The real lessons are presented as “tips” that you can view before starting the activities, and calling them “tips” makes them seem optional. I’m not a huge fan of this method, especially since you only have 5 hearts and therefore only 5 mistakes allowed. They are more like an interactive quiz on the material that you haven’t learned yet, and the quiz teaches you as you go. While these games are fun, I hesitate to call them lessons. Speaking activity Are Duolingo “Lessons” Effective to Learn A Language? If you are unable to talk or use the microphone, you can skip them. There is also speaking practice where you repeat a sentence or respond to a question. Some of the activities have fun animated characters too! activities tabs There is a great variety of activities that range from matching games and fill in the blank to typing what you hear. You can complete them in whatever order you like, for example, you can start with the “shopping” level then move on to “family.” lessons and checkpoints tabs Lessons are divided into groups called “ checkpoints” and you have to complete the available lessons in order to unlock the ones at the next checkpoint. When you are just getting started, Duolingo Spanish categories include Travel, Family, Restaurant, Phrases, and more. It’s good if you like ranked games and competition, and bad if you want to take your time and avoid comparison to others. If you don’t like to compare yourself to others and want a more independent language learning journey, I recommend ignoring the profile and leaderboard tabs or using a different app altogether to avoid the competitive nature of the app.ĭuolingo runs like a game where you earn points and lose lives, and you are ranked alongside fellow players around the world. If the competition motivates you, then this app has the right format for you. Again, it’s unclear what these measurements do besides give you a sense of completion and achievement, but it looks like the goal is to advance your league status and compete with other players that are also learning the same language as you. Your profile has all of the achievements you have unlocked, your daily streak (number of days in a row that you use the app), total XP, total crowns, and your league (bronze, silver, gold, etc.). You can buy more hearts with gems or buy Duolingo Plus if you don’t want to wait. This is to motivate you to get questions right in order to be able to continue because if you run out of hearts you have to wait for hours before you can play again. The reward system is a bit confusing because of all of the categories, but the general effect is that you are rewarded for doing the lessons.Īlso, as mentioned previously you have 5 “hearts” to start and you lose a heart for each question you get wrong. You earn XP (experience points) and “money” which they call “lingots” and “gems” for each lesson that you pass, as well as crowns and achievements. Overall, Duolingo presents language learning as a fun, competitive game. The company is not direct when it comes to price.ĭuolingo has 5 tabs at the bottom of the screen Lessons, Stories, Profile, Leaderboard, and Shop. They do not offer this information readily on their website.ĭuolingo’s free version has a lot of ads and limits your experience, whereas Duolingo Plus has no ads and additional features. However, after doing some research, Duolingo Plus actually costs $12.99 per month, with a discount if you pay for a year ($79.99) or half a year ($47.99) upfront. There is a 2-week free trial, and the website claims that a subscription starts at 6.99/month. If this describes you, I recommend doing the free trial and testing out of the basics, then ending the subscription. If you have some Spanish experience, you will have to test out of lessons which cost “gems” (points that you earn by using the app) so you can’t go immediately to the lessons that are appropriate for your level. In addition, Duolingo Plus allows you to download lessons to do offline, offers progress quizzes, unlimited skill test-outs so that you can skip lessons that teach material that you have already mastered, and unlimited hearts (so no fear of making mistakes). The free version has an ad after every lesson and these ads can become quite annoying. One of the main draws to Duolingo Plus, aka the paid version, is that it has no ads. This will be a tedious process unless you purchase Duolingo Plus. Most of Duolingo’s material is available, but this version is definitely more limited than the subscription version.ĭuolingo acts like a videogame in that if you make a mistake, you lose a “heart” and if you run out of hearts you “lose” and have to wait for the hearts to recharge. Should You Learn Spanish with Duolingo?ĭuolingo has a free version for everyone and is available for computer and smartphones.Are Duolingo “Lessons” Effective to Learn A Language?.Duolingo Spanish, Free vs Duolingo Plus.
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