Nate, I didn't even have to watch the entire video to know that you're giving Duolingo a fair and accurate assessment. I just started (again) with Duo French. I think all of these language apps are a GREAT tool for getting started in any language, but to be truly fluent- being able to think in the target language without having to translate the conversation into one's native language (my definition of fluency)- you have to be conversing regularly with native speakers. I mean, isn't that the goal of language learning anyway? The fantasy of becoming fluent in a language without speaking it in real situations is like dreaming that you'll become a great fighter without having to do any sparring.
To be clear, these statements aren't necessarily problematic. It's correct to be skeptical when someone says something doesn't work, but their product does. However to show it's an issue you need to show that either 1) the product they find issue with is actually fine, or 2) their product has the same issues or more. His definition of fluency doesn't include Duolingo as it won't get you to c2~. However I do not believe his product will either. (Also, I'm generally against duo as I started in JP 5+ years ago, but supposedly modern Spanish duo gets you to b2 which is unironically pretty impressive!)
My biggest problem with Duolingo is that it takes ages before you learn anything but the present (indicative) tense. It will teach you: "I am really interested in European art", but not: "I told you that.", "She had to work yesterday", "They arrived two days ago", "Could you help us?" or "I want you to know that". As you would understand, these sentences all use different tenses and moods. So instead of slowly letting you get used to a few past tenses early on it just hooks you with an addictive interface. My work around is that I use a lot of phrases from Duolingo and use DeepL translator to change it to a different tense because there are so many to learn.
Great points Nate! It's true; Duolingo is not an one size fits all solution to language learning (just like any other app because they focus on one or two facets of learning). It's a supplement to your language learning. Especially for me, I use it just to warm myself up for my daily language routine. Anki and SpanishDict are great resources as I agree with you Nate. They're great ways to keep expanding your vocabulary because the more vocabulary you acquire, the more sentences you can form. You hit the nail when it comes to going out and speaking with people in real time because it is a different ball game. When I went to Puerto Rico and Costa Rica the past few years, I ended up struggling a bit to understand a lot of what natives were saying and it was because I didn't put enough practice into speaking with natives in real time. I think at best I only understood 20-30% of what natives were saying, but being able to visit Latin American countries or places gave me that chance to practice in real time. Muchas gracias por tus videos como siempre hermano! Cuídate!
You mentioned that confidence is a big part of it and people like that you are trying to learn their language, but I feel like as a hispanic myself who does not speak Spanish this makes it much harder when they expect you to already know how to speak it.
dont let shit like that hold you back bro. im hispanic and i just started learning spanish and if you let yourself be afraid to try and fail you will never succeed. Its okay to not know that much spanish know. Put in the work and you can you will be fluent in no time.
I remember being shy as heck when I newly started learning Spanish but now I'm not as shy. Sure, I sweat a bit when speaking to natives but at least I can speak Spanish 😀
As someone who has just reached 365 days on duolingo (but around 15 months learning without streak freezes) i can say that it helps knowing the language but still listening to spanish speakers and speaking is difficult. I'm in a small UK town so don't know any spanish speakers irl that are local, my comprehension for music and reading is fine but that's done at my own pace and leisure, but i've found for the times when i'm either listening to spanish conversation through videos or in person, and sometimes need to reply that's where all my knowledge kinda just leaves me as i'm not used to actually conversing in it. I'm not one for doing online classes, so it's rare that i verbally speak spanish and after a year+ of learning i still feel like my spanish isn't the best, but my spanish speaking friends tell me that i'm doing good and to keep it up! i go away to spain in june for 2 weeks so i'm putting extra work into this test of seeing how my spanish actually fairs when i'm actually conversing
I think you have based your review on the old DuoLingo and from what you are saying, you are missing some very important features in the newest (since about 2/2023) version of the app. I was using the old DuoLingo (for Spanish) for a few months, then I was forced to take a break. When I came back, the new version had just launched. A lot has changed. The biggest change for me is the switch to dynamic lesson content. DuoLingo now adjusts your lessons to fit your needs and it works surprisingly well. I am a software engineer and I can "see" the algorithm running the system. If I am having trouble with a new word, DuoLingo can tell and adjusts my lessons on the fly giving more emphasis to the word or concept I am struggling with. If I am "getting it", DuoLingo also adjusts and does not burden me with continually asking me to spell "aqui" for example. I am very pleased with the new version, and I feel I have a better assessment because I have used it BEFORE AND AFTER the upgrade. It might be helpful to explore these new features and tell people about it. Thanks for the VID...
I know people that have used Duolingo for 700 and 1000 days straight and still have problems making basic sentences but they're addicted to it because they don't want to ruin their streak.
And some have no qualms about cheating. One person is ahead of me by 5000 points, though I was doing a ton more lessons and also getting lots of points for reviewing, she was doing something, to score easily 3000 points in less than an hour. I told Duolingo. They didn't care. However, they have at least improved the website, and you can learn a lot. My Spanish has improved a lot, but I could already speak in Spanish, though broken Spanish.
Thanks for the video and your thoughts. I made a video about Duolingo too when I hit 1000 days and my thoughts are similar. I think it’s a great tool to expose people to the language but needs to be used along with other resources as people get out there and practice what they’re learning.
