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Original poster

To not pay for DD to keep using an app which teaches you a new language?

27 replies

femininepolarbear · 27/12/2018 00:21

DD is 14 and does French at school... she isn't keen. She has a friend who lives in Spain (met online - yes I am keeping an eye) and she has had an app for a month now, on a free trial, she has used it lots and been practising out loud to her friend and using it a lot. The trial is now up and it's £8.99 to continue. To be honest, 1) I've told her to find some cheaper option 2) I don't know how keen I'll be in not knowing what she is saying to the friend.

DH thinks we should be encouraging her to learn a new language.

Who is right?

OP posts:
LemonRedwood · 27/12/2018 00:23

Your DH.

TheMobileSiteMadeMeSignup · 27/12/2018 00:23

Is the 8.99 per month/year/one off?

Original poster
femininepolarbear · 27/12/2018 00:24

Per month!!!

OP posts:
246oh1 · 27/12/2018 00:25

I suggest looking into duolingo

Original poster
femininepolarbear · 27/12/2018 00:25

Haha, that is the app

OP posts:
EllJ · 27/12/2018 00:25

I think the value of learning a second language is huge and should not be discouraged in any shape or form.

You're right to be wary of any potential red flags with the online friend side of things but if it just seems like a nice friendship for now then I tend to agree with your DH.

GunpowderGelatine · 27/12/2018 00:26

If she is serious about it and you think it's worth the investment then look into Rosetta Stone - it's more than £8.99 but she'd actually learn from it. If someone is only charging £8.99 then it's because they're crap

Returning2thesceneofthecrime · 27/12/2018 00:26

She is learning a skill off her own bat. Encourage it!

Spanish opens up Europe, South America and increasing amounts of the US to her.

Languages are a hugely impressive thing to list on a CV.

MissTeriName · 27/12/2018 00:26

Knowing another language is priceless. She is self learning. Also priceless. Your DH is right.

converseandjeans · 27/12/2018 00:27

Try memrise should be free. Or Quizlet. I thought Duolinguo was free too.

Nousernameforme · 27/12/2018 00:28

Duolingo is free on the pc get her to do it on that instead

steff13 · 27/12/2018 00:29

Duolingo is free on my phone...

Original poster
femininepolarbear · 27/12/2018 00:31

Yes the app is free but then apparently you do a month trial? Then it's £8.99 a month

OP posts:
BeanTownNancy · 27/12/2018 00:32

Spanish is an excellent language to learn, and best to learn while you're young and mentally flexible and whole she has incentive and a speaking partner to practice with. You can always cancel later if it seems she is not getting good value.

I speak a couple of languages. Wish my parents had known how to support me better as a kid.

steff13 · 27/12/2018 00:33

I'm in the US, so maybe it's different, but I used it for months and never paid anything.

bsc · 27/12/2018 00:33

I thought Duolingo was free too Confused

CheshireChat · 27/12/2018 00:35

Absolutely encourage her! There's nothing stopping you from learning a bit of Spanish if you want to have a rough idea what they're talking about.

Also, she might find Spanish more fun than French, I tried Swedish and Korean, but struggled, Japanese and English were a lot more enjoyable.

BloodyBosch · 27/12/2018 00:35

👋🏻 Duo lingo Spanish user here! You can pay an annual fee instead BUT it is also possible to use it free of charge.
The foc version runs out of health when you make mistakes, which you can gain back in the practice section. So you can choose which is best. How long has she been doing it and how many xp does she have? (Will know how much effort she puts in from that)

steff13 · 27/12/2018 00:35

This is from the playstore.

To not pay for DD to keep using an app which teaches you a new language?
Original poster
femininepolarbear · 27/12/2018 00:37

@BloodyBosch hi, ahhh. I see. She has been using it for a month. Not sure on the XP she has (have never looked at the app myself) but will ask her tomorrow. She usually uses it for about an hour a day, I'd say.

OP posts:
posthistoricmonsters · 27/12/2018 00:38

It is 100% a great thing to have her numberhis invested in learning along language. Just stick with it. My eldest does Spanish and seems to be really enjoying it. She picks up languages well, and I've taught her welsh, German, French, Dutch, and odd bits of others. It's fascinating.

MountPheasant · 27/12/2018 00:39

Duolingo pro is £8.99 but the free version is perfectly good! Don’t pay for it!!

BloodyBosch · 27/12/2018 00:42

An hour a day is pretty good. If you have any interest yourself you can download the app and befriend your dd- it encourages people to put effort in, our family are quite competitive at the moment! Weekly leader board in our group is ever changing.
New languages are so useful, the more encouragement the better. It will improve her English grammar too. As she gets better you can find free podcasts etc to listen to as well online.

Didyeeaye · 27/12/2018 00:43

I use duolingo and memrise. The basic ones are free it's to unlock more levels in the 'plus' option you pay for. £8.99 is quite pricey imo. She should be able to use a free app then potentially take a class once her knowledge outgrows the app. Definitely keep encouraging her to learn another language though.

HarveySchlumpfenburger · 27/12/2018 00:47

There’s no additional Vocab/grammar content on the paid version, so she’s not going to miss anything.

It’s ad free, the stupid health system doesn’t exist and I think there are some practice tests, but that’s about it.

Just get her to use the free version. Everyone else does.

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