Use duolingo to learn a language (but not for the reasons you may think).

Is Duolingo good? Is Duolingo super worth it? 

So, Duolingo is a free language learning app that has been available for a while. With a quick Google search that I just did, I discovered that it has been around since 2011, became popular around 2014, and now has more than 500 million users. So, at this point, perhaps most people who care about learning languages already know what Duolingo is or have at least heard about it once. By now, everything there is to say about Duolingo has been covered on other websites. I couldn't possibly say anything new here, right? However, questions like "Is it worth using Duolingo to learn X languages?" still pop up frequently on popular forums such as Reddit, where people ask questions and express their opinions. 

As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I first used Duolingo several years ago to learn English. I eventually stopped using it because I found better ways to learn the language. So, if I quit using Duolingo, why am I recommending it now? The answer is simple: because it is there. Let me explain further.

After I stopped using Duolingo to study English, I discouraged people from using it for many years. I kept saying that the app was terrible, and I disliked studying with translations. I would also mention that the sentences they taught were often awkward and not always useful, especially in the beginning. I still hold some of those thoughts, and I don't believe that Duolingo is perfect by any means. However, my perspective changed when I needed to learn Norwegian to move to Norway.

I attempted to learn Norwegian the same way I learned English online for free, but I was surprised to discover that it wasn't entirely feasible. While there are still many free resources available to learn Norwegian, there are significantly fewer materials than there are for English, particularly at the A1 and A2 levels. As a B2 learner, you could probably manage without Duolingo. However, trying to learn Norwegian as a beginner for free online was so difficult that I felt compelled to install Duolingo, and I don't regret it

What I'm trying to say is that even if a language learning method isn't very efficient, if you persist with it for a while, you will still learn something. Those who are self-taught in any subject know that it takes a lot of motivation to keep going, to find better materials to study, and to find something to stick to. Duolingo is like that coworker who doesn't talk much and with whom you don't go out for drinks after work, but who is there for you when you need help. If you find a better way to learn English (and I will share my method for learning English in an upcoming post), that's great. But if you don't, just stick with Duolingo.

Does Duolingo work? How to use Duolingo? 

In recent years, Duolingo made a change to their homepage interface, switching their content from a tree-based structure to a linear path. Before, users had more freedom to choose which subject to study next, but now they must follow a predetermined linear path.

The previous method offered more freedom to learn in your own way, but the developers argued that it could be confusing for beginners, and unfortunately, I have to agree to some extent. Before, you had to put in some thought to learn more efficiently with Duolingo, but now it's become a no-brainer. That will decrease the learning potential and freedom of more experienced users, but it makes Duolingo more accessible for beginners than it was in the past. Now, you just have to play the game, and you know that when you reach that bottom tier, you will have learned something. Additionally, nothing is stopping you from supplementing your Duolingo studies with other videos and materials if you see fit. But even if you only use Duolingo, I still believe that you will learn something.

Can I learn Spanish with Duolingo?

According to Duolingo's official website, their Spanish and French courses can take users up to a B2 level (known as intermediate level) in reading and writing upon completion. This claim is supported by a study from 2020 that compared the performance of Duolingo users to that of students who took university classes for four semesters. However, it's worth noting that not all courses on Duolingo are created equal, and some may not take you as far as others. Nevertheless, the point is:

IT WILL TAKE YOU SOMEWHERE! 

Use the fact that Duolingo is now more of a no-brainer than before, and just smash those keyboard keys to your heart's content with sentences such as:

The cat eats

The cat drinks milk

The cat eats and drinks

All over again and eventually you will learn something or at least you will know everything about cats. Of course, that can be boring. It can be tedious and if you do multiple lessons at once, you might burn out. Could you learn much more with some other material? Yeah, perhaps. But if you don't have access to it, you just have to do the best you can with what you have.

I recently challenged myself to complete one unit of the Norwegian course on Duolingo per day, and I have been maintaining this for two days. Sometimes, I have to put in so much effort to keep going that it makes me want to throw up, but I am learning, and at this rate, I will complete the Norwegian course in three months. If you are learning Spanish or French, that time would double because those courses have more unities, but about six months to achieve B2 level in any language is a very doable timeframe.

After reaching a B2 level, you will be able to understand a wide range of materials in your target language. This will make further language studies easier if you aim to reach an advanced level. You will likely understand cartoons made for children or simple TV shows, and have simple conversations with people. This alone will help you pick up new words and vocabulary in an organic way.

After completing around 30 units in the Norwegian Duolingo course, I am actually able to understand a lot of what my Norwegian family says, and I wouldn't have been able to do it without Duolingo. Maybe I'm learning slowly, but does it really matter? Not to me, because I'm not in a crazy hurry. If you are, maybe it would be better to invest a few bucks and pay for a better course. Otherwise, you can stick with Duolingo as well.

In summary: if you have nothing better to do, play with the bird. 

Okay, everyone. It's time for me to go. As always, I hope you've learned a lot from my blog, and if you have, please follow me and leave comments. Your opinion is very important to me to keep posting. Feel free to ask me any questions or leave suggestions for future topics. Love you, bye!