Duolingo: 2023 Review
So my efforts in studying French via Duolingo fluctuated a lot this year due to fluctuations in how busy I was, but I tried to stay consistent with at least doing one lesson a day. Here’s my year-end summary:
I think the combination of the French class(es) and Duo is a really good one. Duo is great for vocab and basics; the French class(es) help with the nuances of the language.
Can’t wait to learn more!
500 Days!
Check it, I just hit 500 days on Duo!
Here are some examples of the level of French I can comprehend at this point:
I’m excited for my second French class this coming winter!
Yo Dawg, I Herd U Like French
So I put some French synonyms in your French definitions so you can learn French while you learn French.
Anyway.
This is a new type of Duolingo exercise, and I really like it. You’re getting your current knowledge of French tested at the same time you’re learning new words. I hope there are a lot more exercises like this!
I did two things today!
Well, I did other stuff too, of course, but there were two BIG things.
One: I signed up for FRE 102, the first actual factual French course in the certificate program. I’m nervous about it because we’re actually graded in this course (rather than Complete/Incomplete), so that’ll be interesting.
Two: I also officially applied for the program to get a professional Certificate in French Language and Culture – FSL Foundations. I’ll get an actual parchment if I complete the whole program!
YAYZORZ
TESTING MY FRENCH!
I’d say that’s pretty good for only having one French class and using Duo for a bit less than a year.
Let’s keep improving!
Mes livres de français sont arrivés !
Yay!
One is (obviously) a French-English dictionary; the other is a book on conjugating French verbs.
Apprendre le français est agréable !
Trois Cents!
(LOL, “trois cents” rhymes with “croissants”)
I’ve hit 300 days on Duolingo learning French!
That’s pretty cool. I didn’t think I’d stick with it that long, but I’m glad I have! Now I just want to learn even more French, haha.
Très bien!
Holy freaking crap, Duolingo is addictive. I wasn’t sure if I’d get into it, but I’m super invested, haha.
I know it’s not exactly the same as a language class, but it’s the best I can do right now. Maybe I’ll see if there are any free university-offered intro French classes anywhere.
WOO!
D-D-D-Duo!
So I saw some bro sharing a 300-day Duolingo streak on Twitter this afternoon, and that for whatever reason sparked me to download Duolingo and get started on a language.
Turns out I’d made a Duolingo account way back in September 2016, but luckily, I could remember my login info and started things up from there.
I’m going to go for French. Three reasons why:
- It’s in the same general family as English and thus would be easier to learn than, say, Hebrew or Greek.
- It’s one of Canada’s official languages and is thus on packaging and other things up here; it would be something easy to practice and, of course, it’d be cool to know Canada’s other official language.
- (I could possibly read some original, untranslated Leibniz!!!!!)
So yeah. We’ll see how this goes. I know Duo doesn’t replace actual language courses and experience, but it’s a good start, right?
Hey, remember back when my blogs were good?
Me neither.
I may have mentioned this video on here before, but I’m pretty sure I’ve never posted it or really talked about it. And I re-discovered it the other day, so here you go.
This nifty little song is called Prisecolinensinenciousol. Written by Italian Adriano Celentano, the song’s lyrics are total gibberish designed to sound like American English.
Catchy, ain’t it? I remember one spring when Nick and I would talk to each other in fake French we actually convinced some dude at Hastings that we were really speaking French. We’re bad people, oui?
Eigenblogger 