#Babbel reads
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redinkquill · 6 months ago
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Babbel Continues
Babbel never stopped
The curse continues to this day
It’s in all the miscommunications
In everything we say
Our intent is not accurately conveyed
Always on different pages
Even when reading the same book
It’s communication in different stages
It’s different perspectives when you look
Imagine if everything you said or wrote
Always ended with others in the same boat
It’s not like that at all in this world
Every little word is twirled
It’s all the little mistakes that add up
To prevent us from making towers to the sky
Although that is a bit of a lie
Because that tower breached Heaven
Ever since, every sentence added a question
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always-a-slut-4-ghouls · 2 months ago
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I don’t get why people feel like the Duolingo owl is threatening, if I ever feel like he is I just get mad at him. I could fight an owl. I don’t know if I’d win, but I don’t think I’d lose (two things that can apparently coexist). I think I’d survive at least and that’s not really winning but also not losing.
You wanna be so threatening? Da bør du drepe meg!
#emma posts#I used google translate for help because they haven’t taught me the phrase ‘kill me’ yet#taught me the word for beer øle but not the more important words like ‘kill’#as far as I can tell everything else in that sentence checks out so I figured the translation was good enough#not sure if it’s in the right order or if you use better that way in Norwegian. but good enough for a tumblr flop post#Emma’s adventures in using Duolingo#I should honestly use that as a tag for it#I post enough venting about that app#until I find out if I’m dyslexic for sure and there’s a way to help that with other languages. I’m not going to pay for Babbel yet#Babbel has Icelandic lessons too I think and that is my final boss tbh#I’ve been going from easiest for English speakers to hardest as my plan#and it turns out that I forgot how much some of my issues affect learning new languages#last time I learned another language it was Spanish and I’m not fluent but I’ve had classes and been around it for so long#that i kinda forgot what it’s like to start from scratch#I didn’t start trying to learn Norwegian until I was 26#or was it my 27th birthday? I could check my streak#I was like ‘psh. it will be harder with my disabilities. but I should be able to read. my top priority with this language’#and then I realized I had been somehow adapting to the other two languages since childhood and forgot how much I had to work around#I mean. I knew I was worse at language arts in school than I was in literature and writing. but still#I also already knew I was worse at making new sentences in other languages than I was figuring out ones that someone else made#but I thought that was just because I hadn’t used Spanish much for several years now#every time I try to re-learn Spanish it just ends up with me being able to figure out what someone said to me but not how to answer#if i brushed up on it again i could probably have a conversation with someone who understood English but better spoke Spanish#someone with the same problem as me but reversed language wise#please don’t take this as me saying I could currently have an entire conversation with someone speaking Spanish#I’m better than someone who never learned it and didn’t encounter it’s use a lot. but I really don’t think I could have a real conversation#not at the moment at least#I have been meaning to brush up on Spanish again too. there are at least real classes in my area for it and not just an app#the last time there were Norwegian classes around here my dad was in college and old people still spoke it#no one around here speaks it anymore
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bl00d-1n-wat3r · 1 year ago
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Wanna know something odd. I pretty much refuse to read fanfics with a word count over 5,000 and yet Ill then around and read a whole book in one day. Hm I think Im a hypocrite :3
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neristudy · 2 months ago
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Stuff that I use to study languages when i'ts a slow day, a bad brain day, or I am simply a bit sick
We simply can't give 110% every day. So, we need ways to study that don't take more than 15 minutes and are quick, convenient, and accessible from phone.
And don't get me wrong - yes, when you're sick, go sleep and rest. This post is only for the situations where you lie in bed and you feel mostly fine, and really bored, but getting out of bed makes you dizzy.
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Lesson in an app
My favorites are the one with no ads and no freemium, for this is Babbel, Clozemaster (you can read on how i use it more details here), and Flashcards - but honestly, check them all!
Write in appstore or playstore "/your language/ learning" and get all the apps that looks even a bit useful to you. Try them, delete the one that is not a vibe to you, and try new ones.
Just skip Duolingo, I beg of you. You'll have more learning by just changing language in Candy Crush or something, and the ammount of ads/money you need to pay it is really not worth it.
Youtube
Open youtube, and put on some silly little video in your target language in a background. Maybe it's gonna be Peppa Pig in German. Maybe it'll be Dead Space's cartoon in the same language. Just make sure that whenever you'll have a downtime and would wanna something on a background, it'll be in your target language.
You probably won't listen to the details anyway, but you'll pick up some phrases or rhythm of the language one way or another.
Nice tip - try searching for fandom videos in your target language. You know, you might find your new favorite channel that way! Plus, you can try turning on subtitles.
Discord language learning channels
Even 15 minutes of chatting with your friends in your target language can be a much better thing than nothing. Plus, you can whine to them a little about your misfortunes. Whining (in moderation, of course) is very useful - it will both shatter your friends' illusion that “ everybody else is doing well, but not them ” and allow you to de-stress a bit.
Remember - this is a marathon, not a race.
Anything worth doing is worth doing half-assed. Forget being perfect!~
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copperbadge · 9 months ago
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Amateur Translation Programs
So I had a lot of imaginative and informative responses to my post about looking for an amateur translation program -- something where I could load in a foreign language and it would insert a box where I could add a translation every-other-line. The idea was that this way I could practice translation with more advanced texts, and texts I chose, and thus move away from Duolingo, which at this point is good for drilling and daily practice but not for more advanced learning.
I didn't find precisely what was needed but I did get some inspiration for further explanation, and I also learned that adding the term "glossing" (thank you @thewalrus-said) into my searches helped a great deal in terms of weeding out programs that were either "Let this AI translate for you" or just endless promotional links for Babbel and Duolingo and such. I thought I'd collect up the suggestions and post them here; at the end I'm including my best swing at designing what I wanted, and why it doesn't work yet.
Suggestion one, from many people, was various ways to generate a page that is simply fixed Italian text with space underneath each line to add in a translation. This is pretty simple as a process and there are sites that will do it for you, such as this one that @ame-kage suggested. However, most of these don't allow for movement in the Italian text, and many produce a PDF which you would need to print out in order to write on unless you're willing to open it in Acrobat (and deal with Acrobat). A good solution for some but not what I'm looking for purely because I'm trying to make this super frictionless so that (knowing myself as I do) I will actually do it.
