Knowledge of foreign languages is becoming more and more necessary for good specialists every day, since you need to be able to receive data on the latest achievements in your field, to communicate with colleagues from different countries. But not everyone will be able to attend foreign language courses, so there are other study options, among which applications for smartphones and tablets, programs for PCs are very popular.
One of the popular foreign language learning apps is Duolingo. Can you use this program to learn a foreign language from scratch or just improve your knowledge? What are its advantages and disadvantages for the average user?
What is Duolingo on a mobile device?
After installing from the app store, the user will see several screens, the main of which is the lesson diagram. The study goes from simple to complex, but in each case the proposed exercises are of the same type, aimed at developing the correct accent, listening to expressions in a foreign language, translating a text (from native to foreign and vice versa).
Duolingo benefits
After completing all levels of Duolingo, the vocabulary will be sufficient to explain in the studied language on the simplest topics. The "student" will not be able to get lost in a foreign city, ask for help in a difficult situation, and communicate at the everyday level.
Lessons are short, so they don't have time to tire the learner.
An effective system of motivation. Reminders, reward stickers, a club system to increase the competitiveness of the study of the material, it all looks very nice. Reminders and congratulations are sent to the student's e-mail on behalf of Duo (the owl that "leads" the training).
A large number of languages. For example, Russian-speaking students can choose English, German, French, Spanish. For English speakers, the list is much larger (for example, there is Greek, Vietnamese, Esperanto, Swahili).
You can use the Duolingo app for free, or rather shareware. advertisements are displayed periodically to the user.
Duolingo is available for all major mobile operating systems. If you don't want to put another app on your smartphone, you can use Duolingo to learn a language while sitting at a computer.
Disadvantages of Duolingo
Deep knowledge (and even a large vocabulary) cannot be obtained in this way. If you need technical English, for example, you will have to continue your studies using other methods. Perhaps the most effective program is for those who want to remember long-forgotten basic knowledge.
Exercises are performed in the application, but the theory will have to be studied independently. It will be somewhat easier in this matter for those who take Duolingo lessons directly on the site, since these issues are covered there.
