I'm currently on a 562 day streak on Duolingo learning Russian. I like Duolingo for the following reasons. It's fun, the challenges, the game style, even the silly graphics keep me going. It's pushing me beyond what I could do with my own motivation, some days it seems like a chore so I fire off a few practice rounds just to stay in the game. It's actually addictive, a quick practice can turn into hours sometimes. What I don't like about Duolingo. The grammar rules are not explained, have to keep making mistakes until you somehow figure out what's going on. I still don't understand some grammar rules but by brute force of memory get them right. As I'm using the free version, the advertising has ramped up to ridiculous levels after the latest update. The rewards are less frequent now and am now constantly bombarded with offers to pay for an annual subscription. As far as the speaking goes, I usually pass them by as I'm not willing to yell unintelligible sounds at my phone when people are around. Overall, I'm happy with my progress, I can understand more and more Russian when watching videos, as long as they slow down. Reading is a lot easier as you have time to use context to figure out hard words. I know it is time to switch to a different method by now but time constraints still make Duolingo my main method. I've also tried Dutch, since I spoke it as a young child. It seemed more boring. Perhaps because it was too familiar! I like watching videos such as yours as well as a few others to expand my ability to hear and understand Russian.
@gloriavana2 жыл бұрын
Congrats on your 562 day streak, i just finished the Russian tree, now i'm trying to learn Spanish i'm on my 695 say streak. For the grammar rules not explained, maybe you know, but on the computer version there's more explanations when you click on "tips" section. I also got a lot of help in the comments sections, the moderator and the comunity are very helping and nice. Good luck with your practice and congrats on your progress. I'm happy with mine too but i lack practice in speaking (practical knowledge like he well said). Well, learning a new language is a long, enjoyable road after all ))
@LearntheRussianLanguage2 жыл бұрын
A 562 day streak is super impressive. Congratulations! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
@Fer-fy8dx2 жыл бұрын
Yea, the grammar lessons are only available on web. Using your phone, go on Safari or Google to read the ‘lightbulb’ icon when selecting a skill to read all the grammar included in that skill. Hope that helped.
@xyssxy Жыл бұрын
how good can you speak it now?
@mihaicristian4079 Жыл бұрын
Duolingo throws you in the middle of the pool to teach you how to swim. And I love that.
@LearntheRussianLanguage Жыл бұрын
Yeah it definitely has its place!
@Waaaaaaha3962 жыл бұрын
I gotta tell you, Ari - it’s been a blessing to watch your videos! This whole “learning Russian” thing felt very overwhelming for me at first, but slowly and surely through your advices on here, I’m finally feeling like I’m making progress (although the speaking is the easier part for me - typing, not so much). Thanks for keeping up with your videos and advice! I’d be totally lost if it wasn’t for you.
@LearntheRussianLanguage2 жыл бұрын
Thanks! That's great to hear. Learning Russian looks more difficult than it is. But if you just learn a little bit each day, you look back in several months and will be surprised by your progress. Also cool to hear that speaking is the easier part for you. Most people struggle with that the most.
@joebone19612 жыл бұрын
Its comprehensive a progressive program that if used alone creates drone like behaviors. Anyone learning a language that doesn't live in the native country should be watching movies going to bars or places where the language is spoke and probably taking a course where the instructor is fluent and speaks mostly in the learning language. Outside of that duo is just a stepping stone
@LearntheRussianLanguage2 жыл бұрын
I completely agree! It's great for beginners, but afterwards more variation and real speaking should be introduced.
@waadfrelle2 жыл бұрын
I love my duolingo :) Yes, I also watch Russian movies and follow Russian teachers here on YT, I correspond with Russian friends and send (postcrossing) cards to Russia, in Russian (they LOVE that!), I have a Dutch-Russian course - book, I talk to myself out loud in Russian (by lack of Russian speakers). But I still do my daily skills on Duolingo, 667 day streak :) I am over halfway the total course.
@MDobri-sy1ce2 жыл бұрын
Also, I should probably mention that you get more out of the Duolingo lessons if you write things down and repeat instead of just clicking. Sure, they take longer the lessons but things are guaranteed to stick more.
@LearntheRussianLanguage2 жыл бұрын
That's true. Writing something is a great way of improving memory retention.
@njordic62832 жыл бұрын
You can learn the alphabet by clicking on the second icon from the bottom left. Other than that, I agree with you. Use it for the basics or to maintain a streak (where you still do the bulk of your work somewhere else), and it can be a fine tool.
@LearntheRussianLanguage2 жыл бұрын
Thanks! Yeah it's indeed a good tool for beginners, but the sooner someone switches to something like Ankidroid, the better.
