Free Duolingo - have you tried it?

maman

I must take another look. I used it a while ago and didn't find it as versatile as some of the descriptions I've read on here. What I used was just a way of practising vocabulary and some stock phrases by rote.

LameWolf

I've bookmarked it, as I would at some point like to brush up my Welsh; but at present I just don't have the time to spare.

Slowly57

You can drill down the options in Duolingo to cover basic grammar etc - I'm using it via the website rather than the mobile app. I think Duolingo is supposed to be fun way to learn a language rather than a deadly earnest attempt at a language qualification. I have no affiliation with the site - just thought it was a jolly (and free) resource.

alex21

I am doing the Italian. I love it. 10 minutes a day and I really think it is a good idea if only to keep my memory active. Italian is supposed to be one of the easiest languages to learn so I'm glad i opted for it as I was never great at school. I don't expect it to turn me into a fluent speaker but i have been doing it since August and plan to do conversational Italian at college next year in the evenings if I am still interested. I would definitely recommend it.:)

VfM4meplse

pogofish wrote: »

Launched mid-2012. Its not exactly "Old Style"

But free, so in the spirit....

gallygirl

Not good for learning new stuff, especially grammar (has conjugations on there but no explanations, patterns etc.), however very good for keeping your interest up and ongoing revision.

I am 17% fluent in Spanish :rotfl:.

Proxima_Centauri

Thanks, I may use it to brush up on my (very) rusty French and Russian!

DigForVictory

Smashing tool for getting the rust off, or imparting the basic vocab in a way a teacher hasn't time & patience to try in a biggish class. I'm using memrise to gradually build a vocabulary & duolingo to assemble phrases & tangle with tenses...

And I really cannot quibble with the price. Free is always within my budget, it's the time that works out pricey!

iammumtoone

I found this the other day. I want to learn basic Russian, so I have some idea what people are chatting about at work, I am nosey like that :rotfl:

Sadly Russian is not available on the app and my pc doesn't have speakers

I am not interested in the writing just speaking, does anyone know if its any good for learning from scratch and if its worth me buying speakers for?

DigForVictory

For Russian, yes speakers are more than worth it! Beautiful language to listen to & you don't need speakers to try it with headphones at a library? (Very MS - try, & if you like it, go in for it it more deeply!)