Solid advice! Ive been practicing a lot on Tandem lately. I really like it. Its good practice to hear real spanish speakers. I still do my daily Duo, though!
No creo que puedas aprender un idioma y hablarlo con fluidez solo con Duolingo, pero es una aplicación muy fácil de usar y puede mantenerte motivado para aprender.
I've been using it for 60 days non-stop, it's just about ok. It doesn't immerse you in the language enough. I think none of these apps do. Duo lingo gets you started. I talk to friends in Italy on hellotalk and WhatsApp and that is still a long way behind being in the actual country. Still, if you are young with a good memory you can easily reach a very good conversational level from your own country as long as you put in the time. With a good memory {mine is atrocious} 40 minutes to an hour a day within 9 to 12 months, you will be conversationally fluent in the target language. I was in Montenegro speaking to 13-year-old boys in a supermarket. Their conversational English was fantastic and they had never been outside Montenegro plus a very few people in Montenegro spoke English when I was there.
i've tried a lot of spanish learning methods but Duolingo is the one that really seems to be working for me. I'm only on fifth day and i'm fully away i can't be fluent without practicing with real people but the multiple approaches on duo is excellent and makes me think of the words in the different ways... writing, speaking, choosing, seeing...
Duolingo won't help you become fluent (i.e. say anything accurately) but will help you learn a lot of building blocks to help you communicate with native speakers. It will teach reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. From there you're going to have to do things like watch films and tv in a foreign language or begin basic conversation with native speakers. The thing people get scared about is saying something and then the response is spoken to quickly they can't understand and freeze. I used to do it, now I listen for key words and responding.
I used to be fluent in Spanish but I lost it. I've been using Duolingo to get it back and I've been starting to speak in full sentences again. I'm also now at a point in Duolingo where after the stories, for bonus XP, they have me talk about something about the story in Spanish and though it's typed, that's still expressive language practice and I'm impressed by it.
Gosh Nate I just bumped into this vid, I'm an early subscriber, you look so much different than I remember. Great vid, you seem to be doing great. Happy for you.
Yehh the thing that people forget is you can’t JUST rely on duolingo to become fully fluent or gain fluency. Duolingo is supposed to be used next to other things, like immersing yourself with foreign media e.g news articles, videos, films or even books etc etc. of course speaking with natives is the biggest thing too!!
But also, you can never really fully learn a language because there are so many things like regional dialects, accents, and phrases which aren't translatable or have double meanings. (for example in English you would learn that chicken is an animal or food but not that it also means coward or a dangerous game people play, or a phrase like "saving for a rainy day" which might not make sense if you don't also understand English sayings, of which there are thousands)
@@jwuk11345 By only using Duolingo you mean? Because you can totally become fluent in a language and learn all that stuff elsewhere. I, for example, know those things and my mother tongue isn't English.
No, I mean that you can't learn all the regional dialects, phrases etc. It's impossible. I've lived in the UK all my life and there are words and phrases from other parts of the country I don't know or don't understand. You don't learn phrases like "six and two threes" or "he's no spring chicken" or "gannin to get me bait like" when you learn English. @@halosaft
I agree that more than anything, putting yourself out there really helps after you take the time to learn it from the learning tool. It has helped that I work around Hispanics, joining a Mexican ballet (Folklorico), and occasionally eating or shopping in Hispanic owned stores.
I’m learning Spanish too, I’m still a beginner, but even though I’m putting in a few hours of learning everyday I kind of feel like I’m not learning anything because I forget words or I don’t know how to construct them into a sentence
write the words you learn with the english translations on a paper, it helped me so much with german!
8 หลายเดือนก่อน
Listen to Spanish podcasts. It will sound gibberish at first but as you progress, you will start to understand a few words. You have to give your brain time to figure out the language structure and grammar. Don't give up. Once your brain figures it out, things will become easier. It's getting to the top of the hill that is the hardest part.
Great opportunity for an AI language learning app! Or Duolingo or others to implement AI to address users' individual questions as they come up in each lesson.
hes right about the learning spanish in real time because im hispanic and dont know spanish and i hangout with my hispanic freinds during soccer ALOT and sometimes they say "SPEAKING SPANISH ONLY" and ive learned alot from them doing that. And my colombian freinds has a really strong accent so during the past months ive gotten a little hispanic accent ALSO... so if you hangout with someone with any strong accent everyday.. then you will get the accent pretty soon..
Fluidly Fluent: C1 functionally fluent:B2 Choppy functionality having a brief conversation B1. A levels ordering food, asking for directions study till you're at least B to be any real level of fluency.
Fluency is fluency. People do this “varying thing” but the reality is most of us aren’t trying to be college Spanish professors. Hell most of us ain’t trying to be English professors. At B2 and above (up to C2) you’re essentially going to be learning Spanish even more than you learned English.
Duolingo works for me so far. After learning some Spanish and watching some Mexican TV: I can actually understand what they are saying. Learned French in classroom: nothing. Good is that I can start at my level. When I enrolled in proper university course, there were students form different levels. Some lived in France or were on holidays there before. I was just a student who wants to exercise brain, so I was always behind.
