I’ve really enjoyed Duolingo and I think it generally does a decent job exposing you to vocabulary words and grammar, but one thing I’ve found problematic is that, with recent updates, there is so much repetition I feel like I’m just memorizing what certain sentences and phrases look like as opposed to “hearing” and understanding them. This has made me further realize that, while I can generally read the language I am learning, I am abysmal at going from spoken word to understanding. Does anyone have some good tips on how to get more exposure to spoken word in the language you are learning or otherwise supplementing your Duolingo experience?
try to find podcasts aimed at kids in the language you’re learning. News podcasts are also helpful, because even though the vocabulary may be a bit tough, you know what the tooic is and they stay on point.
Would be interested to know this. I’ve found that I really struggle with the long form interpretation questions if I try not to read the text and just listen.
I often don’t look at the screen until after the phrase has been read aloud by Duolingo in an attempt to improve my listening skills. I’ll then read the phrase if I can’t understand by listening and/or to verify that I’ve heard what I think I heard.
I use babbel.com which is a paid only app though(i think). It has a more traditional approach to teaching, explaining tenses and even cultural stuff but it is still somewhat gamified with short sessions. It is using a separate “review” part for repetition that focuses more on newly learnt words or words that you got wrong.
By default, it is weaving 1 normal lesson+reviewing sessions which can last as long as you want(or till you exhaust the available words for review, maybe around 30 examples per day).
It uses real recordings of people and for the most part, the audio quality/pronunciation is good. It uses a lot of realistic scenarios and dialogues. It has some minigames that help with vocabulary but i dont use them.
I have been using it for 5 months and i am pretty satisfied with it. It isnt perfect and it kinda lacks the refinement of duolingo but it is very good for learning stuff.
PS Depending on the language you are interested, there might even be podcasts that help new learners.
I treat Duolingo as supplement. I mainly read grammar books (academics and learner’s) and do stupid practices with colleagues with same interests. Alongside Duolingo, for immersion I also consume media of target language and English videos with subtitles of the target language.
I wish I could meet Spanish people irl, but my country is really in the opposite of the spanish speaking world.