I did find this version interesting, suggested by @drivemetogeek: Have one word doc saved as your "template" doc and set the line spacing as 2.0 or higher. Select your text from source and paste it into the template doc as text-only. Ctrl a, ctrl c to select all and copy, then open a new document and "paste special" as picture. Right click and set the "wrap text" as behind text. Now you have a document where you can, basically, type over the existing text because it's the background of the page. This seems like the most frictionless version, because you could set up a bunch of them ahead of time. If you wanted to move between desktop and mobile, however, you'd need to ensure that the pasted image was fairly narrow so that you don't have to sideways-scroll.
Relatedly, people suggested generating a document that is simply the Italian text with empty space beneath it for typing in of the translation. This can be done either semi-automated, using a macro or a language like Python, or find-and-replace on, say, the stops at the ends of sentences. It basically outputs the same as above but with a more digitally accessible format, without any more effort than above. If you were to do this in Google Sheets you could also fix the column width so that it didn't do anything weird when you opened it on your phone. But it is still very friction-y, and does not allow for easy shifting of the Italian as needed. There's high probability of the translation breaking weirdly across the page. Still a top option in terms of simplicity and access.
@smokeandholograms suggested another variation illustrated here where essentially you're converting the text to a series of tables, with each paragraph a row, and an empty cell next to it for the translation. I might play around more with this one eventually, since I think I could possibly make it a three-column and put the Italian in one, the translation in the next, and the auto-translate to let me know where I might be slipping in the third. (Not that I trust auto-translate but comparing a hand translation to an auto translation can be useful in terms of working out when I've messed up the way a tense or mood is read. I tend to read indirect verbs as automatically imperative because I'm a weirdo.)
@wynjara linked to an add-in for Word specifically designed for translators, known as TransTools; this appears to employ a macro to do the same thing, though it does have a format where you can place the translation next to each sentence directly rather than in a separate cell. The full suite of tools is only $45 which is reasonable for my budget, but for what I need I think I could also just create the macro.
Using LaTeX as a tool specially designed for glossing was an option on offer, but I don't know enough about LaTeX to figure out the pros of this one, which is in itself the major con -- there's a learning curve that I think varies widely by person but for me is unfortunately a wall. It came out of a discussion on Reddit about trying to find something like what I want; also in that discussion is a link to a code generator that allows you to…do something…to the initial language, but it's not entirely clear to me (I'm sure it's clear to people who understand coding) what you would then do with it that would allow it to be output in the way I'm hoping for. Like, I could turn a paragraph of text into HTML, I understand that far, but any Italian I find is already on a website.
Moving more into apps that might work, Redditors on the LaTeX discussion suggested SIL Fieldworks, which is a professional language tech tool. Fieldworks isn't a program I'd previously encountered but much as with the ones I had, it looks like the learning curve is fairly steep and it is definitely overkill generally for what I need, though it might also harbor within it the thing I want. It is free, so I may download and play around with it.
@brightwanderer suggested using note-taking or "whiteboard" apps such as Freeform or Nebo; these are generally a kind of "infinite canvas" in which you can drop objects, text boxes, or handwriting. I don't know that Freeform would be measurably different to just using Word and a macro, since I'd still have to input/format all the text and then be stuck with the same "fixed text" setup -- and it's also iOS only -- but for some folks it might be more helpful. Nebo is a similar infinite-canvas with unfortunately the same issues, though on the plus it's available for Android, which is where most of my mobile property resides.
@bloodbright suggested that I was looking for a CAT tool, a professional translation tool mainly used by translators working in the field. This was a concept I'd encountered, but I hadn't found a good starting place. They suggested Smartcat and OmegaT. Smartcat bills itself as an AI translation platform and is HARD pushing the "don't translate it yourself, hire a translator or let AI do it" angle, so it's difficult to tell what it offers in terms of actual tools for translators, and it's also cagey about pricing, so I can't really evaluate it. OmegaT is free and gives off big "some weirdo homebrewed this in their basement" vibe (which I am here for) but I also recognized it from screengrabs that were the reason I veered away from professional-grade software: it looked too complex. Realistically, the major downside of OmegaT is that I don't think I can put it on my phone. One thing I did find interesting is that once you translate a portion of the text, the original language goes away, though I assume you can turn that off if needed. I do kind of like that because it means my distractable brain is looking at Less Stuff.
So where did I end up?
Well, it looked like I was going to have to try a homebrew myself. I had the idea of trying some of the initial suggestions but in reverse -- designing a document where every other line was a single-cell table fixed to the page. You could paste in the Italian, which would wrap around the cells, and then enter the English in the cells.
You can fix a table in place in Google Docs -- you click on the table, then under Table > Style select Wrap Text, Both Sides, and Fix On Page. Getting the whole page set up is a little labor intensive but once you did that, you could just save it as a template and make a duplicate of it each time. And this actually works….on desktop.
Unfortunately, if you open it in the mobile Docs app, the app can't handle the fixed tables and automatically moves them all to after the text that's been pasted in. I tried redesigning it so that it's a table within a table -- one for the Italian, then within that a series of them for the English -- but when you nest a table in Google Docs, it doesn't let you fix the second table in place. And you are also still dealing with the wrap issue, although you can resize the page and add a large right-hand margin as a kludge of a fix for that.
You can build this same kind of document in Word, so I tried building one in Word and then uploading it to Drive, but when you open the Word file in Docs (or in Microsoft Word for Android), it still strips the fixed positioning -- there's just some functionality missing from both apps that doesn't allow them to handle fixed-position tables.
So, the design is sound, just not the final execution. If I could program an app, I could probably remedy the issues with it -- it's simply a series of text boxes nested inside one another with different formatting. I would imagine that's relatively basic to set up, although given that neither Docs nor Word can handle fixed tables in mobile, perhaps I've stumbled on a much bigger problem that everyone is ignoring because nobody actually needs or wants fixed tables in mobile. :D
Experimentation is ongoing, anyway. I might simply have to resign myself to the fact that my translation study is going to have to be in front of a computer, which might be for the best anyway when I inevitably want to compare my translation to an auto-translate to see where I might have read something wrong.
