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Why I love Duolingo

October 29, 2018 by Ana Martín Leave a Comment

Why I love Duolingo and why you should too

It may be no surprise to people that my favourite language learning app is Duolingo and I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in this.

The popularity of Duolingo is incredible and everyone I talk to who uses it feels a similar way to me. And let’s face it, it’s fun, addictive and the interface is beautiful.

Duolingo is so large now, that there are 300 million active language learners using the platform. There are 21.8 million English speakers learning Spanish alone and 12.7 million learning French.

The app is almost cultish.

What is Duolingo?

For those of you who haven’t encountered Duolingo before:

Duolingo is a free app with courses for up to 29 languages (and 3 in beta stage) at the time I am posting this. They are developing new courses all the time so I wouldn’t be surprised if this number changed quickly.

There are courses available to native speakers of other languages besides English, although the selection isn’t as large.

Duolingo also offer conlangs as well. These are fictional languages, that are usually created for Television, movies or books. The conlangs Duolingo currently offers are Klingon, High Valyrian and the most famous constructed language: Esperanto.

How it works:

Each language course is set up in modules, which you have to complete before you can progress to the next one.

If a module is too easy for you, rather than work your way through all of the lessons, Duolingo offers you the option to test out. I tend not to use this as I like the practise but it comes in useful if you’ve already done the material before or if it’s just too easy.

You work your way through the lessons to complete the module. Once you’ve completed the module the little circle changes colour. You can then redo the module four more times until the circle turns to gold.

The lessons themselves comprise of different components, to help you practise the four fundamental language skills: reading, listening, speaking and writing (or in this instance typing.)

The lessons start easy and progress with difficult. My favourite aspect of this is that it gives you the tools to construct sentences.

Duolingo encourages you to practise, which I’m a big fan of. If you’ve finished a module and redone it until it’s gone gold but you still want to practise that language, you can! It’s very easy and it helps you to go back to vocabulary and grammar that you’ve already learned.

Duolingo motivates you

The reason I like Duolingo so much, is that the app is designed to motivate you to keep learning.

When people learn a new language one of the main problems they find is after the initial motivation, they get bored, or they forget to practise and they end up stopping or giving in.

Duolingo has been designed to help combat that and keep you motivated, which is definitely something I need!

It manages to do this through a variety of ways:

Firstly the use of gold circles. When you have completed a module five times, the module turns gold. This may sound like a silly thing but the use of gold makes learners more likely to complete the module

Secondly, Duolingo tells you how many days streak you’re on. There are people now who have been doing Duolingo for over 1000 days and this number is shown to them everytime they log on. No one wants to break a long streak so you’re more likely to do your allocated daily learning.

Duolingo can send you reminders to encourage you to do your learning for the day. This is completely up to you. If you don’t like reminders and emails you can choose not to receive any. But if you’re forgetful and want to take your learning seriously you can choose to receive reminders through text, email, the app or push notifications.

You can join clubs with people you know or complete strangers who are learning the same language as you. In the club there is a leader board with all the members and the xp they’ve done that week. This competitiveness really encourages you to do more exercises. Each week this leader board refreshes and the race begins again.

If you’re not a competitive person then don’t worry. Some groups are set up to see who can do the maximum amount and other groups are a lot more laid back. You can search to see which one works for you.

The best part of this is that you feel like you’re in a community.

Duolingo Plus

Duolingo plus enables you to access added features for a monthly subscription fee.

The main feature that cause people to download Duolingo plus is that it allows you to download lessons for free and complete them without internet connection.

I can understand why this is appealing especially if you have a long flight or you don’t want to use up your data, but as someone who is always around wifi, this isn’t so much of an issue for me.

My aunty however is a huge fan of this!

Other Features of Duolingo

On the website Duolingo has some really cool additional features that are also free.

Discussion – the discussion section is a useful forum where you can ask questions and talk to people who are learning the same language as you. You can also share ideas and book recommendations.

Podcasts – Duolingo have released a series of bilingual. I think these podcasts are probably most suitable for intermediate learners but with the English sections you should be able to follow most of the content.

Stories – The Duolingo stories might be my favourite thing about Duolingo. Duolingo have released a series of interactive stories, which are accessible for any level of learner.

Events – Duolingo events allow you to connect with other language learners in your area. I haven’t personally used this function so if you try it out, please comment below with your experiences!

