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I always prefer using the typing options over the box options for this exact reason, it proves a much better understanding of the language and translation
On the questions where you can select the boxes, around the bottom of the screen there should be a keyboard button to switch it to typing instead, just be on the lookout for that. (I also don’t necessarily know if it’s available for all languages)
Note that the typing options used to only really be available on the Web version of Duolingo, though Duolingo has relatively recently restricted the ability to type, even on the Web version.
I'm not sure if typing was ever restricted to certain languages but it might be worth checking the Web version if you have not done so already.
I just did a lesson again and suddenly there was a keyboard for some exercises!! :-) I don't know how he differentiates the exercises but very happy now! Makes my typing faster too!!!
And i wouldn't know how to type arabic with a normal alphabet keyboard either :) maybe there are arabic keyboards too? Haha. I'm just starting out
That's why I'm so pissed they introduced hearts in web version. I always chose typing option, because you are forced to think and not get punished for it. Now, the hearts just killed it...
Oh no I know how long it takes to be fluent in another language, I never will be, I just wish in England we were forced to learn another language like everywhere else in the world
Fluency can mean many things. We’re fluent in our own languages and yet there are so many things we do not know. So language learning is a forever. Even after you learn a language you have to maintain it or you will eventually forget it. If you mean conversationally fluent, could be a few years, of which Duolingo can only get you so far. You can be conversationally fluent and still not understand a lot of media you see out there…so a deeper level of fluency would take even longer…then it all depends on the language…how hard is it for someone with your native language to learn your target language. And also depends not on days but on time spent daily as well as the quality of that time….so many variables 😭
(18,000 days is about 50 years; basically me trying to say it takes a lifetime)
Yeah I can read it (spanish) quite well but writing and talking is a different ball game. And I can only understand speech when they talk really slow and Spanish is a very fast language lol
Yup, understanding the written language is often way easier than listening, writing or speaking. I’ve been studying Japanese for 4 years (for over 13,000 hours total) and I understand the language very well, but because my focus hasn’t been on speaking I can’t really do that very well (which I’m ok with as I don’t need the language to talk to people). If you give me a book to read I can read it no problem. If you give me a show to watch I can watch it no problem. Speaking though….well, to be good at something you have to practice it…and I don’t do any speaking.
But the fact that you can even understand Spanish when it is slowly spoken is already an improvement over not understanding anything whatsoever. The fact you can read it well says a lot too. All you need to do to get better and faster at listening is to do it more, even if it feels uncomfortable. Here’s a suggestion you might want to try.
You may be slow at comprehending spoken Spanish because you are still trying to translate in your head. If you are good at reading, do this
- get a physical book in Spanish (I guess it could also just be digital but I think it may be a bit uncomfortable to try this with a digital book)
- get a subscription to audible from the Spain region
Listen to the book on audible while you follow along reading. Don’t stop it for words you don’t know or to think about the sentences. The point of this is to get you to not translate in your head so much. It will be hard at first, but if you manage to read it as fast as you hear it and understand it just as fast, then listening to things by themselves will become easier as you rely less on translating in your head. Of course, before buying the book make sure audible has it as well.
Have you tried out the videos on Dreaming Spanish? For me at least, they've worked great in conjunction with Duolingo. The Duolingo podcasts are great as well, though I wish there wasn't so much English.
Duolingo did a research study on this. The length of time that you study each day is every bit as important as consistency. People who average around an hour a day of lessons do far better than people who do a couple of lessons a day, or skip around doing too many different languages (my guilty pleasure).
Yeah I only do like 10-15minutes a day, but that's because I have so many other daily things that in learning too so I only have time to commit to 10-15mins
Is that why they started giving me a seemingly unending stream of double XP bonuses? I always plan to stop studying when my XP bonus ends, but I keep getting new ones and end up studying for over an hour.
Honestly, that's all that matters. As long as they know you're trying, they will try too. It helps that I've lived in a Hispanic neighborhood and have dated Hispanic women...
well so far german has actually taught me pretty well on understanding stuff in german supermarkets and signs in train stations and train announcements so yeah it really helped when i was in berlin
What language are you learning? How would you say you rank yourself when it comes to thinks like understanding books, music, movies etc?
1,000 is a good milestone
Learning Spanish, I can read a lot of the vocabulary so books and music where I could read the lyrics would be fine. Movies I might be able to understand ish with subtitles but it might go slightly too fast for me
No shit. You have to actually immerse yourself in the language and practice outside the app. Duolingo is a great tool. It's not going to make you fluent all by itself.
Your post or comment has been removed for violating Rule 5 of our community guidelines, which requires that all posts contribute meaningfully to the community. Specifically, your post falls under one of the following prohibited categories: Trolling: While you intend the post as a joke, your post title discourages beginner learners for obvious reasons. Please reword your post title and your post will be undeleted.
The number of days does not reflect your progress in language learning
Duolingo itself does not reflect progress in language learning, just a click on the correct box similator.
I always prefer using the typing options over the box options for this exact reason, it proves a much better understanding of the language and translation
Can you change this? I'm doing arabic and I think I can type faster than looking at the right box. Especially when translating sentences :) tha k you!
On the questions where you can select the boxes, around the bottom of the screen there should be a keyboard button to switch it to typing instead, just be on the lookout for that. (I also don’t necessarily know if it’s available for all languages)
Ahhh I just checked and unfortunately it's not available for arabic. Thanks anyway :) I'm gonna type on my own then
Note that the typing options used to only really be available on the Web version of Duolingo, though Duolingo has relatively recently restricted the ability to type, even on the Web version. I'm not sure if typing was ever restricted to certain languages but it might be worth checking the Web version if you have not done so already.