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winningismyjob · 6 months ago
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5 Proven facts to learn a new language faster
Hey all, as an experienced language learner, having learnt two foreign languages to fluency in a relatively small amount of time, and having a lot of experience with tons of other languages, I would like to share with you my 5 tips, which are supported by science, to learn a language faster.
Language learning is important for multiple reasons, one of which is that it stimulates your brain in new ways and can prevent mental diseases like Alzheimer's and dementia. Another reason is that it makes you see the world in a different light and gives you access to new countries, cultures and people.
After reading this blog you will be much more secure in your language learning and will have access to a faster way to mastering your preferred language, so make sure you implement all of these in your next study routine.
Now without further ado, let's start.
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  1. Set clear goals
We all like to be ambitious, but it's important to be realistic as well. Learning a language takes time and even if you optimise your study sessions, it'll still take some years to get fluent (although it depends on the language you're learning and which ones you already know). The reason most people give up on language learning is because they set too high goals and don't reach them, so they become demotivated. Instead of telling yourself to learn 20 words a day, which is a lot, reduce it to 100 words a month. 100 words is still significant progress and is definitely doable even if you're busy, since you would only have to learn 3-4 words of day, which would require about 10, 15 minutes max. In a year you would learn 1200 words, and if you have more time, you could even double it to 200 a month.
It is scientifically proven that people that set reachable goals are more likely to stay motivated and get fluent in the language they're learning.
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    2. Immerse yourself
The second way to learn a language in a faster way is to immerse yourself. I myself have always used this, going to different countries and staying there for some time, and it's always very rewarding since I come back with much more control and fluency in my language.
If you don't have the time and resources to go or move to a new country, which is definitely understandable, you could immerse yourself in different ways, like watching tonnes of YouTube videos, listening to podcasts and talking to natives online. You can use apps like Spotify, Tandem, HelloTalk and Slowly for this.
You could also go on subreddits like r/language exchange to find yourself a language partner.
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    3. Use language learning apps
Although there's a lot of discourse about whether you should or shouldn't use language learning apps, and whether or not they're a waste of time and teach you enough to not use actual textbooks, it can be said that there definitely are certain language apps that help you get closer to your language learning goals faster. Using apps like Anki or Quizlet to learn vocabulary consistently, and Busuu and Babbel for grammar, can significantly help you reach a higher level in your language. Just make sure you don't use just one app, and that you focus on all aspects of language learning.
A possible combination of apps: Anki for vocabulary, Busuu for grammar and Tandem and YouTube for immersion.
Also, you can still use traditional tools for your language learning and combine them with apps. You could use a textbook for grammar and download an app for practising verbs and another one for cases (or use certain websites). Either way, language learning apps are proven to help you learn a language quicker, since they keep your progress organised and keep you motivated. Sometimes they can have an addictive interface like Duolingo so that they make sure you learn something everyday.
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    4. Learn everyday
As for my fourth tip, it's crucial you learn something every single day and not skip a day. Skipping a day can quickly turn into three days, and then a week, which can make you demotivated and harder to start again. You don't have to study for an hour everyday, but just 5 minutes will keep you on the right track and keep you motivated.
You can also try to incorporate language learning in your daily life, like putting sticky notes with vocabulary on your desk or fridge. You can set your background of your phone to a list of 20 new words you have to learn for the week. If you're very serious, maybe consider dating someone who speaks the language you wanna learn, since you can immerse yourself this way naturally.
If it's needed, turn on an alarm or reminder on your phone for language learning or make it a habit to study everyday after you wake up, before you go to sleep, during breaks etc.
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    5. Track your progress
This might sound simple, but it's one of the things that makes people demotivated and stop learning their language. When you get to a certain level, you'll feel "stuck"; you'll feel like you're not progressing. By writing down what you've learned everyday after you study, you'll stay motivated to learn again the next day and the next day and the next day. You'll learn your language faster since you'll stay consistent and since there's less of a chance of you becoming frustrated and feeling stuck and maybe even giving up.
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    Bottom line
There are multiple ways to learn a language quicker, supported by science, like setting clear goals, immersion, using language learning apps, making sure you study everyday and tracking your progress. With these 5 tips you should be ready to take your language learning to the next level.
Thank you for reading and I hope this blog has helped you come closer to your goals. If you want to read more content about studying, language learning, culture, travel, history and countries, definitely don't hesitate to follow my account since I'll post a lot more.
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ros3ybabe · 1 year ago
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Current Japanese Study Routine + Resources 🎀
As you all may know, I am currently self studying Japanese and Spanish, though I am putting Spanish on the back burner for now so I can focus more on Japanese as that is where my passion lies at the moment. Lucky for me, there is a Japanese language and culture club on my university campus that I am (hopefully) going to join next week or the week after, given how busy my schedule ends up being. I thought I’d make a little post about my current routine that I use to study and what resources I am currently using and am planning on purchasing to use in order to build my proficiency in this beautiful language!
Current Resources 🩷
Apps - I am currently playing around with several apps to see which ones work for me, so here is all the apps I currently have downloaded to my iPad/phone
Duolingo - this has been a go to for all language I’ve ever tried to learn, it’s useful for me as a basic introduction to vocabulary, sentence structure, some grammar, and I just like how it involves typing, speaking, listening, and reading.
Drops - this one is just a fun little 5 minutes gamified way to learn vocabulary for me, it’s definitely a go to on my lazier language learning days
Bunpo - I like this for learning the kana but I didn’t realize it costs money to use fully so I am debating purchasing a subscription to the paid version
Write Japanese - this one I’m using to learn the correct stroke order for the kana and I like it for the most part
Renshuu - I just signed in to use this one last night and it looks interesting. I’ve seen it recommended by several blogs and even when google searching language learning and watching YouTube videos so I’m excited to try it out!
NHK for School - I saw someone recommend this on their blog and I remember using the website version in the past so I know this will be helpful when it comes to reading
Jisho - this is a dictionary app that I’ve seen recommended on so many platforms and I’m always open to a good dictionary!
