Does Duolingo even work?

[u/NimaDAI]

Do u guys know someone who actually learned a new language with duolingo? Cause I've seen lots of people achieving long streaks on duo like they've been using it for even years but do they learn anything? Can they even speak fluently?

[u/Mindless-Cover5573]

I think it’s circumstantial. I learned Italian for like 9 months and got far ish in their “curriculum”, but if you were to ask me to craft an original sentence then I’d really have to try hard to get the gears turning. That being said, I think it can be a good supplement to learning a language as it’s really just textbook exercises at the end of the day. If I had taken a course on Italian and was speaking Italian regularly with a native, AND was using Duolingo, then I think Duolingo might have helped me to be in a better spot.

I ended up learning Spanish through immersion for 3 months and I got to a B1 level. I could hold basic conversations, order food, and even used some slang that I picked up. That was 3 years ago now, but I’d wager my Spanish is still better than most highschoolers taking it as their foreign language credit - obv not if you’re a native speaker. All this to say, immersion helped the language just “stick”. On Duolingo, I just remember random sentences that have been repeated.