languagelearning

Hi, I am a linguist who studies how people learn languages. Duolingo isn't terrible, but there are better uses for your time.

Here are some reasons:

• it's basically just flash cards + gamification. Not terrible for rote memorization, but it's not the whole picture of learning a language.
• the sentences are decontextualized. Language is meant to be used in context, so ideally you want your language practice to happen within a conversation (or story--this is why I recommend the Duolingo Stories)
• the computer scientists who founded it didn't know that language acquisition was a field of research, despite there being world-class scholars at the same institution.
• Duolingo employs some linguists now. Some launder the reputation of the company by publishing research (mostly A/B design UX research on how to retain users).
• Many Duo linguists work on the Duolingo English Test (meant to replace the exams universities use for international students), which means their research is centered around assessment practices. Not on its face a bad thing, but this influences the kind of research done.
• other Duo linguists oversee the revolving door of underpaid contractors who produce content for their lessons. The company is currently working on AI to replace these workers.
• Alphabet owns them

As others in this thread have pointed out, it's also much better for Western languages with the Latin alphabet. Duo started with Spanish and French, and I've heard through contacts that work there, French is their archetypal/flagship course. The computer scientist-oriented solution for expanding to other languages is to assume typological similarity between languages, which means languages that are farther from French in grammar, writing system, etc. will all be contorted to fit the shape of their system.

My suggestions for anyone looking to learn a new language:

• practice rote memorization on your own, and prioritize communicating with others in authentic contexts.
• find a community of language learners to practice with. This can be formal classes or informal meetups, but keep each other accountable to using the language. You will all help each other improve.
• find a community of people who already speak the language. Practice with them as much as possible.
• focus as equally as possible on reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. These are all different skills that synergize with each other but don't correlate 1:1 (i.e., being good at reading helps you get better at writing, but if you only practice reading, you aren't automatically improving your writing)
• do not be afraid to make mistakes. It's okay to use the wrong word, pronounce something weirdly, or use incorrect grammar. People make mistakes in their native languages all the time. You'll learn from the mistakes and get better in the future. The most important thing is putting the time in. Automaticity comes from practicing.

I could literally go on for days. Happy to answer specific questions anyone has.

I'm feeling 50% chance it's shit 50% chance just because its a normal shitty company and doesn't work

edit: even natopedia has this very conspicuous

So it kinda feels like theres not much evidence for its effectiveness and I bet the example data is a lot better for some languages than others...

Duolingo is a fine practice aid for Western European languages but most other languages are extremely underdeveloped. I've taken a stab at Duolingo Arabic and found it to be next to useless.

Ive been using it- you’ll be very slow out the gate. I’ve had almost 100 days and it’s still on very basic phrases, like, still no verbs!. I’m using it as a warm-up before I dust off some of my old textbooks. It also doesn’t really teach the alphabet in a systematic way. What I do appreciate is the listening practice to differentiate the regular/ emphatic consonants which I find one of the more difficult parts of the language.

In addition to the reasons stated above, it’s also not ideal from a purely utilitarian point of view. Duolingo is very good at making you feel like you are learning a language, and gamifying that experience. If you watch people with 4 year streaks actually speak their target language it’s worryingly bad (in my experience). You would have gotten much further with other approaches.

My personal recommendation from learning French is to use Clozemaster for vocabulary and then as quickly as possible switch to emersion. Find simple books or tv shows that you can just about follow and increase complexity with skill.

Everyone learns languages in a different way so most importantly find something that works for you of course. But from learning German and French this was most effective for me.

ps: Yes I’m learning all the boring eurocentric languages but coming from The Netherlands they are simply the most useful for me.

Hey Layla, that is very kind of you to say

Glad to hear you're still at it :)

Someone has to get these nerds to learn Arabic :)

It shouldn't be a problem.

It's those European languages' fault not yours You just need a cool teacher

Hey Sporg most Arabic learning textbooks suck which is why I never relied on one and decided to make the lessons myself.

I just dm'ed you.

It's never too late!

Arabic doesn't have irregular verbs and it has two main tenses, perfect (past) and imperfect (present and future). This is a bit of an oversimplification but I can delve deeper if you are interested.