Japanese - this one was recommended on a blog post and it allows you to add vocabulary and interesting phrases so I thought it’d be useful once I start on learning sentence structure and grammar
Italki - this one is the one I’m most excited to use. It connects you to people who speak and teach your target language for a set timed lesson, and it does cost money but you pay by lesson, not on a subscription basis. So if you do one lesson the first week and then another lesson in three weeks or something, you only pay for those two lessons. I’m really looking forward to trying this one out in the future once I get more comfortable with speaking.
Anki - a flash card app I am using to currently learn hiragana and will soon use for katakana and eventually kanji and phrases. I was gonna use Quizlet but I ended up liking this one better for my current needs.
LingoDeer, Memrise, Babbel, HiNative, HelloTalk, Hey Japan, Busuu, Kanji, Kana, Sensei - apps that I have and have not tried yet. I really like the ones I’ve already tried so I’m not sure if I’m going to use these ones soon but if I get bored of current apps than I at least have alternatives to turn to to continue learning
Textbooks/Workbooks/Materials - I currently own two workbooks but will include the resource I am planning on buying, as well as any stationery material I am also using!
Japanese for Busy People I - This was the workbook we had for the Japanese class I took at my university while in high school. My dad ended up buying it for me if I promised not to take Japanese classes once I went to college. (My parents don’t believe it is useful to know and they are helping pay for my education so I didn’t have a choice.) I haven’t started reusing it yet but once I am comfortable with the kana then I will resume using it.
Let’s Learn Katakana - this is a katakana writing book my older brother bought for me (he is supportive of everything I have an interest in even if he doesn’t understand it himself) and it is really useful for learning and practicing writing katakana. However I am still focusing on relearning hiragana so I will return to this workbook after I solidify my hiragana knowledge.
Genki I and Genki II textbook/workbook + answer key bundle - I am planning to buy this off of Amazon as I have heard from most people who are learning Japanese on their own that this set is really useful for self studying so of course I am going to invest in it once I get paid next week.
I am also looking for a hiragana, katakana, and kanji writing workbook to practice those skills.
Free Online Resources -
YouTube!
Anime!
Music
Manga
Anything free I can find online when google searching resources
Stationary Supplies -
Kokuyo Campus Smart Ring Binder in pink
Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pens in black
Index cards
Pilot g-2 fashion pens
Zebra mild liner highlighter/markers
Papermate Mechanical Pencils
Mini notebook to carry around for vocabulary
My iPad + Apple Pencil + Goodnotes 5
My Chromebook
A lot of resources but I am trying to stick with this for the long term. A few years ago, I self studied Japanese everyday for about 2 years and gained a good understanding but fell off from studying Japanese when I went to university.
My Current Study Routine* 🎀
*when I have more than 30 minutes to study, if I only have 30 minutes or less I just mess around on my language apps
I currently do not use any workbooks or textbooks as I am trying to re familiarize myself with the language. Here’s my current study routine!
Practice Anki flashcards 3 times or until I get 85-90% correct
Practice hiragana writing in Write Japanese app (~10min)
Duolingo lessons for 10 minutes
1 Japanese language Drops lesson
Use Renshuu until I get bored (~10-15min)
Watch an episode of anime as a reward (Japanese audio with English subtitles)
I will switch this up to a more structured way of studying once I start using my textbooks and workbooks, but for now this relaxed style of learning is working for me time wise and attention wise (ADHD brain right here).
I also listen to Japanese music throughout the day and try to recall hiragana characters correctly in my head when I have the time. I also sneak in some practice when at work on my apps and whatnot. I mentioned in my last daily check in some of my favorite Japanese artists, and I also love Japanese versions of K-pop songs too! I’m currently watching Bungou Stray Dogs on crunchyroll right now, and I’m open to any recommendations for what to watch next!
If anyone has any language learning tips or resources they’d want to share, feel free to comment! It would be greatly appreciated!
Til next time my lovelies 🩷🤍
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official-linguistics-post · 11 months ago
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I just found your blog and you are already one of my favorite blogs on this site! I wanted to know if you've read RF Kuang's Babbel? If so, I would like to know your thoughts!
BABEL CHANGED ME. i got it from the library last year (use your public libraries, folks!!), devoured it in 24 hours, and was asked multiple times by my spouse if i was okay while sobbing on the couch. it's one of those rare books that i actually bought a physical copy of for rereading availability.
now, disclaimer: i'm already a lover of fantasy, and if you're not into those premises you probably won't be a huge fan of babel. but it was an exceptionally intriguing linguistic twist on magic, and it immediately and fundamentally shifted my approach to writing (as the best books do). i recommend babel to literally everyone who listens to my recs.
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solarishashernoseinabook · 2 months ago
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Okay folks, crowdsourcing opinions on alternatives to Duolingo. I'd found out about Duolingo using AI and getting worse after paying for a year of super, and couldn't get it refunded, so i decided to stick it out...but that's expiring come January.
So first, what I like about Duolingo: I've been using it for nearly four years now and I really like the options to practice previous mistakes (which I've heard is no longer possible for free users). I also like the variety of exercises you're offered - speaking, writing, word matching, etc. What I don't like: I've been learning German for the whole time I've been using Duolingo, and while I can read simple sentences and generate some as well - I can read a picture book and understand most of it besides some isolated words - I'm lost in spoken conversation, which I found when Duolingo introduced new lessons that come off more like podcasts and where you have to figure things out just by listening. I'm also absolutely hopeless at grammatical gender, often knowing how to say everything in a sentence except "the" or how to correctly conjugate "my/his/their" etc. Something that gives me more instruction on that would be really nice.
A few years ago I tried Babbel and hated it so much I quit after a few months, despite what I paid for it. I used it to try and learn French and found the lessons really limiting and the model conversations very unrelatable. Worse, at one point they moved me to lessons that were entirely in French, including the explanations for grammatical rules, making them completely useless to someone who didn't have enough French to understand those rules. I ended up with zero greater understanding of the language than I had before, and absolutely will not consider using it again, so don't bother suggesting it.
