I spent about a year studying Italian on Duolingo and had a positive experience. But I also augmented Duolingo with Anki: I made flashcards for every single wor

I spent about a year studying Italian on Duolingo and had a positive experience. But I also augmented Duolingo with Anki: I made flashcards for every single word I learned in Duolingo, and went over them every day. That really helped me memorize the vocabulary. I also got a workbook on verb conjugations to practice those (I didn't end up finishing that workbook and my verb conjugations are weak). The real benefit of Duolingo is that I can do it while I'm waiting for my coffee order, or on the train. My only free time is spontaneous, and in short increments; e.g., 5 minutes here and there, unexpectedly. It's hard to learn anything in that context! I'm surprised I learned Italian as well as I did! Taking a class in Italian with a human teacher would no doubt be superior, but I unfortunately don't have time for that!