Post: #1

What is it: A free online service that has "gamified" language learning, while simultaneously incorporating all the principles of optimal learning, to get you learning a language quickly and with alot of fun.

http://www.duolingo.com

It was actually presented at TED, because if you do the extra translation exercises, you can also simultaneously help translate the web. That part isnt so well developed yet though, and the programmed exercises are complete without the web translation part.

Anyway Im LOVING this now. Been doing Spanish for a week, between 10 - 40mins a day. Its nothing like hard work and your brain really seems to effortlessly "get" the language.

Im sure its not perfect and you wont be fluent after 3 months of it. But it feels like it's giving me a solid base. I've been doing Spanish now for a week, and most of the present-tense verb conjugations have sunk in, as have questions, possessives and other basics, along with a couple hundred words of vocab.

The exercises are mix of listening, production (english --> target language) and comprehension, and the practice sessions used spaced repetition to determine which words you most need to practice to embed them further into your memory.. it really is genius.

What's amazing is how FUN it is... you gotta try it. they have really "gamified" it well, and it's free.

Currently they have Spanish, German and French. I think they're gonna be adding Portuguese and Mandarin sometime soon.

For me this is the shaping up to be a great tool for really absorbing a base of grammar and vocab. Check it out!

Post: #2

Very cool, thanks for the tip. Great way to get started.

Post: #3

I know it since it was released, didn't suggest it here, as I haven't used it a lot, it has its flaws.What's your experience?

Post: #4

muchas gracias

Post: #5

Seems cool...wish they had Portuguese. :/

Post: #6

(09-24-2012 11:34 AM)Berliner Wrote:  I know it since it was released, didn't suggest it here, as I haven't used it a lot, it has its flaws.What's your experience?

See my OP! In short: Used it a week, learned a surprising amount. very smooth "effort" gradient such that it never feels like hard work. Impressed with the way it's based on work in optimal language acquisition - which I feel shows up in the way Im "acquiring" grammar and not having to consciously memorise rules. And... it's fun

I'll add that it is incomplete - I cant see myself getting conversational in Spanish with JUST this. I expect I'll need alot of exposure to native conversation, and alot of sustained speaking attempts for that.

BUT it feels like it will be a great base builder for the first couple thousand words and grammar acquisition.

Post: #7

Thanks man. I've been looking all over the Internet for good, free language learning software.

The best part is that it's like a game. I've used rosetta stone before and I really don't care for it.

Post: #8

Always happy to learn about new language learning software and websites since I have a "throw everything at the wall and see what sticks" approach to language learning.

This looks very cool. Thanks for posting.

Post: #9

Great find. I have been using the software for about a week. The social aspect is the best part about the software. Really easy to use. The skill tree aspect reminds me of a video game.

Post: #10

Great tool, I'm using it to learn Portuguese and it works. Agora eu já posso falar um pouco, contudo nao é tao fácil como espanhol. Thanks for the recommendation.

Post: #11

Has anyone completed a full course yet? I've gone through the first 10 lessons of Spanish (out of maybe 65 total) and am enjoying it tremendously so far. That said, it seems like at this pace, I will accomplish about what I would in a 2 semester College Level 1 course. Nothing to complain about for sure, but just wondering where the full Duolingo course will take me.

Post: #12

Great find. Thanks, man!

Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.

Napoleon Hill

Post: #13

My favorite learning "tool" is looking up how the conversation is made and just go out balls-to-the-wall style to speak with a native speaker, armed with as little as I can speak, even if I make a fool out of myself. Has worked wonders for me so far!

Post: #14

I don't think anyone should use DuoLingo as a primary language learning source as it is too incomplete of a program (and some mandatory lessons piss me off as being useless, wasting my time, or not where it would fit for my goals). On the other hand, however, I love using DuoLingo as a passive learning source. If I want to double task while I'm eating or I want to stimulate the brain before sleeping, I'll go through a couple lessons or quizzes. You can truly not concentrate and still get some benefit in this respect.

Post: #15

Thanks for posting man, looks cool

Post: #16

After using this for a while, I can say that it's definitely not a primary learning tool, but it's a good thing to use when you're bored or you have a bit of spare time.

It helps reinforce some of the more basic shit you should already know.