@erickaflores9828 Жыл бұрын
I studied russian language at an institute of foreign languages during 2 years (until pandemic arrived) and during that time we never practiced our speaking by conversation, it was rare when we tried to practice pronunciation but we did some reading exercises, anyway, I've been playing duolingo for 70 days in russian and sometimes it gives me funny phrases that I could say in real life 😂 it forces me to practice my speaking EVERY DAY, something I never did, only every Saturday (before the pandemic), I'm studying by myself and duolingo helps me to better understand grammar and how to build sentences (something that I didn't learn with a teacher) so, it worked for me 🥰
@LearntheRussianLanguage Жыл бұрын
That's horrible that you studied at an official place but never practiced speaking. Glad to hear Duolingo is working out for you!
@Romain-jm7pb2 жыл бұрын
It's really awesome !! Thank you for all your videos, it really made me want to continue learning Russian!! I started with Duolingo, that's really nice but it's true that sometimes it lacks explanation. I also tried Babel, and Busuu. Busuu has a great advantage of being corrected by natives. For me it's a very good app. Now that i need to practice i will try Tandem ✌😎 спасибо за все и наслаждайтесь открытием новых видео 🙏👏👏
@LearntheRussianLanguage2 жыл бұрын
Glad to hear that. Keep it up! Удачи))
@search..engine Жыл бұрын
They actually have an alphabet learning section now! Still can’t find anything that explains the Russian grammar rules on Duolingo but other than that it’s useful for learning new words and stuff
@LearntheRussianLanguage Жыл бұрын
That's great that they're improving. They're a good support tool in the beginning, but after a while it's much better to start using real programs.
@TYMGhosT2 ай бұрын
I just got to the part of Duolingo where you learn 25 words at once that all look the same. It became a nightmare quite rapidly for me. I’ll have to go the traditional route to learn it. So I most likely won’t. It’s too many hours. I think if they followed the pace of the first few courses it could work. They really make sure you know what milk bread and cheese are though.
@MDobri-sy1ce2 жыл бұрын
I think, Duolingo is good to start with to become familiar with a new language. I still use it daily but with time it is better to pull away slightly and look for other resources. Also , I am not a “new beginner “ to learning Russian but it is good to review but I found some of the translations off or not directly on Duolingo. Sometimes I was like, that doesn’t sound right? I would say 80-90% is spot on but I would double check those translations.
@LearntheRussianLanguage2 жыл бұрын
Yes, Duolingo is indeed great to become familiar or to brush up on the basics. Thanks for sharing your experience!
@one42chrisp2 жыл бұрын
The next tab over has the alphabet where it teaches you the sounds and how to write the letters.
@LearntheRussianLanguage2 жыл бұрын
Thanks! That's super helpful.
@rbrooks2007 Жыл бұрын
I agree with you about the VR type idea. Some decades ago, one of the TV channels had short setups in the outside world where phrases would be spoken in context, after the few onscreen foreign words were shown. Perhaps that's an idea for an online course where it's not a 'talking head' situation in a bare room but for a couple of student actors to be filmed in clips in an environment in the real world situation.
@LearntheRussianLanguage Жыл бұрын
That's a nice idea, thanks.
@rbrooks2007 Жыл бұрын
@@LearntheRussianLanguage perhaps you could do a co-production with a company like StarMedia(EN) who are quite innovative, to output educational content. I know each year in VK they do a competition for new content.
@MaryKonczyk4 ай бұрын
One thing I hate about it- when they ask “what do you hear?” And then two of the choices you must choose between are homonyms. I have listened over and over to sound clips trying to hear if there was even the tiniest difference in pronunciation sometimes- and I have a pretty good ear - only to conclude that the sound clips are identical, and I simply have to guess. That is not a helpful teaching technique.
@neiuke11497 ай бұрын
I have learned russian in school for 6 years before and I started Duolingo a few months ago and I love it, it still helps me a lot. Studied Greek with duolingo before.
@jack308820 күн бұрын
Hello Ari. I just started learning Russian more seriously as I got myself a private tutor. Do you think it’s still a good idea to use Duolingo as a supplement to expand my vocabs as I find it hard to remember Russian vocabularies. Also in my city (Australia), we don’t have a big Russian population which makes it hard to practice my speaking.
@milanabramov35902 жыл бұрын
thanks for the review, great video!
@LearntheRussianLanguage2 жыл бұрын
Good to hear! How is your Russian doing?
@milanabramov35902 жыл бұрын
Pretty nice, i trained for 40-50 in a row then did a stop but now i am back and i am learning fast👍
@LearntheRussianLanguage2 жыл бұрын
@@milanabramov3590 That's a good streak. Good luck!
@morqesahar2 ай бұрын
Can we get an updated review for this because Duolingo has changed a lot these past couple of years (some say for the worse cause of AI stuff)
@pleeosparks Жыл бұрын
Как мило ты говоришь на русском, как настоящий Русский ❤❤❤❤❤
@LearntheRussianLanguage Жыл бұрын
Спасибо!
