Duolingo is a low-density learning experience. Some of the drills are good, but there's a lot that are counter productive. The ones that ask you to translate

Duolingo is a low-density learning experience. Some of the drills are good, but there's a lot that are counter productive. The ones that ask you to translate a phrase back to your native language are the biggest time wasters. The focus should be on developing an intuitive understanding of your target language. Besides making you think in your native language again, the translation drills become a frustrating game of guessing the correct phrasing Duolingo is looking for. Reading, listening and having conversations with native speakers is how you learn. The language learning platform should be there to help you do that.