I learned probably 90% of my Spanish through Duolingo. My reading is good enough that I can usually follow along with Spanish news articles and Spanish spoken at a moderate pace. (So almost none of it, haha) I have hearing comprehension problems with English as well though, so thatâs not Duolingoâs fault.
Iâm definitely not fluent, but itâs not like I wouldnât know what to do if someone handed me a form in Spanish, either.
Overall itâs just the repetition that matters. I donât think I would know any less Spanish if Iâd spent 20-30 minutes every day for the past 2+ years using a different app to learn.
cathfish@lemmy.world â¨4⊠â¨weeks⊠ago
Thanks. Thatâs quite a good result I think. Did you practice outside the app (I mean at the beginning) ? How long would you say it takes to be able to read a newspaper article without too much difficulty?
Catoblepas@lemmy.blahaj.zone â¨4⊠â¨weeks⊠ago
This is just for the English speaker learning Spanish Duolingo course, which Iâm told is one of the best ones, so it may not apply to other courses. But IMO it was easier to pick up the majority of the beginner vocabulary in Duolingo (theyâve got the drill aspect of language learning down pat) and then spread out to other sources. I especially needed outside help with grammar because (at least when I was doing the early parts) Duolingo didnât explain grammar very much, so there was a bit of ramming my head against a brick wall.
How long an article takes me to read depends on how many colloquial phrases it has that Duolingo hasnât introduced me to, if uncommon words or jargon are used, etc. The dictionary app I use is pretty good and includes slang, so when I do run into unknowns it only takes a few seconds to look it up. But overall Iâd say I read maybe 1/2 to 2/3 the speed I read English, depending on all the above factors. It does fatigue me a lot faster than reading English, but I think thatâs a normal thing for second languages youâre still learning.