Right now, my two big options are Mango and Busuu. They're the ones I've heard the most about, and I get Mango free with my library, but I've heard it's pretty limited? Any feedback on these would be welcome, or alternatives. I'll probably try out a combination of learning programs to use daily. Also, I'll need something that works on a computer - I intentionally downgraded to a flip phone that could run something like Duolingo or Mango, but would be annoying to use on there given that I'd be using a key pad for typing
Anyway thanks for your suggestions folks :3 have some cat photos for tax
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ceilidhtransing · 1 year ago
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Here to once again sing the praises of Duolingo (and go on a long ramble about language learning)
I see a fair bit of criticism of Duo that essentially begins and ends with “Duolingo alone won't make you fluent”, stated as if it's obvious that this point alone is enough to totally condemn the app.
The thing is, “Duolingo alone won't make you fluent” is true*, but also a) pretty obvious to most dedicated language learners and b) not nearly enough to automatically render Duolingo not worth using.
[*It's also worth pointing out that “fluency” isn't really a single coherent concept: people can have radically different fluency levels across, for example, reading and speaking; different levels of proficiency can count as “fluent” in different settings depending on the needs of that setting; and not everyone learning a language is even aiming for “fluency” in the first place - though this also leads into a huge can of worms about the somewhat prevalent idea that fluency is the only worthwhile goal for learners and if you're not aiming to be fluent then it's a waste of time, but that's a discussion for another day.]
The value of Duolingo varies a lot by course, but my experience is that even though Duolingo alone won't “make you fluent”, the bigger, better-developed courses can take you a long way. Yes, obviously not to C2 “basically a native speaker” level, but pretty far. And that's personally where I find the app's real value: giving enough of a grounding in a language that other learning materials - short stories, podcasts, conversation groups, etc - become accessible. Of course Duolingo alone isn't going to make you fluent, but for a lot of learners it's an irreplaceable early tool on their journey towards proficiency.
Early on, when your level of knowledge of a language is zero or near-zero, so much of the struggle of learning is a feeling of total overwhelm as you try to figure out how to learn and find a method you'll stick to. Independent learning can feel like walking blindly through a maze of disparate and sometimes contradictory resources, some on grammar, some on vocab, some that say “start speaking immediately!”, some that say “get to grips with these grammar foundations before even trying to speak!”, some that insist there's no replacement for immersion, some that argue that immersion is like being thrown in the deep end and expecting yourself to swim, and this is where so many people burn themselves out. You can't read short stories or listen to podcasts when you know literally nothing of a language, and if you use a random unstructured assortment of materials then you'll probably end up learning grammar concepts in a very random and disconnected and confusing way. Duolingo bridges that early gap between “zero proficiency” and “some proficiency”, providing a structure that says “just keep doing this and you will watch your ability grow”.
Really, I think it's in precisely what “doing this” means that the disagreement arises. It's a very YMMV app, depending on how each person uses it. Someone using Duolingo for >30 minutes a day, making rapid and intense progress through their course, and seeking out alternative sources to clarify bits of grammar that they're confused by is having such a different experience from someone who does one lesson a day just to keep a streak going. Of course someone doing the latter isn't going to be “made fluent” that way - because there is no language-learning material on earth that is going to produce genuine progress with that little time and attention (and frankly there is no material on earth that is a 100% comprehensive standalone course from beginner to fluent and doesn't require any supplementation). Regardless of which material you're using - Duolingo, Babbel, Rosetta Stone, LanguagePod101, a YouTube series, a university course, a textbook, or any of the many other miscellaneous methods - time and attention is basically what it comes down to, and personally, in the beginner-to-intermediate stages of language learning, I've found Duolingo to have a pretty good ratio of “time and attention” to “language progress”.
Ultimately, Duo can be excellent at holding your hand through those early months of language learning, getting you to a point where you don't use “Duolingo alone”, because you now have enough confidence and grounding to supplement with things like short stories and podcasts and conversation partners - things that you would have found unbelievably daunting at the beginning, but that are now accessible to you thanks to a free app that guides you through a clear learning structure. I think that's great.
Zu lang, ich habe nicht gelesen - vielleicht bin ich noch nicht fließend, aber ich kann viel mehr mit Duo als ohne Duo sprechen :)
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justporo · 1 year ago
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A Night of Song and Laughter (Part 5)
In which Tav goes a long way to assure everyone around there's no one but Astarion for her and the vampire has a staring contest with a dude-bro (and responds to it with a solid "Don't touch me!").
That's it, that's the chapter summary - I'm starting to get confused with the parts because there are (lemme count) EIGHT already written and at least a few more to go... You can read more already on my AO3 page!
There's no specific song for this chapter, but I'll happily share my ever-growing playlist that helps me write: Astarion: The Pale Elf
Rating: Explicit
Pairing: Astarion/Fem!Tav (You)
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(Legitimate reaction of Astarion meeting Tav's former fling...)
(Wonderful gif from here!)
Astarion kept grinning at you and obviously enjoying your uneasiness – oh, you were definitely going to murder him, when this night was over.
Daegin kept babbeling towards Eodin, you quickly looked through your fingers to see that the damned man was actually approaching. With a sudden jolt you stepped close to Astarion, put both your hands on either side of his face. The vampire only had a split second of looking askingly at you before you started absolutely smothering him with his kisses.
He didn’t lose a moment to kiss you back, he never did. In fact, he loved every single bit of intimacy the two of you shared, especially since he’d been free of Cazador’s callings and had started to learn to share intimacy outside sex and the bedroom with you. Accepting love and affection for what they could be at face level was something he tried hard to become good at. So truly every touch, every look, every soft smile was deeply precious to Astarion.
Just after a second or two he got your intention and put his arms around you to pull you closer. You let your hands wander to his chest, enjoying the way your body fitted with his and almost got lost in the moment.
You two obviously were a show to watch – it surely didn’t help that Astarion had a strong inclination for hedonism despite his past. Or even more so since he was now free to indulge in it on his own accord. You’d come to enjoy this way more than you were ready to admit. So, you happily sighed into his open mouth, when he dragged a finger from your cheek, down your neck and then softly placed his long, elegant fingers on your throat in an affectionate but still possessive manner. Your pulse quickened – even after being with him for a while, you hadn’t wrapped your head around how he could be so easily seductive, elegant and sexy without it being even remotely gross or cringy.
