Diligent in Duolingo

by kiko Fri Mar 06, 2015 9:21 am

Anyone here working the Duolingo program on a daily basis, mas or menos? I got bored about three weeks ago and so I started the program. I then drug my NOB brother-in law-into it but it looks like he wimped out after level 6. Just snooping around to see if anyone is working the program, helps to keep you motivated if you think there is someone along for the ride.

by CanuckBob Fri Mar 06, 2015 10:43 am

I haved played with Duolingo off and on. I like it.

by RVGRINGO Fri Mar 06, 2015 2:19 pm

I took it through level 13, but my eyse have made it difficult to continue. However, it is a fantastic program with the best teaching techniques of any that I have investigated. An hour a day is what will keep you making good progress. The built in review and usage is what makes it work so well, but will also let you fall back if you “take a vacation“.

by lobita Fri Mar 06, 2015 4:05 pm

I do it in spurts, depending upon what else is going on (daily-ish when I'm on it, though if I get busy with work, I may let it lapse for a week or a month). It's my favorite language tool.

by Rosa Venus Fri Mar 06, 2015 4:52 pm

I burned through Duolingo about a year and a half ago. Went as far as it would go. I was kind of disappointed once it got into the more advanced stuff. It seemed to sort of peter out, and didn't have much at that end of the spectrum. Maybe they've added more since…I'm going to go look.

It's a great site and a great learning tool. And it's FREE!

Also, if you've never seen the Ted Talk video of the fellow who led the team that created it, it is really wonderful and inspiring.

by kiko Fri Mar 06, 2015 5:04 pm

In 8 years I´ve had three Spanish teachers and only one was any good, so I decided to try this on and so far, it´s been rewarding.

Bought headphones the first week since I was having a hard time understanding that tinny and tiny computer speaker. With the headphones my scores went sky high. Next week bought a Spanish keyboard and that certainly made a big difference in getting the accent marks in the right slot in my brain. Now with every Spanish word I speak, I can see that accent mark in my thought process. Then today I bought a mike so I will try that out next.

I was at Office Depot today and I noticed an expat couple struggling with the language barrier. I knew the clerk and she asked if I would help, I did and in a few moments, bada bing bada boom, problem solved. Just speaking English louder with the same questions over and over again while flailing your arms tends to get the same results no matter how many times you repeat the process.

Although my wife is bilingual, I´ve passed her up in vocabulary in the last 8 years even though I only knew two Spanish words in 2006 (yo quiero), but I am still struggling with accent and pronouns. She got a head start on me since she grew up in El Paso where most everyone is bi-lingual.

I supposed the point to the thread is that if you hit a language rut for whatever reason, there is always another door out there for you to open. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. And as far as "I´m too old to learn a foreign language..." blah, blah blah Diligent in Duolingo 87465

Pure BS, The accent part is difficult for us geezers, the rest is possible and obtainable.

by Traveller Fri Mar 06, 2015 6:46 pm

Duolingo is great. I have tried Spanish group lessons, Spanish learning textbooks and Pimsleur. Pimsleur is good for pronunciation but Duolingo is my favourite, especially for building vocabulary. The Immersion section where you get to try your hand at translating is very helpful. I have got to the point where I can read fairly well - better than Google Translate, which isn't saying much - but I need a lot more practice in the other skills (listening, speaking and writing), especially when dealing with extended conversations. I'm almost at the point of joining an immersion program to brush up on my areas of weakness and overcome my shyness in conversation.

by lobita Fri Mar 06, 2015 8:24 pm

Spanish verb conjugations are the bane of my existence. Duolingo puts most verbs off until very late in the process, so I find that although I have a vocabulary of ... maybe 800-1000 Spanish words total? (not all through Duolingo; some through local usage) my verbs are still the utter suck.

Give me another year, though. I'll get it eventually ...

I agree with Rosa about the TED talk. Here's the link:
http://www.ted.com/talks/luis_von_ahn_massive_scale_online_collaboration?language=en

by kiko Fri Mar 06, 2015 9:42 pm

Thanks for the link.

by RVGRINGO Sat Mar 07, 2015 11:33 am

A copy of “501 Spanish Verbs“ will help a lot. Except for the irregular verbs, there are only three patterns to learn for verbs ending in either ir, er, or ar. The irregulars must be learned separately.

by lobita Sat Mar 07, 2015 12:17 pm

Does it ever seem to you like 'irregular' is the norm, though? :)

by RVGRINGO Sat Mar 07, 2015 12:24 pm

I try not to think about it. That helps. Basta

by mattoleriver Thu Mar 19, 2015 10:34 pm

You've inspired me! I'm on a two week streak and finding that with each day I become a bit more invested. If I can keep this up for a couple more weeks my conscience won't allow me to quit-----again-----maybe.

by kiko Fri Mar 20, 2015 7:04 am

Just looked at my profile and I´m only 44 XP from jumping to Level 10. Piece of cake, I´ll be there before the second cup of coffee this morning.

I was at a Guadalajara hospital earlier this week for a couple of days and was amazed at how much easier it was to communicate. Really paying off now that I can see the results.

by Stu Tue Mar 24, 2015 3:48 pm

RVGRINGO wrote:A copy of “501 Spanish Verbs“ will help a lot. Except for the irregular verbs, there are only three patterns to learn for verbs ending in either ir, er, or ar. The irregulars must be learned separately.

