Duolingo Will Not Make You Bilingual

Duolingo is a way to learn the basics but the problem is that it builds this fake confidence in you that makes you beleive you actually know the language. Because the app works off of gamification, you get the feeling that you are leveling up but in reality, learners can’t even maintain a real conversation.

It’s funny when I say to people that I know Spanish. A lot of people will say “Like you can have a conversation”. Isn’t that the whole point of learning a language? To communicate with another person. I think Duolingo is to blame for this because people will know some many random sayings and words but they can’t actually conversate. You might be able to order a coffee but what about asking the server how their day is going or asking for the their best reccomendation.

Spanish is a lot harder than people think. And they only realize that when they have to try to understand someone that is speaking Spanish fast. Duolingo does not prepare you for that. To be able to translate quickly, without much thought.

If I were to start learning Spanish again from zero, I wouldn’t even download Duolingo. Why invest time into something that brings you no real-world results? So where would I start? I mean…how do people learn a language when they enter a new country? Or how do babies learn? From listening. That is the first step to learning a language. Because your brain will start to put 2 and 2 together. Oh they said this and they brought this out. Oh they were mad and they said this. If you don’t understand what someone had said to you, you cannot reply appropriately. End of story.