Duolingo is app which has gamified language learning for 13 years. It has a Trustpilot rating of 1.7 out of 5. I think if I had seen the reviews I wouldn’t have started with it! The seem to be based on how difficult it is on the free version of the app and why people aren’t “fluent” after 4 years.
I use the paid version, it’s £89.99 per year (as of Nov 24) and you can have 6 accounts on it. I’m learning German. I currently have four family members plus a friend, and I still have a spot free. It’s quite good value. I actually like Duolingo, I would rate it as 4/5. I have learned German in the past so I’m not a new learner and I realise that this may skew my thoughts about it. I’m using Duo to increase my vocabulary, and get me more used to some of the grammar structures that I have been avoiding! For someone who finds forming habits difficult, it has clearly worked as I have got 1000 day streak recently. I’m less keen on the leader boards, as I think they take the emphasis off the learning and more about “winning” the league. But maybe they help some people. I have school age kids and a little bit of Duolingo every day, makes such a difference. Even if they retain a few words each week, this builds up to a big difference over a long period.
For me, I can’t see something once and I know it, I need repetition. Duolingo has this in spades. I feel it is a useful tool in a language learner’s toolbox. And I might just have a little celebration for my 1000 day streak!
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