I think this is an issue with Duolingo’s target audience. Its niche is definitely not people who need to learn a language because they are moving abroad.
The gamification is a perfect example of how Duolingo is optimized for people whose motivation is low. It’s specifically for people who just casually want to learn a new language. It’s successful not because it carries people to fluency but because it provides a fun way to learn the basics. Those basics are an unmanageable hurdle for people who don’t actually need to learn a language.
Yet none of them have worked for me, and I’ve tried many. The plan is to return to Pimsleur once I’ve spent a couple years with Duolingo. Sure, Duolingo won’t give me fluency, but I’m having fun getting to the point I can use an app that can. I don’t have the motivation for anything more intense. Language learning is very difficult, and Duolingo breaks it into painlessly small chunks.
I almost got banned over a comment I made on another Duolingo post because I got so frustrated with the gatekeeping here. The attitude on HN is disgusting. It’s blatant gatekeeping. “Your way is wrong. If you can’t do it the right way you don’t deserve to learn a language.”
I regret commenting here. I’d delete my comment if I still could, but instead I’m stuck arguing with another language learning snob because I don’t have the self control not to.
I completely agree. I don't say this because it's crass, but DuoLingo is my goto "toilet app". I know it isn't as good as app or service X.
But I can do it when I drop it on a daily basis to do the deed. Same with the other apps but they aren't as much fun, and that's what it's about while pooping.
DuoLingo while pooping is just one plank in my program, the others are Netflix and HBO in Spanish, as well as multiple travels per year to Spanish speaking countries.
> “Your way is wrong. If you can’t do it the right way you don’t deserve to learn a language”.
I never said anything like that. I said that I found Duolingo worse than everything else I've tried. I'm glad Duolingo works well for you, but I posted my own personal review framed as my own experience.
A review that you disagree with isn't gatekeeping!
Well you seem nice so I’m sorry for the aggression. You weren’t aware that I’ve tried everything else that’s popular.
From my position, someone telling me that the only thing that I can even use is “the worst” feels like an attack with the purpose of gatekeeping.
My use case is expressly where Duolingo is nice. I simply don’t care enough to invest the effort that Babel or others require. Tutoring isn’t even in the cards considering the time and money.
From here, other folks in similar conversations have continued to say that I won’t learn anything with Duolingo. This is blatantly false; I’ve already learned to read a new alphabet, and I’m slowly learning vocabulary and basic grammar. I’m perfectly aware that Duolingo will never make me fluent, and even that I might have some bad habits when I transition to something else. The point is that it gets me to the point that I even can transition to something else. And research shows that the only bad habits that cause real problems in language learning are with pronunciation (something Duolingo is actually particularly good about).
Nah, you should do ANKI decks for an hour a day and acquire new words from flashcards. Each card should have a sentence on it which somehow counts as context and that is that. If you dont like that or will keep forgetting words brute force memorized this way, you are not worthy of learning. /irony
The gamification is a perfect example of how Duolingo is optimized for people whose motivation is low. It’s specifically for people who just casually want to learn a new language. It’s successful not because it carries people to fluency but because it provides a fun way to learn the basics. Those basics are an unmanageable hurdle for people who don’t actually need to learn a language.