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Duolingo: The Antithesis to the Bazaar

nibnalin.me

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Re: Duolingo: The Antithesis to the Bazaar

#11

Post by rubenbe »

emptysongglass wrote: post #9

To continue dumping on Duolingo: we had one guy join our D&D group intended to improve our target language (so all interaction at the gaming table in target language) who swore he had done two years of Duolingo and was well prepared. Couldn't speak a lick of the language so it was only English from them the whole campaign. Want to learn a language? Please don't do it with Duolingo.

I tend to agree.

I've been using Duolingo for almost 2 years now. It has learned me to understand the language a bit.

But don't ask me to build a proper sentence myself. I'm utterly lost in that case, because it doesn't teach you having a real conversation. That includes even the most simple real life things like ordering at a restaurant and then complain that your food is cold.

Re: Duolingo: The Antithesis to the Bazaar

#12

Post by Barrin92 »

emptysongglass wrote: post #9

To continue dumping on Duolingo: we had one guy join our D&D group intended to improve our target language (so all interaction at the gaming table in target language) who swore he had done two years of Duolingo and was well prepared. Couldn't speak a lick of the language so it was only English from them the whole campaign. Want to learn a language? Please don't do it with Duolingo.

To me learning languages through apps always seemed like learning to swim by reading a textbook. There is too much tacit knowledge in language acquisition, it really only works through real immersion in the culture and people who speak it.

Re: Duolingo: The Antithesis to the Bazaar

#13

Post by [deleted] »

shimonabi wrote: post #2

As a former daily user for about 2 years I feel that Duolingo's mission has increasingly changed to maximize the time spent on the platform doing pointless tasks, when your goal should really be to minimize your learning time when learning a language.

[deleted]

Re: Duolingo: The Antithesis to the Bazaar

#14

Post by blodkorv »

emptysongglass wrote: post #9

To continue dumping on Duolingo: we had one guy join our D&D group intended to improve our target language (so all interaction at the gaming table in target language) who swore he had done two years of Duolingo and was well prepared. Couldn't speak a lick of the language so it was only English from them the whole campaign. Want to learn a language? Please don't do it with Duolingo.

Duolingo can be a good compliment for regular language study.

Re: Duolingo: The Antithesis to the Bazaar

#15

Post by emptysongglass »

blodkorv wrote: post #14
emptysongglass wrote: post #9

To continue dumping on Duolingo: we had one guy join our D&D group intended to improve our target language (so all interaction at the gaming table in target language) who swore he had done two years of Duolingo and was well prepared. Couldn't speak a lick of the language so it was only English from them the whole campaign. Want to learn a language? Please don't do it with Duolingo.

Duolingo can be a good compliment for regular language study.

The number one complement to regular language study is flashcards you make yourself not the, "bears party on the dance floor," style sentences Duolingo offers.

Re: Duolingo: The Antithesis to the Bazaar

#16

Post by uniqueid »

x0x0 wrote: post #3
shimonabi wrote: post #2

As a former daily user for about 2 years I feel that Duolingo's mission has increasingly changed to maximize the time spent on the platform doing pointless tasks, when your goal should really be to minimize your learning time when learning a language.

What makes you say that? I think a more fair complaint is the content is very mediocre. Don't get me wrong, it's free, so it's hard to complain. But if you attempt to learn a language, Duo has two big flaws. First, the content is regularly not quite right. Taking Spanish to English as an example, at the higher levels where you translate phrases, it regularly insists on English translations that no native speaker woul…

  > Duolingo's mission [...] to maximize the time spent on the platform doing pointless tasks

  >> What makes you say that?
A clear example is the design of Duolingo's word palette.

Anyone who wanted to optimize quizzes for language-learning would alphabetize the palette, but Duolingo present words in a jumble: learners have to play 'Where's Waldo'.

By creating useless busy-work, such a design provides the illusion of language-learning. There are many other examples (eg: how effective are Duolingo's ubiquitous 'Type what you hear' exercises really?) but the word-palette design is particularly glaring.

Re: Duolingo: The Antithesis to the Bazaar

#17

Post by [deleted] »

Izkata wrote: post #5
x0x0 wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What makes you say that? I think a more fair complaint is the content is very mediocre. Don't get me wrong, it's free, so it's hard to complain. But if you attempt to learn a language, Duo has two big flaws. First, the content is regularly not quite right. Taking Spanish to English as an example, at the higher levels where you translate phrases, it regularly insists on English translations that no native speaker woul…

They've recently added gamification tasks to rapidly increase your daily score by repeatedly rehashing things you've already learned, pushing you towards staying in the same place instead of moving on to new lessons. I find the popups and bubbles that push you towards those annoying and have been using the app less because of it.

[deleted]

Re: Duolingo: The Antithesis to the Bazaar

#18

Post by sleepysysadmin »

emptysongglass wrote: post #9

To continue dumping on Duolingo: we had one guy join our D&D group intended to improve our target language (so all interaction at the gaming table in target language) who swore he had done two years of Duolingo and was well prepared. Couldn't speak a lick of the language so it was only English from them the whole campaign. Want to learn a language? Please don't do it with Duolingo.

I had ~500 day streak on duolingo for french. Sometimes just 1 lesson a day, often more. I got a french book of various names, animals, things, etc. I knew nothing. I thought I'd know a good chunk.

I tested myself and I knew nothing. Duolingo is trash.

>Want to learn a language? Please don't do it with Duolingo.

But then what should you use?

Re: Duolingo: The Antithesis to the Bazaar

#19

Post by Mordisquitos »

throwawaysea wrote: post #10

How many people actually use Duolingo in real life for serious language learning? I’ve met people who sue Rosetta, Babbel, Pimsleur, etc. But Duolingo seems like something people try out as a hobby or distraction more so than a commitment.

> I’ve met people who sue Rosetta, Babbel, Pimsleur, etc.

For a second my mind processed that typo as "damn, people really hate Rosetta!"

Re: Duolingo: The Antithesis to the Bazaar

#20

Post by jimijazz »

sleepysysadmin wrote: post #18
emptysongglass wrote: post #9

To continue dumping on Duolingo: we had one guy join our D&D group intended to improve our target language (so all interaction at the gaming table in target language) who swore he had done two years of Duolingo and was well prepared. Couldn't speak a lick of the language so it was only English from them the whole campaign. Want to learn a language? Please don't do it with Duolingo.

I had ~500 day streak on duolingo for french. Sometimes just 1 lesson a day, often more. I got a french book of various names, animals, things, etc. I knew nothing. I thought I'd know a good chunk. I tested myself and I knew nothing. Duolingo is trash. >Want to learn a language? Please don't do it with Duolingo. But then what should you use?

Babble helped me quite a bit with my french
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