Only 2 sets of endings, -er and -ir endings are the same for regular verbs.

by Smartalex Tue Mar 24, 2015 4:55 pm

Stu wrote:
RVGRINGO wrote:A copy of “501 Spanish Verbs“ will help a lot. Except for the irregular verbs, there are only three patterns to learn for verbs ending in either ir, er, or ar. The irregulars must be learned separately.

Only 2 sets of endings, -er and -ir endings are the same for regular verbs.

I think there are variations between er and ir regular verb endings in the nosotros and vosotros forms. For instance: vivimos and vivís, aprendemos and aprendéis. Live and learn...huh?

by RVGRINGO Tue Mar 24, 2015 6:56 pm

That looks like Spanish Spanish, not North American Spanish, ¿verdad?

by Smartalex Tue Mar 24, 2015 8:12 pm

The vosotros form isn't used in Latin America since it's redundant. Latin Americans just use the Uds. form for both the formal and familiar plural. However, the nosotros form is used...and should be conjugated properly.

by viajero Tue Mar 24, 2015 8:53 pm

Smartalex wrote:The vosotros form isn't used in Latin America since it's redundant. Latin Americans just use the Uds. form for both the formal and familiar plural. However, the nosotros form is used...and should be conjugated properly.

They use vos a lot in Central and South America,vos sabeis =tu sabes down there.

by Stu Tue Mar 24, 2015 10:17 pm

Smartalex wrote:
Stu wrote:
RVGRINGO wrote:A copy of “501 Spanish Verbs“ will help a lot. Except for the irregular verbs, there are only three patterns to learn for verbs ending in either ir, er, or ar. The irregulars must be learned separately.

Only 2 sets of endings, -er and -ir endings are the same for regular verbs.

I think there are variations between er and ir regular verb endings in the nosotros and vosotros forms. For instance: vivimos and vivís, aprendemos and aprendéis. Live and learn...huh?

Yeah, big deal, one out of 5 endings in er and ir is different. That sure must be difficult to memorize. Like one ending is a "set".

Entre tus otras virtudes, ya eres maestro de castellano?

by Smartalex Wed Mar 25, 2015 1:15 am

viajero wrote:
Smartalex wrote:The vosotros form isn't used in Latin America since it's redundant. Latin Americans just use the Uds. form for both the formal and familiar plural. However, the nosotros form is used...and should be conjugated properly.
They use vos a lot in Central and South America,vos sabeis =tu sabes down there.

Thanks for the example. Is that all there is to it? I've heard of the "voseos" but no one could ever give me a clear explanation of what it meant or how it worked.

by Smartalex Wed Mar 25, 2015 1:24 am

Stu wrote:
Smartalex wrote:
Stu wrote:
RVGRINGO wrote:A copy of “501 Spanish Verbs“ will help a lot. Except for the irregular verbs, there are only three patterns to learn for verbs ending in either ir, er, or ar. The irregulars must be learned separately.

Only 2 sets of endings, -er and -ir endings are the same for regular verbs.

I think there are variations between er and ir regular verb endings in the nosotros and vosotros forms. For instance: vivimos and vivís, aprendemos and aprendéis. Live and learn...huh?

Yeah, big deal, one out of 5 endings in er and ir is different. That sure must be difficult to memorize. Like one ending is a "set".

Entre tus otras virtudes, ya eres maestro de castellano?

My math says it's two out of six, or a 33.3 percent variation.

by Stu Wed Mar 25, 2015 8:05 am

Smartalex wrote:
Stu wrote:
Smartalex wrote:
Stu wrote:
RVGRINGO wrote:A copy of “501 Spanish Verbs“ will help a lot. Except for the irregular verbs, there are only three patterns to learn for verbs ending in either ir, er, or ar. The irregulars must be learned separately.

Only 2 sets of endings, -er and -ir endings are the same for regular verbs.

I think there are variations between er and ir regular verb endings in the nosotros and vosotros forms. For instance: vivimos and vivís, aprendemos and aprendéis. Live and learn...huh?

Yeah, big deal, one out of 5 endings in er and ir is different. That sure must be difficult to memorize. Like one ending is a "set".

Entre tus otras virtudes, ya eres maestro de castellano?

My math says it's two out of six, or a 33.3 percent variation.

How about 1 out of 10? Vosotros isn't even taught in schools here so eliminate that.

comer

como comemos
comes
come comen

vivir

vivo vivimos
vives
vive viven

Same endings in 9 out of 10 examples.

by RVGRINGO Wed Mar 25, 2015 11:15 am

Asi es, Stu.
I have enough trouble with Mexican Spanish & hope to avoid confusion with the other form, which Is only used by priests saying mass in Mexico; according to some. I also avoid churches, which are also as confusing and divisive as different forms of the same language. :)

by Smartalex Wed Mar 25, 2015 12:30 pm

Stu wrote:

Only 2 sets of endings, -er and -ir endings are the same for regular verbs.

Setting your poor mathematical skills aside, you were still wrong. Back to school for you, Stu.

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