So, I started learning Spanish today; I had bought some textbooks on it (and Italian, too) some time ago and finally have some time to try, but the problem is, I have no one to speak with (I live in Bulgaria), so my only help is the pieces of advice in the textbooks (listening to songs, movies, writing down the words from scrips, etc). Duolingo helped me with Russian, but I did develop it more with actually speaking to Russian speaking people (my job is such, that I often have to speak with Russian speaking people, especially if they don't speak English). Duolingo is likely to help me with pronunciation to an extent, but is Duolingo alone enough to be fluent? Absolutely not, yet it is a valuable source, especially given that it's free and more accessible. So - wish me luck, people.
I'm using Duolingo as a supplement to textbook learning + weekly Italki lessons + try to consume podcasts/stories on spotify/music + try to use spanish in my work / acquaintances.
The quick answer is not. You can't learn a lengauge if you don't practice it. You can do it if you for example watch videos like this listen to music and read in the language you want to lear and talk to people
Thank u for sharing! Besides Duolingo, you can consider using some effective tools to assist you on your solitary learning journey, such as DeepL, Immersive Translate, and so on.
I started with Pimsluer and then went to duolingo. I watch many netflix shows in Spanish and listen to the local hispanic radio station. Unfortunately I live in the north and there aren't very many actual Spanish speaking people around me.
Hey nate. When learning spanish with a native, how do I start? What tools or resources can I use with them for them to help me learn spanish by speaking fluently and remembering words ?
After using Duolingo for over a year, I would say no. It's great beginners tool to get you used to the grammar and syntax, and to help you learn vocabulary, but it doesn't provided enough audio input to give you good listening comprehension, nor does it have good tools to help you to learn to speak the language well.
I hate Duolingo, but every method needs supplementation. I was raised with English and Spanish, but I still needed formal education to shape up my grammar in both. I learned French in school, but had to make online friends to really get fluent - well, as fluent as I am.
You can learn a lot with just computer programs. But there is seriously NO substitute for communicating with a real person about real topics in real situations.
With the amount of content on Duolingo Spanish, I feel like even a native speaker couldn't do all the lessons in one lifetime. It's insane, it takes like a year+ to get through a section if you actually take the time to do it thoroughly.
All that is required to learn a language to fluency is input, particularly listening for the first several hundred hours of studying. Speaking can help you get an idea of where you're at in terms of acquiring a language, but speaking will not improve your vocabulary or help you learn anything. Speaking before having a good concept of all of the sounds (not by consciously studying the alphabet, but by large amounts of exposure) can create bad habits and hinder your ability to develop a native-like accent. It takes a long time to ACQUIRE (NOT learn) a language. How do babies begin to pick up a language? They don't boot up duolingo and study grammar and vocabulary. They simply acquire the meaning of words through context and mass exposure. This is the only way to ACQUIRE a language so you don't have to do mental gymnastics trying to translate from one language to another in your head. The problem with duolingo is it makes you FEEL like you're acquiring the language, when you're only consciously LEARNING the language, and learning will do practically nothing when it comes to holding a conversation with a native speaker. What's the point of being able to say hundreds of unique sentences if you can't understand the response to them because you're lacking auditory input? I have no affiliation with any language learning website, but after using dreamingspanish's website and method of comprehensible input for roughly 300 hours now, I've noticed a HUGE improvement in my listening comprehension and can follow many conversations fairly comfortably. Learning a language takes a lot of persistence and dedication. Duolingo is a quick and dirty shot of language-LEARNING (not ACQUIRING) dopamine that gets people so distracted by the cute sounds and interface, they often don't realize they're not truly acquiring the language until they try to have a conversation and notice they're immediately lost. Duolingo's only real use case is when you want to learn just enough phrases to get by in a Spanish-speaking country and don't care about actually being able to have a conversation with anyone in the language.
First, never write long things because nobody will read it. Second, I got to the first part and that was wrong so I'll comment on that alone. In order to learn a language you have to speak a language.
@@krane15 First, some things can only be condensed so much. Second, wrong. A growing number of people have learned a non-native language to the point of conversational fluency exclusively through comprehensible input. All speaking does is help you benchmark your current level. With just over 300 hours of listening practice and practically 0 hours practicing conversation, I'm able to communicate in a decent range of daily topics like weather, food, and daily activities. I know I'm able to because the phrases just come naturally to me after receiving the input that I have.
I too am struggling with comprehension of the spoken word. DuoLingo does help me with comprehension. Nearly every sentence has a "listen to this phrase" button and I always close my eyes and I listen several times until I can "decode" the spoken word fluently. This has done wonders. Just because you don't use the listening feature doesn't mean it does not exist. And speaking too! I am regularly required to "speak the phrase" and if I fail to enunciate properly (roll the rr's and end a question with a rise in tone) DuoLingo will make me repeat it until I get it right. I don't know how any automated system could do better.
I know someone from Romania. So I tried to learn Romanian on Duo. It sounds like the person speaking on the app has a heavy Chinese accent. The app definitely does not sound like my friend. I let her hear it and she had a good laugh. I love learning Spanish with Duo I am definitely not an advanced student.
