammar on the forums. Duolingo nuked all of that information.

    • Inui [comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
      9·
      1 day ago

      It really depends on the language. For Chinese, there’s HelloChinese and other apps that are significantly better and don’t use AI to develop their lessons. They do sometimes use them for silly example art.

        • Inui [comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
          2·
          12 hours ago

          Unfortunately not familiar enough with Korean and haven’t tried to learn it myself. To be honest, while trying to learn Chinese, I think apps should only be supplemental anyway to help with things like proper pronunciation and speech. Actual textbooks have been significantly better for pretty much everything else. Both China and Taiwan have government crafted textbooks that target their language exams, so if something like that exists for Korean, that’s the route I’d recommend most strongly.

          EDIT: It looks like it does exist and is called TOPIK, so there’s probably good textbooks that target those exams as a good baseline for the language.

      • RNAi [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
        3·
        22 hours ago

        Yeah the new HelloChinese course images all have the piss filter

        Then Superchinese is really into their AI chat features but they are optional (paywalled). Btw I keep sniffing misogynist vibes from the example art.

    • Bartsbigbugbag@lemmy.ml
      15·
      1 day ago

      What language are you trying to learn? It’s really pretty bad, you can complete a whole course and be unable to have basic conversations, but it’s certainly better than nothing as long as you pair it with a rigorous study and practice regimen. Or, it was, before the AI-ification of it, now half the time it’s just completely wrong.

    • RNAi [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
      3·
      21 hours ago

      I think HelloChinese was worth it at least for a year, there’s a sale now for CNY, hurry up or wait for the next festival (ie discount).

      Anyways Ankidroid is free and very good for its limitations

    • supdawg813 [comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
      7·
      1 day ago

      I found clozemaster was really helpful in grasping the flow of the language and practice recall. I will forever recommend this app. I got my grammar foundations from actual coursework though.

      Lingo legend was a cute idea, haven’t picked it up in a while so I don’t know if it’s changed but I’m pretty sure it’s free.

      Lingo deer is a pretty good clone of what Duolingo was trying to be when it first hit the scene. The app needed polishing last I used it but it definitely earned an honorable mention.

      I’ve seen Anki highly recommended. Fair warning, it’s not the most user friendly experience to a casual learner. People are snobs about building your own deck and shit but that barrier to entry is just not one I’ve been able to fully overcome, and the pre-made decks you can find were never appealing to me for one reason or another. You might have a better experience though if you’re the type that can sit down and do the required data entry.

      • zedcell@lemmygrad.ml
        6·
        1 day ago

        Making your own decks with Anki is meant to be supplementary: you read or watch something in your target language and note down a few sentences you didn’t understand, then write them up into double sided flash cards, optionally with where you got the sentence from.

        This helps build relationships between both the language and the context you saw it in to help strengthen the initial learning.

        • supdawg813 [comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
          4·
          18 hours ago

          Well sure that’s how you can get maximum benefit but personally for me it would be a lot more ideal if there were a default pathway available, or perhaps clearly defined units to pick and choose from, somewhere out there on the internet, that wasn’t just the entire dictionary of words I could possibly encounter at each level of a language. I thought Clozemaster did really well with choosing key words and phrases to practice, for example.

          If my goal is just vocabulary, I don’t really care about encountering it in media first. I just want to jump into studying. Then, at the point where I’d really need to study, it wouldn’t be realistic to stop and start media that I’m only comprehending 50% of what’s said to make a whole card about it (admittedly this is where my own ADHD comes into play as, if I just write it down, the likelihood of me remembering where it came from and circling back to enter it in the app is nil). I would also miss a lot of context and subtler parts of language doing this, further exacerbating the issue. At the point that I need less study, well, why the heck would I pick up the app to study a deck of the like 10-20 less common words or phrases that made it onto cards?

          It was also recommended to find an accompanying picture for each card which was frustrating in its own right try to find a good visual representation for everything and doing all of that entry on a mobile device.

          These are just the reasons it hasn’t worked for me, as a person that lives in constant struggle with executive function and has learned to accept that I cannot rely on my brain to automate much of anything in the background so that I can do certain tasks. Like I said, it’s a barrier to entry but by no means are these insurmountable issues to someone who is serious about learning a language.