Post: #17

This is for anyone who finds it helpful. That said, I'm writing it more for people like me..."middle-class white boys" as Thomas Rhett says. Kidding...you can be black or Indian, upper or lower class, or whatever. I just read a lot of posts from ppl who are well traveled and far more rounded than me, and in my mind I read it and go "yeah, but he started traveling when he was 16" or some other excuse. So this is to let people like me know that I'm just your normal boring midwestern country white kid. Small farm town, state university, to Disney 2x as a kid, a couple road trips to FL or Myrtle Beach in college, Cancun once. Then at age 28 I took the red pill. I'm still working a job I hate, and I want to travel the world. So if any of that is you, indulge.

I've been learning Spanish for just over 3 months now since downloading Duolingo. It's an awesome app, a must have, but yes, needs supplementing. I also use Memrise and StudySpanish.com, and italki. They all teach you in different ways:

Duolingo is more grammar oriented. This is where it all began, and though it gets annoying when you keep screwing up little things and can't finish the lesson, you do learn from all these failures. It can be frustrating when you have to review the 7 phrases you know just to get to the 3 you keep messing up, but still a great app. It's even better on the computer as it is somewhat type-intensive, and you can go through the sentences faster.

Memrise is more phrases and repetition (also it's "mexican spanish", which is what I want to learn). If you have 30 seconds, you have time for a quick memrise lesson. It's also less type-intensive than Duolingo, making it a better app IMHO...and better than Memrise on the computer. When I take a shit, a Duolingo lesson was normally a bit too long. Memrise is perfect. Downside (or upside maybe?)...they don't teach you the verb, they teach you the phrase. For instance, they teach the phrase "¿a quién debería dárselo?" = "Who should I give it to?". This is pretty serious verb conjugations. deberia is conditional form of deber and darselo...I don't even know what conjugation of dar that is.

StudySpanish is a great resource for questions and to learn *why* a sentence or phrase is worded a certain way. It's like a textbook...like the most concise but well stated textbook you've ever had.

italki allows you to take lessons from teachers via skype around the globe for as low as $3 / hour (teacher charges whatever he/she can get). I've done a few of these sessions and need to do more. Besides the obvious advantage of actually *speaking* the language to become conversational, this also gives you a boost and gets you excited to learn more.

And of course...I have a "girlfriend" in Mexico I FB chat with occasionally and skype maybe once a month. I met her last fall on a vacation in Cabo (the only other travel I did besides that mentioned above).

To me the biggest advantage to speaking to someone (italki or girlfriend) is getting you and keeping you back on the wagon. I never talk to anyone in Spanish. If that's you, you'll have lotsa moments when you want to quit or take days off. This is when you throw it in some conversations or type some notes on italki. It will get you back into it.

Post: #18

I just found a new tool for language learning from Tim Ferriss's blog...

It's a plugin for the Chrome web browser (desktop only). It "eases you into the language by translating some parts of the sites you normally read in English". So right now I am browsing RVF with some Spanish sprinkled in. I can't decide if this is a great tool, but we'll see. I suppose for me, while I don't want to have all my web pages in Spanish, it continuously reminds me that I'm trying to think more in Spanish.

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detai...hogkaggkhl

(Interesting it's called Language Immersion for Google Chrome, but I couldn't find it by search in the Chrome web store...so use the link)

Post: #19

I just saw that Duolingo has now added Ukrainian...

Still no Russian. It can't be far behind, though.

Post: #20

I know their Russian version is under production. Last I checked it would be ready by end of the year.

Out of curiosity with Ukranian, how does typing in Cyrillic work on duoLingo?

Post: #21

It just uses the Ukrainian keyboard on the iPhone. (One of the advantages of smartphones/tablets over PCs, I suppose.)

Post: #22

They've also added Turkish and some scandanavian languages recently.

Post: #23

I went through the whole French program. I load it up once a day to do two lessons to stay refreshed.

I had already taken university level French and studied abroad, so I didn't go into it blind but I've found that duo lingo is great to maintain my grasp of the language. I'm not sure how effective it is starting with zero ability in whatever language you pursue. You'd probably stumble a ton initially.

Post: #24

(07-07-2015 12:21 PM)Chunnel Wrote:  I know their Russian version is under production. Last I checked it would be ready by end of the year.

Out of curiosity with Ukranian, how does typing in Cyrillic work on duoLingo?

One thing I don't understand is why they keep releasing useless language packages like Klingon and other languages (which I won't mention) instead of focusing on releasing more important languages (like Russian or Chinese) as quick as possible?

Post: #25

Quick plug for Pimsleur audio language training. A few years back, I taught myself conversational French on my 1-hour commute just by listening and repeating after the instructor. The disks are available at most local libraries, and some even make it available as an online resource.