3 ms·

I like Duolingo for the exact reasons you don't. I want to learn a language, and I will need to know the basics to be able to talk to people on my honeymoon nex

I like Duolingo for the exact reasons you don't. I want to learn a language, and I will need to know the basics to be able to talk to people on my honeymoon next year. What you see as "nagging" I see as "holding me accountable to a goal I've set for myself." I can definitely see why you'd want to be able to dial back the notifications, though. On principle, I'd usually be on your side in this kind of situation. But again, for me, in this particular case, the nagging is a feature, not a nuisance. Besides, of all the things an app can nag you about, learning a language is pretty innocuous. Fun fact: if you have a pi-hole, the only ad you'll ever get is their own ad promoting Super Duolingo. I'm assuming it's a video embedded in the app somewhere.

gwervc 2y ago
> I want to learn a language Then why are you using Duolingo in the first place? That app has to be the worst method, because people think they are progressing while they in fact don't. From personal experience it's the worst method I tired to learn a language, and the content present for languages I know isn't good either.
- ryukoposting 2y ago
  I plan on adding a community college class into the mix, so there is some education outside of the app that will happen eventually. But, there's at least a few reasons why you'd use Duolingo exclusively. 1. If you can't afford something better. I keep getting pummeled on the leaderboard by people doing 5000+ XP/week worth of English for Spanish Speakers. None of them have Super Duolingo (you can see if they have it by looking at their profile) 2. If you're testing the waters. I already talked about the money, but a semester of a language class is a big time commitment, too. You also lose scheduling flexibility that's especially desirable when you don't know if you want to commit to a class yet. Then there's supplemental, extracurricular practice. If you never use a language outside of class, you'll lose it very quickly. Anyone who had to take a language class in middle/high school knows this. Duolingo (or any other app) can help reinforce learning, by regularly poking the "foreign language" part of your brain, even on days when you aren't in class.
  - aswerty 2y ago
    The supplemental is what I'm using it as, in between my A1 and A2 in-class lessons I'm using it to keep my level up and improve my ability to sentence build. New vocabulary is also nice.
- Vinnl 2y ago
  I'm definitely progressing. I won't get fluent, but my level is definitely higher than that of languages I learned in high school, and I can read signs and stuff. (In fact, I think the method is fairly similar.) The reason I use Duolingo because it's the only thing I'll actually use, thanks to the emotional blackmail.
anonfornoreason 2y ago
If it’s important, why cede control of your own discipline to a notification loop of a for-profit company? A technique I like to use is to wake up an hour early everyday and do some studying before anyone else is awake. Making dedicated time for something is like making a commitment to myself. Strengthens my ability to do it each time, feels more like I am in control. Awesome to be learning something new either way though! Edit: I reworded my original comment to sound much less harsh. Same sentiment, better delivery!
- meiraleal 2y ago
  Why poor people just don't get rich? You might not lack discipline but most people that lacks it have a really hard time doing this: "if you need to learn something, set a schedule like an hour each morning before anyone else is up, and take control and learn it."
- ryukoposting 2y ago
  I started writing this before you updated your comment. I'm glad I saw the change, because I was going to reply with a similar level of snark! In my case, I'm learning German. My wife already knows a good bit of German (which she learned in "real" classes, not Duolingo) so I have a captive practice buddy. We speak German with each other sometimes, and she has coached me through some things Duolingo can't - like properly articulating the German "ch" sound. I like your approach, by the way - it's almost exactly what I use for my photography. I wake up with the sun, about 2 hours before my wife, and I go make photos. The thing about HN comment threads is that you don't know who anyone is. So, the natural(?) assumption ends up being that anyone who disagrees with you is the perfect strawman for your own side of the argument. In my case, I have a support structure outside of Duolingo, I have an active interest in taking my learning outside the app... and I still find the gamification and notifications helpful. I just don't feel very motivated some days, but I still get a few lessons in! Something in me wants to be high up on that leaderboard. Is this the healthiest way to harness behavioral psychology to learn a language? I don't know, I'm not a psychologist. In any case, I'm practicing German every day, and that's pretty cool. With Duolingo, I think the ends justify the means. FWIW you can turn off the notifications in your phone's settings, and emails are easy to direct to junk/spam/whatever black hole you prefer.

gwervc 2y ago

> I want to learn a language Then why are you using Duolingo in the first place? That app has to be the worst method, because people think they are progressing while they in fact don't. From personal experience it's the worst method I tired to learn a language, and the content present for languages I know isn't good either.

ryukoposting 2y ago
I plan on adding a community college class into the mix, so there is some education outside of the app that will happen eventually. But, there's at least a few reasons why you'd use Duolingo exclusively. 1. If you can't afford something better. I keep getting pummeled on the leaderboard by people doing 5000+ XP/week worth of English for Spanish Speakers. None of them have Super Duolingo (you can see if they have it by looking at their profile) 2. If you're testing the waters. I already talked about the money, but a semester of a language class is a big time commitment, too. You also lose scheduling flexibility that's especially desirable when you don't know if you want to commit to a class yet. Then there's supplemental, extracurricular practice. If you never use a language outside of class, you'll lose it very quickly. Anyone who had to take a language class in middle/high school knows this. Duolingo (or any other app) can help reinforce learning, by regularly poking the "foreign language" part of your brain, even on days when you aren't in class.
- aswerty 2y ago
  The supplemental is what I'm using it as, in between my A1 and A2 in-class lessons I'm using it to keep my level up and improve my ability to sentence build. New vocabulary is also nice.
Vinnl 2y ago
I'm definitely progressing. I won't get fluent, but my level is definitely higher than that of languages I learned in high school, and I can read signs and stuff. (In fact, I think the method is fairly similar.) The reason I use Duolingo because it's the only thing I'll actually use, thanks to the emotional blackmail.

anonfornoreason 2y ago

If it’s important, why cede control of your own discipline to a notification loop of a for-profit company? A technique I like to use is to wake up an hour early everyday and do some studying before anyone else is awake. Making dedicated time for something is like making a commitment to myself. Strengthens my ability to do it each time, feels more like I am in control. Awesome to be learning something new either way though! Edit: I reworded my original comment to sound much less harsh. Same sentiment, better delivery!

meiraleal 2y ago
Why poor people just don't get rich? You might not lack discipline but most people that lacks it have a really hard time doing this: "if you need to learn something, set a schedule like an hour each morning before anyone else is up, and take control and learn it."
ryukoposting 2y ago
I started writing this before you updated your comment. I'm glad I saw the change, because I was going to reply with a similar level of snark! In my case, I'm learning German. My wife already knows a good bit of German (which she learned in "real" classes, not Duolingo) so I have a captive practice buddy. We speak German with each other sometimes, and she has coached me through some things Duolingo can't - like properly articulating the German "ch" sound. I like your approach, by the way - it's almost exactly what I use for my photography. I wake up with the sun, about 2 hours before my wife, and I go make photos. The thing about HN comment threads is that you don't know who anyone is. So, the natural(?) assumption ends up being that anyone who disagrees with you is the perfect strawman for your own side of the argument. In my case, I have a support structure outside of Duolingo, I have an active interest in taking my learning outside the app... and I still find the gamification and notifications helpful. I just don't feel very motivated some days, but I still get a few lessons in! Something in me wants to be high up on that leaderboard. Is this the healthiest way to harness behavioral psychology to learn a language? I don't know, I'm not a psychologist. In any case, I'm practicing German every day, and that's pretty cool. With Duolingo, I think the ends justify the means. FWIW you can turn off the notifications in your phone's settings, and emails are easy to direct to junk/spam/whatever black hole you prefer.