Drawbacks of Duolingo

For me there are two main drawbacks of duolingo, one which I believe won’t take long to be rectified and one which is unfortunately a feature of the app.

Firstly, Duolingo is better for languages with romantic alphabtets. Personally I only enjoy learning duolingo for languages that use the roman alphabet. I feel the design is best for this and have found the lessons that learn kanji or Chinese characters a bit clumsy.

However Duolingo is constantly being developed and I’ve already talked to people who believe the courses for languages that use other writing systems are improving.

One of the features of the app that I don’t like is the ability to lose lives. It takes five hours to regain one life, or you can do a practise exercise to regain a life. For me this is a problem because if a module is hard

Alone it’s not going to help you achieve fluency, but no language learning app should be used alone. Duolingo makes language learning fun and accessible and helps you build your vocabulary and grammar so you can go out and use the language.

My experiences with Duolingo

I started my language learning journey five years ago when I downloaded Duolingo and started to learn Spanish. Before that I’d never learned a foreign language and thought it just wasn’t for me.

Duolingo didn’t make me fluent but it gave me the confidence and vocabulary to begin learning properly.

Since then, I’ve used the app for French, Portuguese and I’ve started learning Italian.

For me Duolingo is a fantastic way to start your language-learning journey, but like most people say, you do need to do more to become fluent in a language.

No one should use just one app to try and achieve fluency, you need to speak and live the language.

Final thoughts on Duolingo

I would never have learned Spanish, French or Portuguese if it hadn’t been for Duolingo and for that I will always sing its praises.

In my opinion it is the best language learning application currently on the market and I love that it’s free. I have even thought of paying for a subscription to Duolingo just to support it.

I would definitely recommend this app to anyone wanting to learn a language but remember Duolingo alone is not enough.

If you want to learn a language read books, watch movies, talk to people. You need to engage with the language and you need to love it.

Best of luck with your language learning journey!

There’s a polyglot in us all.

How to practise speaking

October 28, 2018 by Ana Martín Leave a Comment

How to start talking

When you are learning a foreign language, the majority of people focus on input. They try to take in as much of the language in possible through movies, books, apps like Duolingo and more.

And this is great. I am a huge fan of input first because it gives you the confidence, the grammar structures and vocabulary to be able to talk.

But after input, you get to the stage where you realise you need to talk to progress in a language. And apart from enjoying the learning process, speaking is normally the point of learning a language.

So why is this part so hard for so many of us?

I think speaking can be so difficult because after all of our studying we’re finally putting ourselves out there, and even though we tell ourselves it’s ok, making mistakes can still be scary.

But the fact you’re reading this is a good sign!

Maybe you don’t find speaking that scary and you just don’t know how to go about finding language partners. Well here are some ways that I like to get some speaking practise.

Ways you can practise speaking:

One-to-one language exchanges

My number one favourite way to practise speaking is through one to one language exchanges.

For me this is perfect, as you find someone who speaks the language you’re learning and who wants to learn your native language. Then you speak for half an hour in your language and half an hour in theirs.

The best thing about it is they’re in the same boat as you. So they probably feel just as nervous or shy, and they understand how nerve-wracking it can be, trying to speak in a new language.

My favourite platform for this is But I may be biased as this was the website that introduced me to language exchanged in the first place.
A good app to use on mobile is Hello Talk. It works similarly to italki but it’s on your mobile so more convenient for modern life.

The only problem with these is that sometimes it can be difficult finding things to talk about but if that’s your problem then don’t worry, we have some suggestions down below.

Meetup/intercambio

This is a bit similar to language exchanged but the difference is instead of one-to-one, you’re normally in a large group.

These can either be structure or unstructured. If the event is unstructured then you just start talking to whoever you’re sitting next to or join a group to start chatting. If the event is structured they normally have set times to speak each language or conversation cards on the table. You can choose to go to whichever kind of group you’re comfortable with.

In many European cities, they have groups through the week that meet up and and do large scale language exchanges.

A good way to find language exchanges is to look on meetup. I can normally find a language meetup in whatever city I’m in.
Facebook can also be useful if you join an internationals group in the city you’re staying or living in.
Some bars and restaurants will advertise it in their establishment but you would have to be luck to find one.

Conversation class

If you are studying at a language school then this might be a possible option for you. I know many language schools offer a conversation class as well as a regular class, but less people always seem to take this class.

If you are doing a language course, then I would highly recommend adding the conversation class onto your schedule. Even if it’s an hour a day before your normal class starts, this really can make the world of difference.