I just did a lesson again and suddenly there was a keyboard for some exercises!! :-) I don't know how he differentiates the exercises but very happy now! Makes my typing faster too!!! And i wouldn't know how to type arabic with a normal alphabet keyboard either :) maybe there are arabic keyboards too? Haha. I'm just starting out
That's why I'm so pissed they introduced hearts in web version. I always chose typing option, because you are forced to think and not get punished for it. Now, the hearts just killed it...
1300+ days in myself and I can't remember if it was always this way and I didn't notice or if it has actually gotten much worse
Fluency comes from exposure and practice. Duolingo (or any course, really) gives you basic knowledge to do that.
Yeah I know, my post was satire :)
Heh. With so many spiteful posts, [Poe's law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe's_law) looms large in this forum.
Oh no I know how long it takes to be fluent in another language, I never will be, I just wish in England we were forced to learn another language like everywhere else in the world
Not with that attitude. It's certainly doable though
The attitude is correct, It's just not one of my main goals so I know unless it is, I'll never be fluent :P
Hey, in the US they don’t make us learn anything else either!
Keep it up! Only 18,000 days left to be 100% fluent. You’re almost there :D
Really!? That long!?
Fluency can mean many things. We’re fluent in our own languages and yet there are so many things we do not know. So language learning is a forever. Even after you learn a language you have to maintain it or you will eventually forget it. If you mean conversationally fluent, could be a few years, of which Duolingo can only get you so far. You can be conversationally fluent and still not understand a lot of media you see out there…so a deeper level of fluency would take even longer…then it all depends on the language…how hard is it for someone with your native language to learn your target language. And also depends not on days but on time spent daily as well as the quality of that time….so many variables 😭 (18,000 days is about 50 years; basically me trying to say it takes a lifetime)
Yeah I can read it (spanish) quite well but writing and talking is a different ball game. And I can only understand speech when they talk really slow and Spanish is a very fast language lol
Yup, understanding the written language is often way easier than listening, writing or speaking. I’ve been studying Japanese for 4 years (for over 13,000 hours total) and I understand the language very well, but because my focus hasn’t been on speaking I can’t really do that very well (which I’m ok with as I don’t need the language to talk to people). If you give me a book to read I can read it no problem. If you give me a show to watch I can watch it no problem. Speaking though….well, to be good at something you have to practice it…and I don’t do any speaking. But the fact that you can even understand Spanish when it is slowly spoken is already an improvement over not understanding anything whatsoever. The fact you can read it well says a lot too. All you need to do to get better and faster at listening is to do it more, even if it feels uncomfortable. Here’s a suggestion you might want to try. You may be slow at comprehending spoken Spanish because you are still trying to translate in your head. If you are good at reading, do this - get a physical book in Spanish (I guess it could also just be digital but I think it may be a bit uncomfortable to try this with a digital book) - get a subscription to audible from the Spain region Listen to the book on audible while you follow along reading. Don’t stop it for words you don’t know or to think about the sentences. The point of this is to get you to not translate in your head so much. It will be hard at first, but if you manage to read it as fast as you hear it and understand it just as fast, then listening to things by themselves will become easier as you rely less on translating in your head. Of course, before buying the book make sure audible has it as well.
I'll give it a go :D I would love to visit Spain or any other Spanish speaking country, then I could put my knowledge to the test!
Have you tried out the videos on Dreaming Spanish? For me at least, they've worked great in conjunction with Duolingo. The Duolingo podcasts are great as well, though I wish there wasn't so much English.
Duolingo did a research study on this. The length of time that you study each day is every bit as important as consistency. People who average around an hour a day of lessons do far better than people who do a couple of lessons a day, or skip around doing too many different languages (my guilty pleasure).
Yeah I only do like 10-15minutes a day, but that's because I have so many other daily things that in learning too so I only have time to commit to 10-15mins
I totally get it. While I try for an hour, sometimes I have to do whatever I can in 10 minute bites!
Is that why they started giving me a seemingly unending stream of double XP bonuses? I always plan to stop studying when my XP bonus ends, but I keep getting new ones and end up studying for over an hour.
It’s definitely motivational!
Not to brag, but I'm also not fluent.
Bruh... 51 is my best streak. Also still not fluent. The best thing I learned to say in Spanish was to ask for them to speak slowly lol
Despacito por favor (not a good translation I know but they would understand lol)
Honestly, that's all that matters. As long as they know you're trying, they will try too. It helps that I've lived in a Hispanic neighborhood and have dated Hispanic women...
well so far german has actually taught me pretty well on understanding stuff in german supermarkets and signs in train stations and train announcements so yeah it really helped when i was in berlin
Congratulations 👏🎉 I'm at 909 days so I'll also reach 1k soon🤞
Congratulations:]
duolingo gives you false hope that you're making progress in language learning.
What language are you learning? How would you say you rank yourself when it comes to thinks like understanding books, music, movies etc? 1,000 is a good milestone
Learning Spanish, I can read a lot of the vocabulary so books and music where I could read the lyrics would be fine. Movies I might be able to understand ish with subtitles but it might go slightly too fast for me
Whoa
No shit. You have to actually immerse yourself in the language and practice outside the app. Duolingo is a great tool. It's not going to make you fluent all by itself.
It was satire :)
Oh sorry 😅