@Михаил-Ягола5 ай бұрын
Согласен, хорошо разговаривает
@morningaftercoffee Жыл бұрын
They do include alphabet now in the latest version (:
@Listenerandlearner8702 жыл бұрын
It uses declensions without explaining them. The games are totally unnecessary. Overal the course provides an introduction to the language but other courses are needed to supplement it like A + Russian and similar courses on KZbin and Hugo's Russian in 3 Months which has a book. The cassettes are on KZbin. However..................Duolingo is good for pronunciation and getting the feel and sound of the language.
@stephanieromano73572 жыл бұрын
What other apps would you recommend. I am using drops now. I got tired of dulingo. 🙂 ty for the content.
@Albert1872.2 жыл бұрын
Lingq
@ItssMitch2 жыл бұрын
Anki
@LearntheRussianLanguage2 жыл бұрын
I'd go for Ankidroid.
@robloxplayergame2 жыл бұрын
Ари, я хотел спросить кое-что. Это правда, что в Голландии ты обязан впустить в дом человека, которому нужно в туалет? Просто многие в России говорят про это.
@LearntheRussianLanguage2 жыл бұрын
Хаха, я думаю это неправда))
@lonewolfnormanfinndian61292 жыл бұрын
i tried to learn Dutch and that seemed hard-im part Finn and welsh
@LearntheRussianLanguage2 жыл бұрын
If you know English, Dutch shouldn't be hard.
@lonewolfnormanfinndian61292 жыл бұрын
@@LearntheRussianLanguage thats what they tell me,nethertheless.....
@GigaChad_99977 Жыл бұрын
Does anyone know how to write ñ when translating in English in Duolingo
@GigaChad_99977 Жыл бұрын
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@GigaChad_99977 Жыл бұрын
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@GigaChad_99977 Жыл бұрын
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@GigaChad_99977 Жыл бұрын
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@Alessandro_Batistuda9 ай бұрын
Dutch, do you have a plan? 😅
@GG5266. Жыл бұрын
Btw duolingo does teach you the alphabet its in a seperate section
@Chill_Live_love2 жыл бұрын
Hello you can help me practical speak english ?
@LearntheRussianLanguage2 жыл бұрын
I'm not a native English speaker. I recommend you look for specific English channels on KZbin :)
@Chill_Live_love2 жыл бұрын
@@LearntheRussianLanguage thanks you
@BearRazor24708 ай бұрын
Duolingo does teach the alphabet but it's in its own tab
@meraj50742 жыл бұрын
Это отоично !! Спасибо R u Russian ? ❤🇷🇺
@LearntheRussianLanguage2 жыл бұрын
Я голландец!
@Михаил-Ягола5 ай бұрын
Ты так быстро говоришь на английском, что, я еле понимаю фразы на слух😅
@ralfj.17402 жыл бұрын
I don't see why you should need duolingo to learn a language
@LearntheRussianLanguage2 жыл бұрын
It' works if someone isn't sure if they want to learn Russian, and just want a simple free course to get a quick overview of the language.
@ralfj.17402 жыл бұрын
@@LearntheRussianLanguage I'm not saying it's a bad idea to try it.. if someone likes learning this way it's good. Just doesn't look like a lot of fun to me personally. I find your videos helpful! Love listening to you speaking Russian, and you motivated me even more
@LearntheRussianLanguage2 жыл бұрын
@@ralfj.1740 I also never used it much. I just know that my mom used it for a couple of weeks before we went to Russia the first time. She found it quite fun, and it helped her learn some basics.
@ralfj.1740 Жыл бұрын
@@LearntheRussianLanguage Now I'm trying it myself because I spend so much time on the train. I see it as a supplement for my studies and good for refreshing the basics.
@LearntheRussianLanguage2 жыл бұрын
If you found this video helpful, you'll love my FREE PDF with my 26 Best Learn Russian tips and tactics. Download it here for free: learntherussianlanguage.com/youtube/
@lonewolfnormanfinndian61292 жыл бұрын
its too tiring to learn russian
@LearntheRussianLanguage2 жыл бұрын
That's not a helpful attitude. If you feel that way, maybe you should see if there's another language that you find more interesting? That should help you have more energy to put into it.
@lonewolfnormanfinndian61292 жыл бұрын
@@LearntheRussianLanguage lol dont know why i said that
@lonewolfnormanfinndian61292 жыл бұрын
@@LearntheRussianLanguage im still learning
@LearntheRussianLanguage2 жыл бұрын
@@lonewolfnormanfinndian6129 Haha no problem. It's a tiring situation at the moment.
@normalhether5806 Жыл бұрын
help me you speak very fast you are great
@Михаил-Ягола Жыл бұрын
I too there learn English
@LearntheRussianLanguage Жыл бұрын
I think it comes with the fact that the entire world is learning English. It's blessing and a curse at the same time :)