Learning germany using duolingo

Does duolingo actually help? because although i only started using it only recently(literally just today) it makes it feel like I'm actually learning, albeit at a slow pace.

hi! i have a 500+ day duolingo streak and since i began using it, my grades in spanish have increased phenomenally. i highly recommend using it, but not as your only resource. use duolingo, but use it often, and also use other things alongside it. i truly believe duolingo is a good resource when used properly

personally it hasn't helped me i also found it very slow but i guess its different for everyone

Does duolingo actually help? because although i only started using it only recently(literally just today) it makes it feel like I'm actually learning, albeit at a slow pace.

I think that it does help a lot and I think that it's one of the best platforms to learn foreign languages (without being immersed into the language by talking to native speakers). I found it very useful for lots of European languages including French, German, Spanish, Dutch and many others. I think that they're less useful for languages like Mandarin or Japanese, because the courses for these languages lack some fundamental concepts and lessons. For example, you would not be able to learn how to actually write Hanzi or Kanji characters using Duolingo, so you'd have to use another platform. There are also other tips and tricks in the Japanese course that are not thoroughly explained.

But overall, I think that it's a great platform and if you have a lot of motivation and you actively learn using Duolingo then you would be surprised how far you can get in the language. If you complete the whole Spanish/French/German course then you can easily get to the B1 (upper intermediate) level of language proficiency. However, in order to get to the advanced (C1 or C2) levels then you would be required to get yourself immersed in the language more by actually talking to native speakers, reading books or articles, watching movies/TV and constantly improving.

Does duolingo actually help? because although i only started using it only recently(literally just today) it makes it feel like I'm actually learning, albeit at a slow pace.

I would also really recommend it

(But I don't use it for German as I am German )

Duolingo only helps to a certain degree. It's okay for basics, but if you're serious about the language, I'd look for a good textbook, workbook and some online exercises.

Generally, it is not the best way to learn a language and there are many free, accessible resources online that will enable you to progress in the language at a much quicker rate without being restricted by needing to pay to unlock certain content.

(As a linguist, I'm really not a fan of Duo)

I am pretty serious about german, infact, I need it for one of the medical schools in german.
you said only upto a certain degree.. in that case, at what point do you think i should stop using duo(or start using other materials alongside duo) considering I use it pretty often on the daily.

If you think it is benefiting you, then you don't need to stop using it. I just gave you my opinion on what has worked for me. Different things work for different people.

I found it was slowing my progress and it felt quite superficial. It was like surface-level learning with minimal explanation of the content provided. You may be able to memorise words and phrases, but if you are a serious learner, it is not helpful for things like grammatical explanations or the more obscure idiomatic phrases.

Maybe just make sure it is not the only thing you use, else I'm not sure you'll get too far in your learning. That's all.

I agree it's perhaps not the best site and maybe don't use it as the only way to learn the language.

Maybe a tutor might be best, although I understand why that's not always an option.

its been 5 days since i last started using it, and i must say.. it is pretty helpful. Or at least i think so. I'm learning german in duolingo, and spend a good amount of time on it daily. Though I don't use any other sources beisdes google translate for some words which i forget the translation of.
just hoping that duolingo will remain helpful, based on the fact that you said you have a +500 streak.. you must have used it quite a lot. Is it still helpful?