Out and about

Never underestimate the importance of practising your language out and about. If you’re lucky to be in the country of the language you’re learning then you want to be practising at every possible opportunity.

Try to eat out for lunch more, or grabbing a coffee. You don’t have to spend a fortune as there are always cheaper places to eat in a city.

Try shopping at the market instead of the supermarket so you actually have to speak to people.

Also if you’re lost in a city or can’t find your way, try asking a local instead of looking on your phone. These kinds of natural exchanges will make the world of difference.

And don’t be afraid to ask them if you can practise!

If you try your German with the waiter and he replied to you in English, don’t be nervous about saying ‘sorry do you mind if we speak in German, I’m trying to practise.’

You’re the one who bought that plane ticket and you’re the one in that country. I have done this hundreds of times and I’ve yet to meet someone who has said no or reacted badly, and even if they did, there’s always someone else to talk to.

Tutor online

Although you probably want to practise speaking for free, it’s understandable that sometimes you just don’t want to put yourself out there or you just can’t find a partner you’re comfortable with.

If this is the case there are hundreds of teachers waiting online to help you, and it’s normally cheaper if you just want to talk and you don’t want a lesson.

The good thing about this is that it’s their job to put you at ease and to lead the conversation so you don’t have to worry about a thing.

Also they’re more likely to be patient with you and help you rather than reverting to English.

Film yourself and put it on YouTube

This option is for those of us who are a little bit braver. If you’re struggling to find language partners and you’re not in the country where they speak the language you’re learning, many people film their progress and upload it to YouTube.

This is useful as native speakers can comment and tell you how you can improve or give you encouragement.

It also helps as you can watch your own progress, if you film a starting out video then a six months or year later video.

Talk to yourself

It might sound a bit sad but talking to yourself does actually help. If you’re finding it difficult to talk in real life then start narrating what you’re doing while you’re doing it.

You might look crazy to your family but it’s a useful way to make speaking the language feel more natural coming out of your mouth.

What to talk about

It can really help if you think about topics to talk about beforehand. I have talked to so many people who have told me about their awkward Skype exchanges where they ended up staring at their partner and sharing long silences.

If you’re naturally more extroverted then great. You probably won’t have too many problems with this. But if you’re a bit timid, or introverted it might be harder for you to think of things to talk about, especially in a different language.

If this is the case then I would recommend thinking of some topics to talk about before the exchange so if it’s awkward or difficult, you have something to fall back on.

One idea is before the exchange you suggest that both of you find two new stories to report to each other and then to talk about. This can be a really useful way to start a conversation.
Another way can be to suggest a topic then talk about how this differs in your respective countries, for example education, pensions, politics, leisure time, food etc.
A third thing you could do is to each prepare a presentation about yourself then the other person has to ask questions after the presentation.
If there a specific grammar point you’re struggling on like the past perfect, you could prepare a series of questions to ask each other that could help practise that specifically.

If these ideas still seem too vague for you then here are some questions for you that you can ask.

Holidays and leisure

What do you do in your free time?
Where was the last place you went on holiday?
Where do you normally go on holiday and why?
Where is your dream destination?

Language learning

Why are you learning this language?
How long have you been learning for?
Do you speak any other languages?
Have you studied any other languages?
If you could learn any language, what would you learn and why?

Family

How many people are there in your family?
Tell me about your family
Do you have any children?
Do you want to have any children? If yes/no then why?
Would you like to have children?
Do you have any pets?

Where you live

Where are you from?
What is there to do in your town?
Have you lived anywhere else?
Where would you like to live?

Education

What was your favourite subject at University and why?
Did you go to University? Where?
What did you study at University?
What would you like to study at University?

Work

What do you do for a living?
What would you like to do for work?
What would your ideal job be?
Why did you choose your current profession?

Cinema

What was the last movie you saw?
What type of movies do you like to watch?
What is your favourite movie of all time?
What is your least favourite movie of all time?

Books

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
What is your favourite book and why?
What is the last book you read?
What type of books do you normally like to read?

Politics and Religion (but be careful!)

What is the main religion in your country?
Are you religious?
What is the main political party?
How does your political system work?
Have you ever voted in an election?

Music

Do you play any musical instruments?
Who is your favourite band?
What type of music do you enjoy listening to?
What was the last concert you went to?
If you could play any musical instrument what would you play and why?