A friend of mine picked up Spanish so quickly using Duolingo and Fluenti for speaking. He said the secret is to practice whenever you have time, even when you're in bathroom ; )
Thanks for sharing, I've been studying for 955 Days on Duolingo, and I can follow this video and understand your comment, I'm not fluent because I only studied 21 minutes a day, now I started studying 3 hours a day on Duolingo and I use Elsa speak To improve your pronunciation
Me: **watching this video being a native spanish speaker to learn English** Also me: this video is good 4:13 i agree with him, I'm someone who lacks of confidence and I can't start a conversation in english because I'm too shy or i don't trust my own abilities in speaking english
What if the environment is not conducive enough for us to learn the language of our choice. What i mean is no one around me speaks the language i am learning. This provides many blockways to testing out our language skills. Movies, songs and dramas are other great sources to up our language dictionary but the point i made above still makes me skeptical whether i should continue. Oh well, the main purpose i started was for sheer enjoyment.
You have to create that environment for yourself... if you have the internet, some speakers and a microphone of some kind, you can directly chat with people who know your target language on various sites, apps or chat community.
It’s better just to talk to an AI (like me) and practice talking/listening in real time. AI don’t judge your pronunciation or laugh at you. You’ll be confident when you talk with a real person
I use it at home and with mi familia not only on Duolingo cuzz mama’s from España. But she never officially taught me Spanish. I learned espanol fluently 😮💨.
Anki is almost like cheating for vocabulary. If I had anki in secondary school. School would be a joke. I'd learn everything at school and exclusively use anki to revise. The concepts are not that hard to learn but the memorizing threshold is not natural for human brains. Anki takes a big initial commitment and upfront cost but to learn entire quotes, equations, rules, you're workload goes down by a lot after a while but you feel confident in the retention. If you can ask the teachers to get you materials early and learn everything in parallel with each other. By the time everyone is revising, you'll literally be able to ace everything in your sleep.
Duolingo doesn’t teach you the Spanish used in SPAIN it teaches the Spanish spoken in South America … which I’m told by my Spanish friends is not the same. So be aware if you want to learn Spanish.
They are grouping up with AI, AI should allow you to speak and be responded to basically instantly. It will likely also point your mistakes out. I imagine this will be a pro feature.
I completed the German tree ii4 years never ever missing a day and I am far from fluent as a matter of fact I cant even understand conversation unless it is very basic
dear nate. when i was learning english it wasnt too hard to find a partner.but now in spanish i cant find partner.what would you suggest? is there any website or something that i can use?
Spanish is the second most popular language in the U.S. It would be impossible for me not to find a Spanish speaking partner. Well somebody that speaks Spanish since partner indicates a relationship.
Thank you so much for watching!!! If you’d like to find out what your actual Spanish level is, click here 🎉 spanishwithnate.com/p/free-training
Nate, I didn't even have to watch the entire video to know that you're giving Duolingo a fair and accurate assessment. I just started (again) with Duo French. I think all of these language apps are a GREAT tool for getting started in any language, but to be truly fluent- being able to think in the target language without having to translate the conversation into one's native language (my definition of fluency)- you have to be conversing regularly with native speakers. I mean, isn't that the goal of language learning anyway? The fantasy of becoming fluent in a language without speaking it in real situations is like dreaming that you'll become a great fighter without having to do any sparring.
Exactly!! Keep up the great work
Romans 10:9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Same with any class or textbook. You need application to be truly fluent
Beautiful analogy
"You cant learn Spanish using duo lingo" also "buy my course"
To be clear, these statements aren't necessarily problematic.
It's correct to be skeptical when someone says something doesn't work, but their product does.
However to show it's an issue you need to show that either 1) the product they find issue with is actually fine, or 2) their product has the same issues or more.
His definition of fluency doesn't include Duolingo as it won't get you to c2~.
However I do not believe his product will either.
(Also, I'm generally against duo as I started in JP 5+ years ago, but supposedly modern Spanish duo gets you to b2 which is unironically pretty impressive!)
His course has to be better than Duolingo.
This helps so much my Spanish has improved in just days by watching these videos gracias por todo🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽
My biggest problem with Duolingo is that it takes ages before you learn anything but the present (indicative) tense. It will teach you: "I am really interested in European art", but not: "I told you that.", "She had to work yesterday", "They arrived two days ago", "Could you help us?" or "I want you to know that". As you would understand, these sentences all use different tenses and moods.
So instead of slowly letting you get used to a few past tenses early on it just hooks you with an addictive interface. My work around is that I use a lot of phrases from Duolingo and use DeepL translator to change it to a different tense because there are so many to learn.
Hey, thanks. I will use Deeply too
I learned spanish with Duolingo a few years ago (for 1 month), it really gave me a knowledge boost before starting to learn spanish in class
Great points Nate! It's true; Duolingo is not an one size fits all solution to language learning (just like any other app because they focus on one or two facets of learning). It's a supplement to your language learning. Especially for me, I use it just to warm myself up for my daily language routine. Anki and SpanishDict are great resources as I agree with you Nate. They're great ways to keep expanding your vocabulary because the more vocabulary you acquire, the more sentences you can form.
You hit the nail when it comes to going out and speaking with people in real time because it is a different ball game. When I went to Puerto Rico and Costa Rica the past few years, I ended up struggling a bit to understand a lot of what natives were saying and it was because I didn't put enough practice into speaking with natives in real time. I think at best I only understood 20-30% of what natives were saying, but being able to visit Latin American countries or places gave me that chance to practice in real time.
Muchas gracias por tus videos como siempre hermano! Cuídate!
