COVID-19 Social Distancing Diary: Duolingo

I’m hoping we will pull through this COVID-19 crisis together. My heart goes out to everyone affected by this terrible pandemic.

Being stuck at home is daunting. As a huge homebody, some of this is business as usual to me. Fortunately, I have found several tasks to keep myself occupied, such as finally cleaning my room and deep-diving into online learning.

One of my favorite sites right now in Duolingo. It’s free, though there is a paid version that I’m greatly tempted to try out since I am in love with this program. Duolingo’s gamification makes learning new languages fun, interesting, and — most importantly — less intimidating. Their interface is very easy to use, both on mobile and on desktop.

My weapon of choice is German. A couple years ago, my family and I visited Germany. We had the best of times there and I fell in love with the country. There were a few moments during the trip where we frustrated the locals because we couldn’t communicate the simplest thing, such as what to do with dirty dishes.

I kick myself for not doing research beforehand and learning basic German. I had set myself up in failure by thinking that I am innately bad at learning new languages. This is not true! Learning new languages isn’t reserved just for those with the aptitude for it. It’s achievable, especially when you put the effort!

Duolingo’s additional stories feature are an engaging way to employ what you’ve learned so far. The stories themselves are quite entertaining, too!

Duolingo has a lot of languages! For kicks, I tried out Spanish and Scottish Gaelic as well, before I accepted that my mind can only juggle learning one language and need to prevent burnout. It’s good to spend just a few minutes of your day on Duolingo. They keep track of your streaks, which is very helpful and encouraging.

Duolingo doesn’t do a deep dive into the language, though they do offer helpful tips. Their strength is in repetition and use. I struggle with using der, das, and die, as well as which negative (nicht, nie, etc.) to use, and may need to take some supplement reading to fully understand these caveats. I should give a shout-out to libraries such as the Los Angeles County Library that offer Mango for free that may offer more insight.

Do not sell yourself short! Learning a new language is achievable! And Duolingo makes it fun as well. And, when this COVID-19 is all over, we can explore our wanderlusts once again with Duolingo on hand!