The longer the moment kept drawing out the more you could feel the heat inside you once more. The vampire had already stirred the fire without fully setting it ablaze once before tonight. You really hoped he wouldn’t let it just die down.
While the wood and the high elf were at it, the rest of the evening party watched on. Daegin blushed and buried his whole face in his jug of beer, obviously very uncomfortable. Lira’s eyes widened, her mouth opened to a giant ‘O’ before she slapped both her hands over it. And Miyena’s mouth opened slightly, her tongue darting out to wet her lips.
And then the one called Eodin stepped up to the table. He was human, tall and broad shouldered with short auburn hair. Not un-handsome, but quite forgettable. He too seemed uneasy at the very public display of affection, so he cleared his throat and softly knocked on the table to make himself known.
You kept the kiss with Astarion going, letting your hands wandering dangerously low his front, only just stopping at the very top of his leather pants. Then you broke the kiss and turned around, cheeks all flushed and out of breath.
“Oh, Eodin! I didn’t even see you there. Sorry, I was caught up in the moment”, you said, fanning yourself with your hand and batting your eyelashes at Astarion who had now also turned to look at the new arrival. Astarion looked down at you, biting his tongue hard to not burst out laughing – you cheeky little pup. You really had learned from the master himself, Gods, was he proud of you. He quickly let his wander his hand to your behind to give you proud and thankful little pat-pat, but just so no one else would notice.
Eodin slow blinked at you, keeping his face neutral. But you’d known him long enough to recognize the line of his mouth seemed tense and he was majorly displeased by what he had just witnessed. He didn’t miss a beat though: “So good to see you, I didn’t know you were back in the city.” He let the sentence end ambivalently – not really a question, but not really a statement either. “Ah you know, I really had my hands full” – another small pat from Astarion on your back “and I had certain affairs to sort out” – pat-pat – “but I swear I had come around to say hello and catch you up one of these days.”
The man crossed his arms over his chest, his discontent now showing more clearly. The rest of the party was dead silent, they could feel the tension in the air. Eodin just kept silent and stared you down, which already started to make your blood boil. Who in the hells was he to treat you like this?
“And who might this noble gentleman be, you were so caught up in?”, he said and turned to the vampire, cold venom in his voice. “The name’s Astarion – though I am not as noble a gentleman you might’ve mistaken me for, I fear”, the elf replied, his voice icy and his stance beside you turning threatening. “No wonder, the likes of these rich, pretty know-it-all-have-it-alls never survives long in this part of city. Would take a real bastard to walk around all cocky confident and not run into trouble and get themselves killed”, Eodin spat back. “Oh, I am no stranger to trouble, but it’s usually the other party that has to fear ending up dead in a dark alleyway”, Astarion replied snidely, narrowing his red eyes at the human, not even remotely trying to hide the open threat in his words.
Your heart dropped as you watched the two men stare at each other. The moment ran on for much longer than you felt comfortable with, but the vampire didn’t seem inclined to falter under the human’s death stares anytime soon.
A few more heartbeats passed. Astarion was impossibly still beside you, completely embodying the fatal predator he could be. Then Eodin gave up, threw his head back with a laugh that didn’t sound anything close to genuine. The rest of your friends joined in, seemingly relieved that the tension was resolved.
Eodin reached over the table to slap Astarion on the back in a dude-friendly kind of manner. The elf didn’t move an inch under the tall man’s strong pats, he scrunched up his nose in disgust for a split second and you could’ve sworn you heard a hiss but it passed faster than anyone besides you could have noticed.
You looked worryingly up at Astarion who elegantly had brushed off Eodin’s hand and stepped just out of the man’s reach. But his face was now a mask that wanted to show that he had simply been kidding, kidding. You still felt the tension in his body though, the set in his shoulders and the slight passive-aggressive smirk on his lips.
As the rest around the table broke into conversation again you grabbed on of Astarion’s hands again and dragged to have him lean over to you. He turned one of his pointy ears to you so you could whisper to him: “Are you alright? Do you want us to leave?” Your whisper was so low, no one besides him could hear it. He lifted his head again, looked warmly at you with a wink. Then he leaned to whisper his quiet answer into your ear, sending a shiver down your spine: “I’ll be fine, my love, but no promises about this arsehole.” Then he placed a soft kiss on the nape just below your ear.
Then Astarion turned to face the rest of the group. “How about another round?”, he proclaimed cheerfully and was met with joyous approval.
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nashstudies · 10 months ago
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Newcomer
In my language learning journey, which started with French long ago, I've found myself, like many others, being drawn to learning through gamification. People love Duolingo for this reason and I've used it for years myself. I did some reading up on it though and decided to try Babbel this time around.
ANYWAY, in my information superhighway travels, I came across Newcomer! It's an RPG that has translation and vocab building aspects. It unlocks words and phrases as you level up. You have a phrasebook for quick reference and a whole host of questions and statements to click through to interact with the NPCs. It's not like "game of the year" but it is entertaining enough to hold my attention. I don't even typically like RPGs so...give it a shot. It's $10 on Steam.
Bravo.
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h0neytalk · 1 year ago
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Mango v. LingQ v. Anki
I’ve been using the above apps for a while now and I couldn’t find a ton of somewhat easy to understand comparisons/explanations of how to use these various cult favorites. I figured I would make one if anyone is wondering where to start or making a departure from Duolingo.
Standard langblr disclaimer: I am ultimately just a person on the internet, I’m not an expert in language learning or a world renowned polyglot. I’m not even an expert in any of these apps/programs. These are all just thoughts and opinions I have about the value of each app to myself as an average consumer trying to learn a language and intended to help other people decide where to spend their time.
Anki
Anki is an open source spaced repetition flashcard program. It has an incredibly loyal fan base of med students and people who just want to learn things. This is also the one I have the least experience with so I recommend diving into forums and other blogs who go in depth on all the ways you can use this program. The web version is completely free and there is an official paid mobile app. There are also unofficial paid apps, this is the source of great drama and discourse and I’m not touching that here. Spaced repetition essentially means that the program will present you with cards at intervals designed to maximize your retention. When you flip over a card, you have four options that boil down to: fail, hard, good, easy. This is how the program determines what to show you and when.