You mentioned that confidence is a big part of it and people like that you are trying to learn their language, but I feel like as a hispanic myself who does not speak Spanish this makes it much harder when they expect you to already know how to speak it.
dont let shit like that hold you back bro. im hispanic and i just started learning spanish and if you let yourself be afraid to try and fail you will never succeed. Its okay to not know that much spanish know. Put in the work and you can you will be fluent in no time.
Homie I’m in the same boat as you but I simply just don’t give af about my choppy Spanish lol there’s no other way to improve
Confidence is a huge factor. I majored in French but my confidence increased when I went to France and navigated the nontourist aspects.
I remember being shy as heck when I newly started learning Spanish but now I'm not as shy. Sure, I sweat a bit when speaking to natives but at least I can speak Spanish 😀
As someone who has just reached 365 days on duolingo (but around 15 months learning without streak freezes) i can say that it helps knowing the language but still listening to spanish speakers and speaking is difficult. I'm in a small UK town so don't know any spanish speakers irl that are local, my comprehension for music and reading is fine but that's done at my own pace and leisure, but i've found for the times when i'm either listening to spanish conversation through videos or in person, and sometimes need to reply that's where all my knowledge kinda just leaves me as i'm not used to actually conversing in it. I'm not one for doing online classes, so it's rare that i verbally speak spanish and after a year+ of learning i still feel like my spanish isn't the best, but my spanish speaking friends tell me that i'm doing good and to keep it up! i go away to spain in june for 2 weeks so i'm putting extra work into this test of seeing how my spanish actually fairs when i'm actually conversing
How has it been in spain so far
how was your trip!
Romans 10:9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Was it fun?
I think you have based your review on the old DuoLingo and from what you are saying, you are missing some very important features in the newest (since about 2/2023) version of the app.
I was using the old DuoLingo (for Spanish) for a few months, then I was forced to take a break. When I came back, the new version had just launched. A lot has changed.
The biggest change for me is the switch to dynamic lesson content. DuoLingo now adjusts your lessons to fit your needs and it works surprisingly well.
I am a software engineer and I can "see" the algorithm running the system. If I am having trouble with a new word, DuoLingo can tell and adjusts my lessons on the fly giving more emphasis to the word or concept I am struggling with. If I am "getting it", DuoLingo also adjusts and does not burden me with continually asking me to spell "aqui" for example.
I am very pleased with the new version, and I feel I have a better assessment because I have used it BEFORE AND AFTER the upgrade.
It might be helpful to explore these new features and tell people about it.
Thanks for the VID...
I know people that have used Duolingo for 700 and 1000 days straight and still have problems making basic sentences but they're addicted to it because they don't want to ruin their streak.
And some have no qualms about cheating. One person is ahead of me by 5000 points, though I was doing a ton more lessons and also getting lots of points for reviewing, she was doing something, to score easily 3000 points in less than an hour. I told Duolingo. They didn't care. However, they have at least improved the website, and you can learn a lot. My Spanish has improved a lot, but I could already speak in Spanish, though broken Spanish.
@@QUINTUSMAXIMUS They were probably getting 2x bonus points and doing the gold lessons. They also probably paid for the app.
I am fluent in italian and I only used duolingo
Thanks, I'll also be fluent in Spanish just using Duolingo
@@chintu4179 Same
Cap
@@claysoggyfriesdude thinks everything is a lie
That is amazing, how long did it take you? Also how long was you practising
Thanks for the video and your thoughts. I made a video about Duolingo too when I hit 1000 days and my thoughts are similar. I think it’s a great tool to expose people to the language but needs to be used along with other resources as people get out there and practice what they’re learning.
Solid advice! Ive been practicing a lot on Tandem lately. I really like it. Its good practice to hear real spanish speakers. I still do my daily Duo, though!
No creo que puedas aprender un idioma y hablarlo con fluidez solo con Duolingo, pero es una aplicación muy fácil de usar y puede mantenerte motivado para aprender.
Comprendo su mensaje. Yo solo uso duolingo para 26 días . Yo siempre aprendo pero estoy necesito estudiar todos días
@@OceanMud Tu progreso es asombroso! keep it up!
Si bien no me he vuelto tan fluido, me ayudó a recordar mucho español que perdí. Tiene sus puntos más finos en ese asunto.
@@OceanMudtambién
I've been using it for 60 days non-stop, it's just about ok. It doesn't immerse you in the language enough. I think none of these apps do. Duo lingo gets you started.
I talk to friends in Italy on hellotalk and WhatsApp and that is still a long way behind being in the actual country.
Still, if you are young with a good memory you can easily reach a very good conversational level from your own country as long as you put in the time.
With a good memory {mine is atrocious} 40 minutes to an hour a day within 9 to 12 months, you will be conversationally fluent in the target language.
I was in Montenegro speaking to 13-year-old boys in a supermarket.
Their conversational English was fantastic and they had never been outside Montenegro plus a very few people in Montenegro spoke English when I was there.
i've tried a lot of spanish learning methods but Duolingo is the one that really seems to be working for me. I'm only on fifth day and i'm fully away i can't be fluent without practicing with real people but the multiple approaches on duo is excellent and makes me think of the words in the different ways... writing, speaking, choosing, seeing...
