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Original poster

Duolingo Plus

38 replies

Willlow · 19/05/2022 18:26

Does anyone pay for Duolingo plus? Is it worth it? I enjoy Duolingo but wondering if I should subscribe and would it make a big difference.

OP posts:
Muchtoomuchtodo · 19/05/2022 18:27

Good question. I’ve just started learning Italian on Duolingo and have wondered the same myself.

Purpleavocado · 19/05/2022 18:32

If you make a classroom and put yourself in as the only pupil it will be the same as unlimited for free 😉

whirlyhead · 19/05/2022 18:34

I have Duolingo plus. Is it worth it - not sure. It certainly isn’t the best way of learning a language. But with the paid for version you don’t keep running out of hearts which is the only reason I paid for it. I’ve had it a few years now and my Spanish is still rubbish 😆

HollowTalk · 19/05/2022 18:44

Purpleavocado · 19/05/2022 18:32

If you make a classroom and put yourself in as the only pupil it will be the same as unlimited for free 😉

Can you explain this? It's too late for me as I've paid for an annual subscription now but it would be useful for the future

HollowTalk · 19/05/2022 18:46

I disagree about it not being the best way to learn the language. I found it absolutely brilliant. I can go on it as often or as little as I want. I know that if I was doing a night class I wouldn't do anything except the homework and attend the class.

I go on for over an hour every day and make a note of everything as I'm going along. I paid because I couldn't stand the adverts. I was having to turn the sound on and off constantly. My children and my brother are on my plan to make up the six people. We're all on it every day.

Purpleavocado · 19/05/2022 18:50

I can't remember exactly, the instructions were on the duolingo reddit and I did it ages ago. I'm sure I did it from the desktop version, not the app.

Purpleavocado · 19/05/2022 18:54

I can't link to the reddit but if you go to r/duolingo and search classroom unlimited it comes up

Original poster
Willlow · 20/05/2022 08:15

Thanks for all your messages. I'm going to try the classroom thing. I don't get any adverts though, maybe its an app thing? I mostly use the desktop version.

OP posts:
Novum · 23/08/2022 23:32

Doing Duolingo French has improved my vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation but I still wouldn't be able to hold a conversation confidently. Someone told me that the idea is to give you a good foundation for doing a "proper" language course with which you will then be able to reach fluency much more quickly. That seems credible to me.

FedUpWithBriiiiick · 23/08/2022 23:41

Purpleavocado · 19/05/2022 18:32

If you make a classroom and put yourself in as the only pupil it will be the same as unlimited for free 😉

THANK YOU

TheLadyofShalott1 · 23/08/2022 23:48

I have also been doing Duolingo for quite a while now. I pay for it, and I pay for Mumsnet. It is nice not having the adverts on either, but I pay because it really is not very expensive - I am a pensioner on state pension - and IMO both Duolingo and Mumsnet both provide a brilliant service for people who cannot afford to pay for them.

So while I still can (all may change when winter fuel bills start to hit), I will continue to do so for now. When Wikipedia ask for a donation about once a year, I make them a small one too, as I use their services frequently. I don't think it is fair of me to take, take, take when I can afford to make at least a small donation.

Pilipalapal · 05/09/2022 20:45

I was a Plus subscriber but I’ve just cancelled.

The new Duolingo is awful. I want the old one back 😭

They at least should have let people finish their ongoing courses.

Novum · 05/09/2022 21:17

I hadn't noticed anything had changed much beyond the general tweaks they do regularly?

Pilipalapal · 06/09/2022 16:02

Not everyone has the update yet.

Theyve replaced their previous structure with a ‘learning path’. Users don’t have choice over what lessons to do next, it’s now linear (you do one module, lessons 1-5, then the next).

The way topics are structured has changed too.

And if you’re half way through a course, get ready to placed fairly arbitrarily on the new learning path, to the point where it’s probably best to restart the course from scratch….

bloomflower · 06/09/2022 16:06

For some reason I don't have ads on it and never paid a sub! I wonder if it is because my son downloaded the app and as a minor if he isn't allowed ads or something! I don't get everything that "super" duolingo paying version gets but it is great. What is also good is the website version for desktop - when you log into there you have infinite hearts whether or not you are paying or not. And using a keyboard can be quicker. Benefits to both and I chop and change.

bloomflower · 06/09/2022 16:07

Also for anyone interested there are some great free listening language courses at languagetransfer.com - 10 min lessons that are very easy to digest!

Pilipalapal · 06/09/2022 16:07

The desktop version is still the old Duolingo, but they’re replacing it with the Learning Path soon…

Pilipalapal · 06/09/2022 19:01

A bit of info in here:

www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna44655

Most linguists on Twitter seem to be of the view that the new, prescriptive version is worse for learning.

Novum · 06/09/2022 19:50

Pilipalapal · 06/09/2022 16:02

Not everyone has the update yet.

Theyve replaced their previous structure with a ‘learning path’. Users don’t have choice over what lessons to do next, it’s now linear (you do one module, lessons 1-5, then the next).

The way topics are structured has changed too.

And if you’re half way through a course, get ready to placed fairly arbitrarily on the new learning path, to the point where it’s probably best to restart the course from scratch….

That sounds seriously annoying. I need to be able to go back to something easy on days when I want to keep my brain in gear but not do anything taxing - and it helps by way of revision. I'm currently catching up on a load of modules where I'd only done part. It sounds like that means they're going to interrupt my way of progressing, which I'm perfectly happy with, and force me somewhere where I don't want to be?

As it's September, I've been thinking of joining "real" lessons at my local adult college. I think that decides it - I'm moving over to in-person lessons and away from Duolingo.

TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 19/09/2022 10:04

I'm using the free duolingo but I feel 'unlimited hearts' in the Plus version are counterproductive because one can just bash away until you get it right.
With a limit it makes me stop and think it through or look up a word, which I feel is a better learning process - for me anyway.

Novum · 19/09/2022 23:58

I read something on their website justifying the loss of hearts when you make a mistake on precisely that basis. It rang true for me, which definitely made me wonder why they push the advantages of unlimited hearts so heavily to persuade you to cough up.

Pilipalapal · 20/09/2022 00:09

You all on the new ‘Learning Path’ yet?

clowerina · 20/09/2022 18:39

i'm still on the old version... hoping to keep on it!

HighlandCowRose · 20/09/2022 18:51

Me and dh are both using the free version to 'try' and learn French, we're both use the app rather than desktop but the set up is different for each of us, dh's doesn't choose which lesson he does or when he does a story/book, whereas mine has a series of topics, people, greetings, travel etc and I can choose what order I do them in, with 6 modules in a set.

Is dh on the new version and I'm on the old?

HighlandCowRose · 20/09/2022 18:53

Screenshot of what mine looks like, could anyone say if this is this the old version please?

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