Make sure to ask why to these questions to help your partner speak more and give you more information.
Open-ended questions are always better than questions that just have a yes or no answer
Remember to be sensitive about cultural differences. And remember to always be careful when talking about politics and religion. The openness about this you’re used to in your country may not be the same in someone else’s.

Final thoughts

Speaking is probably the scariest part about learning a language, but it’s also the reason that most of us want to learn.

Jump in and start talking! The person you’re speaking with probably feels as nervous as you do and once you’ve done it once, it gets easier and easier.

Good luck and keep learning!

Cool German Idioms

October 27, 2018 by Ana Martín Leave a Comment

Some idioms in languages such as Spanish or French have a pretty similar translation with English, but German idioms are a different story. I don’t see that many similarities between German idioms and English idioms but they’re really interesting and some of them are pretty funny too.

What is an idiom?

An idiom is an expression we use to describe something but the literal words don’t actually make sense. For example in English we get on like a house on fire. It means we get along well but if you take the words literally, it doesn’t make any sense.

Idioms are used in most languages and normally have an origin but we don’t necessarily know where they always come from. Though idioms do normally have a long ingrained history with the language and the culture. That’s why they don’t always make so much sense to us anymore, because they were created at a time for example when more people owned live stock or the weather was a bigger influencer in our lives and our ability to eat or seek shelter.

Why should I learn them?

You should learn them because you want to improve you German and start sounding like a native! We all go through various stages of language learning and each time we get to a new stage we want to progress again. Things like idioms make the difference between having a strong level of proficiency and reaching more native standards.

Sometimes an idiom is the only thing that can express the exact idea you want to say. And if you don’t know the idiom then you will spend a lot more time describing a relatively simple concept that could just be summed up in three or four words via idiom.

Also if you’re living in the country and you can communicate and you have German friends you don’t want to get caught out when someone says something that to you seems completely incomprehensible.

15 German idioms

Da steppt der Bär

Literal translation: Here steps the bear

Meaning: It means it’s going to be a good party. Try to think of it like this, if you’re going to the party and that’s where the bear’s dancing, then it’s got to be good, right?

Um den heißen Brei herumreden

Literal translation: To talk around the hot mash

Meaning: The meaning of this phrase is to beat around the bush. We use this when we’re talking around a subject rather than addressing it head on.

Schwein haben

Literal translation: To have a pig

Meaning: It actually means, to have a stroke of luck. I guess at one point in Germany it was considered lucky to have a pig.

Schlafen wie ein Murmeltier

Literal translation: To sleep like a marmot

Meaning: In English, the closest equivalent is to sleep like a log, which of course means to sleep very well.

Das ist ein Katzensprung

Literal translation: It’s a stone’s throw away

Meaning: Luckily in English this is the same!

Ich bin fix und fertig

Literal translation: I’m ready and done

Meaning: In English, the equivalent would be ‘I’m beat’ or ‘I’m tuckered out’ depending on where you come from.

Himmel und Hölle in Bewegung setzen

Literal translation: To put heaven and hell into motion

Meaning: Luckily the English equivalent of this is very similar so it shouldn’t be too difficult to remember; to move heaven and earth.

Weggehen wie warme Semmeln

Literal translation: To go like warm rolls

Meaning: Again, this one is pretty similar to the English version, to sell like hot cakes.

Wo sich Fuchs und Hase gute Nacht sagen

Literal translation: Where fox and rabbit say goodnight

Meaning: The English equivalent is ‘in the middle of nowhere,’ ‘in the sticks,’ or ‘in the back of beyond’. I think which one you uses depends on which English speaking country you’re from.

Da kannst du Gift drauf nehmen

Literal translation: You can take the poison on that

Meaning: In English we would say ‘you can bet your life on that.’

Eine Extrawurst verlangen

Literal translation: To ask for an extra sausage

Meaning: We don’t have an equivalent idiom, but in English this would translate as asking for special treatment.

Die Daumen drücken

Literal translation: Keeps your fingers crossed

Meaning: This is the same in English and it’s something we do for luck. If we want something to go our way, or something specific to happen then we keep our fingers crossed.

Da liegt der Hund begraben

Literal translation: The dog is buried there

Meaning: In English the closest translation would probably be ‘that’s the crux of the matter.’

Du nimmst mich auf den Arm!

Literal translation: You’re pulling my arm

Meaning: Pretty similar to English just with a different limb: you’re pulling my leg, which we use when we think someone is teasing us.