Duolingo won't help you become fluent (i.e. say anything accurately) but will help you learn a lot of building blocks to help you communicate with native speakers. It will teach reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. From there you're going to have to do things like watch films and tv in a foreign language or begin basic conversation with native speakers. The thing people get scared about is saying something and then the response is spoken to quickly they can't understand and freeze. I used to do it, now I listen for key words and responding.
I used to be fluent in Spanish but I lost it. I've been using Duolingo to get it back and I've been starting to speak in full sentences again. I'm also now at a point in Duolingo where after the stories, for bonus XP, they have me talk about something about the story in Spanish and though it's typed, that's still expressive language practice and I'm impressed by it.
Gosh Nate I just bumped into this vid, I'm an early subscriber, you look so much different than I remember. Great vid, you seem to be doing great. Happy for you.
Yehh the thing that people forget is you can’t JUST rely on duolingo to become fully fluent or gain fluency. Duolingo is supposed to be used next to other things, like immersing yourself with foreign media e.g news articles, videos, films or even books etc etc. of course speaking with natives is the biggest thing too!!
But also, you can never really fully learn a language because there are so many things like regional dialects, accents, and phrases which aren't translatable or have double meanings. (for example in English you would learn that chicken is an animal or food but not that it also means coward or a dangerous game people play, or a phrase like "saving for a rainy day" which might not make sense if you don't also understand English sayings, of which there are thousands)
@@jwuk11345 By only using Duolingo you mean? Because you can totally become fluent in a language and learn all that stuff elsewhere. I, for example, know those things and my mother tongue isn't English.
No, I mean that you can't learn all the regional dialects, phrases etc. It's impossible. I've lived in the UK all my life and there are words and phrases from other parts of the country I don't know or don't understand. You don't learn phrases like "six and two threes" or "he's no spring chicken" or "gannin to get me bait like" when you learn English. @@halosaft
I agree that more than anything, putting yourself out there really helps after you take the time to learn it from the learning tool. It has helped that I work around Hispanics, joining a Mexican ballet (Folklorico), and occasionally eating or shopping in Hispanic owned stores.
I’m learning Spanish too, I’m still a beginner, but even though I’m putting in a few hours of learning everyday I kind of feel like I’m not learning anything because I forget words or I don’t know how to construct them into a sentence
Having the same issue 😣
saaame
write the words you learn with the english translations on a paper, it helped me so much with german!
Listen to Spanish podcasts. It will sound gibberish at first but as you progress, you will start to understand a few words. You have to give your brain time to figure out the language structure and grammar. Don't give up. Once your brain figures it out, things will become easier. It's getting to the top of the hill that is the hardest part.
Great opportunity for an AI language learning app! Or Duolingo or others to implement AI to address users' individual questions as they come up in each lesson.
Mustache game strong
Af 😂
LMAO 😂
"I haven't used Doulingo in a long time"
**Has a 503 day streak**
I love duolingo. I am able to help customer with the little i know
hes right about the learning spanish in real time because im hispanic and dont know spanish and i hangout with my hispanic freinds during soccer ALOT and sometimes they say "SPEAKING SPANISH ONLY" and ive learned alot from them doing that. And my colombian freinds has a really strong accent so during the past months ive gotten a little hispanic accent ALSO... so if you hangout with someone with any strong accent everyday.. then you will get the accent pretty soon..
Fluidly Fluent: C1 functionally fluent:B2 Choppy functionality having a brief conversation B1. A levels ordering food, asking for directions study till you're at least B to be any real level of fluency.
Don't over complicate things. You're either fluent or you're not.
Fluency is fluency. People do this “varying thing” but the reality is most of us aren’t trying to be college Spanish professors. Hell most of us ain’t trying to be English professors.
At B2 and above (up to C2) you’re essentially going to be learning Spanish even more than you learned English.
Fluency is a high level efficiency of both, understanding and capabilty to use a language!
Duolingo works for me so far. After learning some Spanish and watching some Mexican TV: I can actually understand what they are saying. Learned French in classroom: nothing. Good is that I can start at my level. When I enrolled in proper university course, there were students form different levels. Some lived in France or were on holidays there before. I was just a student who wants to exercise brain, so I was always behind.
Im useing duolingo & i think its broading my Spanish vocabulary.
So, I started learning Spanish today; I had bought some textbooks on it (and Italian, too) some time ago and finally have some time to try, but the problem is, I have no one to speak with (I live in Bulgaria), so my only help is the pieces of advice in the textbooks (listening to songs, movies, writing down the words from scrips, etc). Duolingo helped me with Russian, but I did develop it more with actually speaking to Russian speaking people (my job is such, that I often have to speak with Russian speaking people, especially if they don't speak English). Duolingo is likely to help me with pronunciation to an extent, but is Duolingo alone enough to be fluent? Absolutely not, yet it is a valuable source, especially given that it's free and more accessible. So - wish me luck, people.
I'm using Duolingo as a supplement to textbook learning + weekly Italki lessons + try to consume podcasts/stories on spotify/music + try to use spanish in my work / acquaintances.
The quick answer is not. You can't learn a lengauge if you don't practice it. You can do it if you for example watch videos like this listen to music and read in the language you want to lear and talk to people
¡Espero hagas más vídeos hablando inglés! Asombroso.
Thank u for sharing! Besides Duolingo, you can consider using some effective tools to assist you on your solitary learning journey, such as DeepL, Immersive Translate, and so on.