Key Features:
The main draw is obviously the spaced repetition system. It’s much easier and more effective than sorting manually.
Because it’s open source, there is a way to customize the settings and cards to do basically whatever you want. There are also tons of premade decks to import and either use as-is or use as a base.
The online web version is completely free.
You can add really any media type to the cards. You can add sound clips of pronunciations, images, even drawings and diagrams.
Having the four options is particularly useful for the nuances of learning a language. For example, for general vocabulary decks I’ll assign one “point” to general meaning, tense/part of speech, and pronunciation. Getting the general meaning but not the other two means I select “hard” when I flip the card.
Best uses:
Vocab or learning a new alphabet. Specifically for drilling any of those “slippery” words. I don’t know if this happens to anyone else, but there are some vocab words that just refuse to stick with me. I’ve found the Anki SRS does help pin them down.
Potential downsides:
While there are decks to import, there could always be errors that you won’t catch just seeing single vocab words with no context.
The available customization is labor intensive.
The UI for the official app and web version isn’t super slick and intuitive.
Even the best flashcards are ultimately just flashcards and have limits to their usefulness.
Mango
Mango is similar to Babbel or other programs that focus on speaking (and doing so quickly). I much prefer Mango to Babbel or any other similar app and find that it does what it says it will. Languages are split into units. Each unit has chapters and each chapter has lessons. A lesson will start with an optional pre quiz and a brief recording of a conversation that you will be able to follow by the end of the lesson. Each lesson concludes with a listening and reading quiz. It also utilizes spaced repetition and gives you daily flashcards to review.
You learn based on phrases rather than individual words. A long sentence will be presented in its entirety. The lesson will then go through each word individually before combining them into phrases and, finally, the full sentence from the start. Then you will learn vocabulary needed for variations. The activities are fairly standard for a language app: speaking, listening, multiple choice. You can also turn off the interactive feature and have the lesson run as a “speak and repeat” style podcast. It tracks the hours you’ve spent learning a language and there is an activity log, but no in depth stats.
Key features:
It is focused on speaking immediately.
Has a ton of languages and several dialects for those languages.
Focuses on phrases and patterns that are most useful if traveling or having brief, friendly interactions.
Presents information in a digestible way and isn’t overwhelming.
Includes culture and grammar notes.
$12.99 a month but most public libraries and schools give you free access. You can also set up a household account for multiple people and split the cost with friends/family.
The first lesson of any language is free, and some rare and indigenous languages are completely free to access.
Audio is native speakers. When you record yourself, your vocal wave pattern appears that you can compare with the native speaker.
Best uses:
If you are traveling soon and want to navigate basic, friendly interactions, this will get you there quick. Within 1-3 months easily, depending on the language and how often you practice.
I also recommend this as a starting place when you are totally new to a language or to learning a language in general. The structure is excellent for getting a feel for things.
This is also great if you studied a language previously and need to refresh your memory or get back into it.
Potential downsides:
The “record yourself” feature is fairly buggy and often freezes up. It can also be annoying to try and match the timing of the native speaker, but you don’t have to record audio to progress past those lesson points so it isn’t too much of an inconvenience.
It isn’t meant for total fluency. As stated, the lessons (at least that I have done) are focused on speaking while traveling and making small talk. Some of the early lessons teach you to say “sorry, I don’t speak [x]”. Which is very useful if going abroad soon, but less so if you would rather just be able to speak that language.
The regimented nature can make it feel slow/too easy if you are also using other methods.
The review flashcards only have a binary “yes/no” option which feels annoying for longer phrases or after using Anki-style cards.
With any course like this, you aren’t going to have much choice in the vocab you learn or prioritizing topics.
LingQ
I am honestly surprised I don’t see more about this. I think they have been making a bunch of updates recently so maybe the version I’m using is miles above previous ones, but it is shockingly powerful. It’s also the hardest to explain (which may be why I don’t see much written about it and why this is going to be a long section.) LingQ (pronounced “link”) operates on a hybrid comprehensible/massive input model. While Anki prioritizes memorization and Mango priorities speaking, LingQ focuses on comprehension and listening. LingQ is comprised of courses which are made up of lessons. There are pre-built courses made by LingQ but the real goal is to make your own (more on that later).
Each lesson within a course has an audio recording and a written transcript. Words you haven’t seen before are highlighted blue (when you start, that’s every word). You click the word to see the definition and assign it one of 5 statuses: ignore, new, recognized, familiar, learned, or known. “Ignore” is used for things like names or borrowed words, they won’t be counted in your stats. “Known” is for words you knew before seeing them. You likely won’t have any of these if you’re starting a new language with no prior experience. Levels 1-3 highlight the word yellow and it becomes a LingQ. You can create a LingQq using as many words as you want. You can manually change the status of a word when you see it. You can also do various review activities similar to Mango, and if you get a word right twice in a row it will automatically bump up a level. You can always adjust it back down if needed. LingQ is very focused on the value of listening to a language. You can add lessons to playlists and listen to them like a podcast.
My personal favorite part of LingQ is the ability to import lessons. Especially YouTube videos. The site has a browser extension that will import any content in your target language into a lesson as an embedded item. You can then read/listen to/watch that content right in the app and get “credit” for it. LingQ’s statistics are some of the coolest/most motivating I’ve seen. You get coins for completing tasks but those are really just to see a number get bigger. It also tracks the words you’ve read, how many words you know, the hours listened, and speaking/writing if you utilize their tutor marketplace or writing forum.
The free trial is very limited but it’s enough to poke around and get a feel for things before signing up, not necessarily to learn anything substantial. The monthly membership is $12.95 and there’s a $199 lifetime option as well. I definitely recommend spending some time playing around at the free level and then upping to monthly if you like it.
Key features:
The ability to import lessons. It will also create a simplified version of shorter content. This is an AI generated summary of whatever you’ve imported. I use this for videos where natural speaking cadence can make it hard to parse things sometimes. It’s easier/more productive if I know generally what’s going on.
