Just a quick update on my language learning adventure before I move into some new topics. I am still very comfortable with my decision to stop using Duolingo. I’m trying to be fair in saying that it has a place in the language learning landscape. If I was stuck with limited financial resources and needed to get the basics of a language, plus build a daily study habit, then certainly Duo fits the bill. The user data I have seen shows that it is massively successful in teaching English to people who will see a massive economic benefit of being able to find work in English-speaking communities, or in their own communities. While traveling I have stuck to a rule that if you needed to find an English speaker, walk into a hotel lobby. In many countries the people there got the job precisely because they speak English. In Mexico, Central America, and South America, learning English makes a lot of sense as a career builder. In the USA the same can be said of learning Spanish which is very much the second language in most of the country. It also might be useful to be learning Japanese or Cantonese/Mandarin if you are looking to work in those countries or with companies from those countries.
I’m a guy with an Italian ancestral background who decided to make sure I could manage the basics in the Italian language. I’m also old and currently retired. My tolerance for nagging from a cartoon bird is minimal. I also found Duo to be a poor fit with my approach to learning a language, and with the other tools I am using.
The good news is I gave Busuu a try, and it is a much better fit. It keeps some of the features of Duo like streaks and daily goals, but it does away with almost all of the game elements. Another improvement is the voices used in the spoken examples. Where Duo can sound very artificial and cartoonish, Busuu uses actual people speaking naturally. My comprehension has improved greatly thanks to that feature. It also has a very robust social element where you can correct other student’s work, and have yours corrected. Having a native Italian speaker correct my work is fantastic. I try to return the favor as often as possible. If I see someone learning English and their written/spoken example needs a tweak, I can give them feedback.
Another area where Busuu clobbers Duo is in practice mode. You can pick Vocabulary or Grammar, and work on only words you have had trouble with, for example, or only a specific grammar topic. In some cases you can engage with either voice or writing. It’s a great way to review and isn’t any more complicated than Duo’s, but it is much more effective.
I’ll leave that right there. Check out Busuu if you are in the market for a daily language app.
Here are links to a few more resources I have found useful/essential:
itakli spoken language platform. The UBER of language learning (minus the strong smell of Axe Body Spray)
Deep-L AI-assisted language translator app. Better natural-language translations.
WordReference Dictionary/Thesaurus/Conjugator. The interface is terrible but the value is immense.
Collins Dictionary is a WordReference alternative. Better in some ways, worse in others. Some day one of these will get a modern makeover. Until then have both ready to use.
Memrise enhanced flashcard platform. Some features of an app, in flashcard form. Great for quick-hit learning.
Language Reactor translator plugin for Chrome. A learning platform based on translating foreign language closed captions. Amazing.
petebrunelli 