Great information, I learned some great tips thank you!
I started with Pimsluer and then went to duolingo. I watch many netflix shows in Spanish and listen to the local hispanic radio station. Unfortunately I live in the north and there aren't very many actual Spanish speaking people around me.
Hey nate. When learning spanish with a native, how do I start? What tools or resources can I use with them for them to help me learn spanish by speaking fluently and remembering words ?
After using Duolingo for over a year, I would say no. It's great beginners tool to get you used to the grammar and syntax, and to help you learn vocabulary, but it doesn't provided enough audio input to give you good listening comprehension, nor does it have good tools to help you to learn to speak the language well.
I hate Duolingo, but every method needs supplementation. I was raised with English and Spanish, but I still needed formal education to shape up my grammar in both. I learned French in school, but had to make online friends to really get fluent - well, as fluent as I am.
Haven’t watched the video yet but with that being said the new DuoLingo is WAY better , after the update the things you learn are way more useful . 😂
I love the guayabera!
You can learn a lot with just computer programs.
But there is seriously NO substitute for communicating with a real person about real topics in real situations.
My girlfriend speaks spanish and is from Peru. I am learning on Duolingo and will also learn through speaking with her and her mom.
I'm using duolingo for learning two languages at same time. I hope i don't confuse the words and phrases. 🙏🏽
You even got Mercedes Sosa on your playlist. My favorite song of hers is Todo Cambia. I def do not cry while listening tho.
With the amount of content on Duolingo Spanish, I feel like even a native speaker couldn't do all the lessons in one lifetime. It's insane, it takes like a year+ to get through a section if you actually take the time to do it thoroughly.
Thoughts on Pimsleur and Rosetta Stone? Just beginning the process of learning spanish at 47 years old. failed spanish 2 in high school.
personally im just learning spanish for fun so i dont really care about being fluent but thanks for these tips :)
Nate rocking the stache! I love it! 😂
I had some Spanish customers at my job once and I heard them speaking in Spanish and I understood some of what they were saying
I am very fluent speaking English thanks to Duolingo and my vocabulary is very bi, also in Spanish and French
All that is required to learn a language to fluency is input, particularly listening for the first several hundred hours of studying. Speaking can help you get an idea of where you're at in terms of acquiring a language, but speaking will not improve your vocabulary or help you learn anything. Speaking before having a good concept of all of the sounds (not by consciously studying the alphabet, but by large amounts of exposure) can create bad habits and hinder your ability to develop a native-like accent. It takes a long time to ACQUIRE (NOT learn) a language. How do babies begin to pick up a language? They don't boot up duolingo and study grammar and vocabulary. They simply acquire the meaning of words through context and mass exposure. This is the only way to ACQUIRE a language so you don't have to do mental gymnastics trying to translate from one language to another in your head.
The problem with duolingo is it makes you FEEL like you're acquiring the language, when you're only consciously LEARNING the language, and learning will do practically nothing when it comes to holding a conversation with a native speaker. What's the point of being able to say hundreds of unique sentences if you can't understand the response to them because you're lacking auditory input? I have no affiliation with any language learning website, but after using dreamingspanish's website and method of comprehensible input for roughly 300 hours now, I've noticed a HUGE improvement in my listening comprehension and can follow many conversations fairly comfortably.
Learning a language takes a lot of persistence and dedication. Duolingo is a quick and dirty shot of language-LEARNING (not ACQUIRING) dopamine that gets people so distracted by the cute sounds and interface, they often don't realize they're not truly acquiring the language until they try to have a conversation and notice they're immediately lost. Duolingo's only real use case is when you want to learn just enough phrases to get by in a Spanish-speaking country and don't care about actually being able to have a conversation with anyone in the language.
First, never write long things because nobody will read it. Second, I got to the first part and that was wrong so I'll comment on that alone. In order to learn a language you have to speak a language.
@@krane15 First, some things can only be condensed so much.
Second, wrong. A growing number of people have learned a non-native language to the point of conversational fluency exclusively through comprehensible input. All speaking does is help you benchmark your current level. With just over 300 hours of listening practice and practically 0 hours practicing conversation, I'm able to communicate in a decent range of daily topics like weather, food, and daily activities. I know I'm able to because the phrases just come naturally to me after receiving the input that I have.
I too am struggling with comprehension of the spoken word. DuoLingo does help me with comprehension. Nearly every sentence has a "listen to this phrase" button and I always close my eyes and I listen several times until I can "decode" the spoken word fluently. This has done wonders.
Just because you don't use the listening feature doesn't mean it does not exist.
And speaking too! I am regularly required to "speak the phrase" and if I fail to enunciate properly (roll the rr's and end a question with a rise in tone) DuoLingo will make me repeat it until I get it right.
I don't know how any automated system could do better.
Y yo que veo tus videos para aprender ingles y me ah funcionado hahaha
🤣🤣🤣
Agree. It's a great supplement.
Loved this video and gonna add Anki.
I know someone from Romania. So I tried to learn Romanian on Duo.
It sounds like the person speaking on the app has a heavy Chinese accent. The app definitely does not sound like my friend. I let her hear it and she had a good laugh.
I love learning Spanish with Duo I am definitely not an advanced student.
I think I'll die of old age before I become fluent in another language in Doulingo.
