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Duolingo is really really bad at teaching you anything remotely useful. It tried it for both languages I know (Japanese, French) and another I don't know (Czech

Duolingo is really really bad at teaching you anything remotely useful. It tried it for both languages I know (Japanese, French) and another I don't know (Czech) and in both case the experience was terrible. It's basically just quizzes with no lesson on grammar whatsoever. Sentences are taken from corpora so they sometimes are really unnatural. Speech is TTS. It's a beautifully designed glorified vocabulary app that has low educational value.

bayesian_horse 7y ago
The mobile apps don't have grammar, but the web site does, for most skills in most languages. Also, grammar is easy to get from other sites. The sentences are not taken from corpora, but edited by Humans, mostly volunteers. The courses are improved using user data. Some of the courses are indeed not the best quality. If TTS is used (many courses use natural speakers), it was OK for me, so far. Duolingo isn't perfect but I think it's the most efficient way to learn a new language from nothing up to a certain level (A2, maybe B1). If used correctly. You need to decide yourself how much time you spend on repetition vs progress. And yes, you probably need something else for full grammar explanation or Chinese/Japanese Characters. Though they are reportedly working on better Character exercises.
- tasogare 7y ago
  > The mobile apps don't have grammar, but the web site does, for most skills in most languages. Ok, I’ve never been far enough on their website to see it (I mostly test the mobile app). I’ll check it soon. > Also, grammar is easy to get from other sites. Which defeat using Duolingo in the first place. And no, some language have quite complicated grammar (Czech, Turkish, Finnish for instance) and somewhat lacking in ressources if your native language isn’t English.
  - bayesian_horse 7y ago
    You won't be learning a language from a single source ever. Duolingo is the most efficient for what it does, including teaching grammar, actually. Yes, it might help to have a more organized grammar reference, but Duolingo does make you practice grammar quite efficiently in my experience. For those complaining about Duolingo: Are there better routes? The convenience of the app, integrating audio, grammar and vocabulary are really hard to beat in terms of learning efficiency, even if you might have an in-person course.

bayesian_horse 7y ago

The mobile apps don't have grammar, but the web site does, for most skills in most languages. Also, grammar is easy to get from other sites. The sentences are not taken from corpora, but edited by Humans, mostly volunteers. The courses are improved using user data. Some of the courses are indeed not the best quality. If TTS is used (many courses use natural speakers), it was OK for me, so far. Duolingo isn't perfect but I think it's the most efficient way to learn a new language from nothing up to a certain level (A2, maybe B1). If used correctly. You need to decide yourself how much time you spend on repetition vs progress. And yes, you probably need something else for full grammar explanation or Chinese/Japanese Characters. Though they are reportedly working on better Character exercises.

tasogare 7y ago
> The mobile apps don't have grammar, but the web site does, for most skills in most languages. Ok, I’ve never been far enough on their website to see it (I mostly test the mobile app). I’ll check it soon. > Also, grammar is easy to get from other sites. Which defeat using Duolingo in the first place. And no, some language have quite complicated grammar (Czech, Turkish, Finnish for instance) and somewhat lacking in ressources if your native language isn’t English.
- bayesian_horse 7y ago
  You won't be learning a language from a single source ever. Duolingo is the most efficient for what it does, including teaching grammar, actually. Yes, it might help to have a more organized grammar reference, but Duolingo does make you practice grammar quite efficiently in my experience. For those complaining about Duolingo: Are there better routes? The convenience of the app, integrating audio, grammar and vocabulary are really hard to beat in terms of learning efficiency, even if you might have an in-person course.