The creation of LingQs. I just think it’s a really cool and useful way to approach comprehensible input. You can visually see the yellow fading as you understand more and more of a lesson.
You can export LingQs to Anki (theoretically). I’ve never done this myself and I’ve seen some forum posts saying it doesn’t work super well all the time but it is a built in feature.
In-depth stats tracking and the ability to consume all the content easily in app. The stats would be annoying if it wasn’t literally easier to watch a video via LingQ than on YouTube.
Community features. There are community challenges (like Duolingo) but also a forum to submit writing that will be corrected by native speakers and a marketplace of tutors to easily sign up for speaking lessons. The forum is free and volunteer based, but scrolling through I didn’t see anyone who didn’t have at least one reply. The tutors are paid at an hourly rate and you can also pay by the word to have them correct written work.
Super flexible. There really isn’t any one right way to use this app so you can structure it however you like and set your own goals/metrics.
Playlists and focus on listening. It really does help to constantly be immersed in what a language sounds like, and being able to read and listen to the same thing has been so nice.
Actually decently helpful emails and not just spam.
Best for:
Hardcore language learners. The app/site provides some guidance on how to get started and the basic idea, but you’ll need to play around with it and spend some time reading forum posts or the emails they send to find what works for you.
Getting to higher levels of fluency after maxing out other apps/self study methods.
People looking to spend a lot of time on language learning because they enjoy it. This isn’t snarky, but there’s a difference between wanting or needing to learn Spanish to communicate at work or on vacation and just really enjoying learning languages. This is an app for language nerds.
Potential downsides:
Very overwhelming. They technically say you can jump right in with 0 knowledge of a language and be good to go, but I think it would be hard to make a lot of progress unless you’ve learned other languages before. If you’re looking to learn a new language for the first time, I recommend starting with Mango to get your bearings.
Doesn’t teach new alphabets. This isn’t a huge issue for Mango since it’s speaking focused, but I wouldn’t jump into Arabic or Russian on LingQ without spending some time learning the alphabet with other methods.
User generated definitions. This is a double edged sword. The definitions being linked to sites like Globse can lead to wrong definitions, but because you’re seeing things in context it’s easier to catch. And looking into what a phrase means is a great way to learn if you are really into languages.
The import feature isn’t 100% perfect when it comes to videos. It will only create a transcript when the video has captions enabled or a transcript provided, otherwise it just shows up as an audio file. It will also sometimes randomly just not be able to import a video which can be annoying, but in the grand scheme of things these are very minor annoyances.
Time commitment. The method doesn’t require a ton of actively sitting down and reviewing vocab or reading new words, but it does assume that you’ll swap out listening to music or podcasts while going about your day with listening to content in your target language. This is all well and good unless you really enjoy listening to specific content while doing tasks or need help not getting distracted. It’s going to be a lot of incomprehensible noise for a while before you can parse it. This might not be a downside as much as something to keep in mind when considering how effective it’s going to be for you.
Not as active of a community. Maybe it’s just for my particular languages, but there definitely aren’t a ton of people actively doing things like challenges. This really doesn’t matter much to me but it could be a bummer if you’re looking for that.
tl;dr just tell me how to learn things
If you need to learn a new alphabet, start with that. Otherwise, Mango to get your bearings, Anki to add to your vocab as you get bored with Mango, and LingQ to realistically get “fluent”. Then start writing and speaking either using tutors or people you know or local language groups.
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maxwellgetsalife · 1 year ago
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FRENCH MASTER-LIST
🇨🇦🇫🇷
MAIN RESOURCES
Openstudynotes French Resource List
Duolingo (Free with optional pay in-app purchases)
Babbel (Not free) (offers France French)
Notebooks
frenchtoday.com
CHATTING
HelloTalk (sign up and talk with native speakers)
BOOKS
Francais-e Reading List
Francais-e Poem List
VOCAB
Physical flash/index cards
SmartCards+ (Card app, similar to Anki)
Anki (Card app)
French Word-A-Day (A blog that posts weekly articles in English but will sprinkle french vocabulary)
FrenchPod101 Word of the Day (site that has a daily french word. Also offers email subscriptions)
FrenchPod101 Vocab List
FrenchPod101 dictionary
100 Commonly Used French Verbs
Quebec Words and Phrases
ARTICLES
CULTURE
MOVIES/SHOWS
Master-list of Language Cartoons
MUSIC
My Spotify Playlist (MIKA, Stromae, GIM, Carla, Indila, etc)
PODCASTS
French Podcast recommendations
News in Slow French (Slower speaking with current events)
Coffee Break French (teaches french lessons)
Le Coin Du Crime (a french podcast discussing True Crime)
YOUTUBE
innerFrench (Speaks in slow French)
Skarblown Animations (French animator)
MonOncleJouse (Quebec? Gamer) (No longer active but videos to enjoy regardless)
Squeezie (Gamer) (Has other channels)
Jordan Perrigaud (Paranormal Investigator!)
COLAS (Does a little of everything)
Français Authentique (Teaches about French Culture, idioms and such)
SolangeTeParle (Quebec vlogger)
Piece of French (Native French speaker and teaches vocab, idioms and such)
Language Lords: How I got fluent in French in 30 days. (offers a method on focusing on conversational French)
Brut (A channel over French media, does interview and documentaries with subtitles)
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neristudy · 22 days ago
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100 day of learning German: 63/100
«Man muss die Dinge nehmen, wie sie kommen»
And here it is, the end of my winter break!
Very sad that I didn't get to do even half of what I wanted to do - but, such is life. I did some last minute homework and did some lessons in Babbel.
Thinking of tackling the Netflix question tomorrow (and maybe buying a book or two to read in German? Hmm, need to think about that)
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dexastres · 2 months ago
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https://www.tumblr.com/dexastres/768896648613101568/you-said-english-wasnt-your-first-language-so
Omg hey bae what’s the best way to learn French I go to Paris a lot and no nothing what can you recommend 😭
i think the best way to learn french is to immerse yourself in the language. listening music in french, watching movies, reading books, writing helps as well.
if you have friends that speak french, that’s also a good thing because they can teach you the language.
learn your basics, that’s the most important.
download app like duolingo or babbel, that can also help you
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