A friend of mine picked up Spanish so quickly using Duolingo and Fluenti for speaking. He said the secret is to practice whenever you have time, even when you're in bathroom ; )
Thanks for sharing, I've been studying for 955 Days on Duolingo, and I can follow this video and understand your comment, I'm not fluent because I only studied 21 minutes a day, now I started studying 3 hours a day on Duolingo and I use Elsa speak To improve your pronunciation
Really cool shirt, saludos desde México!
The guitar on the back... So Mexican 😊
Hey Nate, what kind of camera do you use for your videos?
Sony ZV1 :)
My husband and I use duo and I also listen to the podcast. We have been at it 159 days and I clair I can't speak it 😂 I can read ok though.
Me: **watching this video being a native spanish speaker to learn English**
Also me: this video is good
4:13 i agree with him, I'm someone who lacks of confidence and I can't start a conversation in english because I'm too shy or i don't trust my own abilities in speaking english
What if the environment is not conducive enough for us to learn the language of our choice. What i mean is no one around me speaks the language i am learning. This provides many blockways to testing out our language skills. Movies, songs and dramas are other great sources to up our language dictionary but the point i made above still makes me skeptical whether i should continue. Oh well, the main purpose i started was for sheer enjoyment.
You have to create that environment for yourself... if you have the internet, some speakers and a microphone of some kind, you can directly chat with people who know your target language on various sites, apps or chat community.
When you said así que you blow my mind and I speak Spanish but listening in English was so much 😊
I just got duolingo because I have Spanish classes in school
El español es sencillo, bueno, yo soy nativo, pero igualmente, es sencillo aprenderlo, tengo un amigo aleman que aprendio en 5 meses
Cual es el truco??
@@RonalRomeroVergel el truco es praticarlo con alguien nativo y escuchar musica y ver peliculas en español
im learning english with duolingo since six months and is quiet good.
Conversant is the term I use with an elementary level.
my Spanish teacher TELLS me to use duolingo
It’s better just to talk to an AI (like me) and practice talking/listening in real time. AI don’t judge your pronunciation or laugh at you. You’ll be confident when you talk with a real person
I use it at home and with mi familia not only on Duolingo cuzz mama’s from España. But she never officially taught me Spanish. I learned espanol fluently 😮💨.
有同感，多邻国是学西班牙语书面知识，很适合初学者，但是不善于教怎么使用语言，搭配hello talk app可以与母语者交流更好
What language are you studying on duolingo if you say you havent used it for Spanish, yet you have a 508 day streak?
Mandarín!!
@@SpanishWithNate. awesome! Best of luck as always
Dios te bendiga 🙏🏻
@Spanish With Nate wow! How is that coming along?
So the last time you took the Duolingo test you didn’t have the mustache. Any difference? I hear it helps with fluency.
The rumors are true it absolutely helps
Anki is almost like cheating for vocabulary. If I had anki in secondary school. School would be a joke. I'd learn everything at school and exclusively use anki to revise. The concepts are not that hard to learn but the memorizing threshold is not natural for human brains. Anki takes a big initial commitment and upfront cost but to learn entire quotes, equations, rules, you're workload goes down by a lot after a while but you feel confident in the retention. If you can ask the teachers to get you materials early and learn everything in parallel with each other. By the time everyone is revising, you'll literally be able to ace everything in your sleep.
My wife is a native Spanish speaker, so I guess that helps a lot lol. She’s making me learn it, id like to be able to talk to my in laws
I need your help on unit4 session 1 I'm not CND answer or the words to press the fill in the blank on filling the blankno
Duolingo doesn’t teach you the Spanish used in SPAIN it teaches the Spanish spoken in South America … which I’m told by my Spanish friends is not the same. So be aware if you want to learn Spanish.
I’m learning Spanish because I’m travel to South America and north
This was a great video. I ❤DuoLingo.
im filipino and there is no spanish person in my country where do i talk and learn?
Not the "así que" sounding like the Romanian "așa că" 😭😭😭
They are grouping up with AI, AI should allow you to speak and be responded to basically instantly. It will likely also point your mistakes out.
I imagine this will be a pro feature.
Can anyone help with how to get any Spanish speakers as friends to speak with if you’re not close to any Spanish speaking country?
i have the same mexican skull you have there in the background :D
Can you speak to your app yet? If not, then I don't think you can. Although, it has been seven years since I last used it
I completed the German tree ii4 years never ever missing a day and I am far from fluent as a matter of fact I cant even understand conversation unless it is very basic
ChatGPT enters the arena
dear nate. when i was learning english it wasnt too hard to find a partner.but now in spanish i cant find partner.what would you suggest? is there any website or something that i can use?
Spanish is the second most popular language in the U.S. It would be impossible for me not to find a Spanish speaking partner. Well somebody that speaks Spanish since partner indicates a relationship.
Speaking other language is a challenge. I offer my Spanish to exchange for your English. I guess we can improve our skills.
I can teach you English if you teach me Spanish
Adoro ver a los gringos practicandonos xd
I'm looking for an exchange language, I'm from Colombia in case anyone is interested
Language transfer so good too
How Do You Say "Maybe" in spanish
I don’t know if this video is going to help me through anything I need more info how do each fluency
That’s a really good mustache for a fourteen year old !
maybe is the best
ask for you