Die Kirche im Dorf lassen

Literal translation: Leave the church in the village

Meaning: This one might sound a bit weird but it basically means to not get carried away

Where can I learn more idioms?

With each Duolingo course, they have an idioms module which is a really fun way to learn and memorise these idioms. The only thing is, these idioms aren’t part of the normal duolingo course, you have to buy them with your lingots. So it’s really up to whether or not you want to spend your lingots.

Or you can organise a language exchange with someone and teach them some English idioms in exchange for some German idioms. This is my favourite way to do it because you can ask questions as you go and find out where some of these strange idioms originally came from.

Final Thoughts

These idioms are a bit strange and lots of fun. Try learning a few and seeing how well they go down with locals. I’m sure native speakers would appreciate this step forward in trying to integrate into the language and culture.

They also help you to learn a bit about the culture and the history of the country, as idioms normally give us an insight into what life used to be like at some point.

Good luck and keep learning!

The Benefits of Graded Readers

August 21, 2018 by Ana Martín Leave a Comment

What Are Graded Readers?

Why Should You Use Them?

For me when I’m learning a language, the two most important things are input and speaking. It might sound simple and it kind of is.

I try and take in as much input as I can; learning words, grammar, sentence structures. Then as soon as I have a basic level I start speaking as much as I can, literally at every possible opportunity. And I turn my life into that language.

In order to learn a language you need to live that language:

You need to speak it
You need to hear it
You need to watch it
You need to write it
You need to READ it

I am a big believer in speaking the language. For me that is the thing that helps me gain confidence and advance in a language.

But in order to do that you need to have words to speak and you need to have some form of input. If you don’t have the input, you can’t speak it.

(Check out these Spanish graded readers for FREE on Kindle Unlimited!)

Now if you’re like me, you can’t just sit down and learn list after list of vocabulary. With no context, it’s meaningless. You need a better way to remember new vocabulary. One of my favourite way to take in new vocabulary is through reading. I love reading anyway. I read every day. So to combine my love of reading and my love of languages is perfect.

But for ages the books that I read were just a bit too hard for me. I tried reading Harry Potter because I thought the story would be familiar but it was too tricky. I tried reading loads of books in foreign languages that I thought would be interesting but were just too difficult.

And if something is too difficult for you, or it’s above your level, you’re not going to enjoy it. And if you don’t enjoy it you won’t stick to it. What you need is something accessible to you. You need something that isn’t too hard but something you find fun, interesting and engaging.

You need stories that you can enjoy, but more importantly that you can understand and can engage with.

And for me, that’s graded readers.

Graded Readers

For me graded readers are the perfect way to boost your Spanish, make it more natural and give you more input.

And to do this in a way that you can remember. And in a way that is fun.

Graded readers are designed to tell you stories to your level, So if you’re B1 Spanish, A2 French or HSK5 Chinese, you should be able to find books that have been written specifically for your level.

To help you enjoy the story but to help you improve your language learning at a level that matches your ability, rather than something you struggle with and that becomes a chore.

When I started reading graded readers I noticed a huge change in my language learning. Before that trying to read in a foreign language made me feel bad, but graded readers gave me confidence.

Benefits of graded readers:

Fun stories
Grammar structures that match your level
Usually short so you don’t get bored
Vocab you usually know, with added vocab to help with input
Relatively cheap, especially on amazon!
Help reading in your new language become more natural
A lot of writers are language learning too, so they understand what’s useful for you

Yes, ideally you’d be reading Harry Potter or The Hunger Games in the language you’re learning, and that is a great goal. But if it’s too difficult for you, it doesn’t matter how much you love the story. You won’t love reading the book if you can’t understand it.

While you are learning graded readers are a great way to give you a confidence boost and give you some really useful language input. And a great way to get you loving reading in a foreign language.

So set yourself Harry Potter or The Hunger Games as your goals. Pick your favourite books in the world and think, that is where I want to get to, that is what I want to be able to do. But use graded readers to get yourself there.

Our graded readers and recommendations

If you’re looking to learn a foreign language then we have a selection of graded readers available for learners of Spanish and English and we also have a section dedicated to our recommended Chinese graded readers. Take a look here:

Spanish

English

Chinese

I could not recommend them more.

Final thoughts

If you have read any graded readers that you’ve really enjoyed, then please tell us about them in the comments below so we can check them out.

We hope you enjoy our recommendations, and please don’t hesitate to let us know what you think.