Tumgik
#language-learning
addiethecrow · 1 year
Text
Tumblr media
i made a firefox extension that hides translations in babbel! always seeing the translated text makes it hard for me to exercise my brain to figure out what things mean on my own. now i can hide translations when i don't want to see them!
the extension adds a button to the top toolbar in lessons that shows or hides translations. you can also press ctrl+` (that's a backtick) on your keyboard so that you don't have to switch to your mouse.
this addon should also work on firefox for android, but i haven't tested it myself.
you can get it here:
5 notes · View notes
ruhua-langblr · 4 months
Text
Duolingo Sucks, Now What?: A Guide
Now that the quality of Duolingo has fallen (even more) due to AI and people are more willing to make the jump here are just some alternative apps and what languages they have:
"I just want an identical experience to DL"
Busuu (Languages: Spanish, Japanese, French, English, German, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Polish, Turkish, Russian, Arabic, Korean)
"I want a good audio-based app"
Language Transfer (Languages: French, Swahili, Italian, Greek, German, Turkish, Arabic, Spanish, English for Spanish Speakers)
"I want a good audio-based app and money's no object"
Pimsleur (Literally so many languages)
Glossika (Also a lot of languages, but minority languages are free)
*anecdote: I borrowed my brother's Japanese Pimsleur CD as a kid and I still remember how to say the weather is nice over a decade later. You can find the CDs at libraries and "other" places I'm sure.
"I have a pretty neat library card"
Mango (Languages: So many and the endangered/Indigenous courses are free even if you don't have a library that has a partnership with Mango)
Transparent Language: (Languages: THE MOST! Also the one that has the widest variety of African languages! Perhaps the most diverse in ESL and learning a foreign language not in English)
"I want SRS flashcards and have an android"
AnkiDroid: (Theoretically all languages, pre-made decks can be found easily)
"I want SRS flashcards and I have an iphone"
AnkiApp: It's almost as good as AnkiDroid and free compared to the official Anki app for iphone
"I don't mind ads and just want to learn Korean"
lingory
"I want an app made for Mandarin that's BETTER than DL and has multiple languages to learn Mandarin in"
ChineseSkill (You can use their older version of the course for free)
"I don't like any of these apps you mentioned already, give me one more"
Bunpo: (Languages: Japanese, Spanish, French, German, Korean, and Mandarin)
68K notes · View notes
theenglishnook · 3 hours
Text
War and Language Contact: The Impact on the English Language
Echoes of Conquest As history unfolds, the clash of civilizations and the march of empires have often been accompanied by the exchange of more than just territory and power. In the tumult of military conquests and conflicts, languages have collided, merged, and transformed, leaving an indelible mark on the linguistic landscape. The English language, in particular, bears the imprint of its…
Tumblr media
View On WordPress
1 note · View note
mostlyfrommemory · 3 months
Text
Spanish
In 2020 I listened to the audiobook version of Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes. I chose that book because it was included in my subscription to Audible and I didn’t have to use any of my precious credits. It turned out to be hilarious. I really appreciated how the 400 year old humor still made me laugh out loud today. It really made me think If the book was that funny in English, how funny was it…
Tumblr media
View On WordPress
1 note · View note
akshayabk-blog · 3 months
Text
Day 8: Principles of Andragogy
Day 8: Principles of Andragogy Deep Dive into Andragogy: Foundational Concept of Andragogy: Begin your exploration by understanding that andragogy is the theory of adult learning proposed by Malcolm Knowles. Recognize that andragogy is based on the idea that adults learn differently from children and that there are unique principles that guide adult learning. Core Principles of…
Tumblr media
View On WordPress
0 notes
allinllachuteruteru · 6 months
Text
Duolingo is NOT what it used to be.
“Duolingo is ‘sunsetting the development of the Welsh course’ (and many others)”.
I’ve used Duolingo since 2013. It used to be about genuinely learning languages and preserving endangered ones. It used to have a vibrant community and forum where users were listened to. It used to have volunteers that dedicated countless hours and even years to making the best courses they could while also trying to explain extremely nuanced and complex grammar in simple terms.
In the past two years it feels like Von Ahn let the money talk instead of focusing on the original goal.
No one truly had a humongous problem with the subscription tier for SuperDuolingo. We understood it: if you can afford to pay, help keep Duolingo free for those who couldn’t.
It started when the company went public. Volunteers were leaving courses they created because they warned of differing longterm goals compared to Duolingo’s as a company; not long after it was announced that the incubator (how volunteers were able to make courses in the first place) would be shut down. A year goes by and the forums—the voice of the users and the way people were able to share tips and explanations—is discontinued. A year or two later, Duolingo gets a completely new makeover—the Tree is gone and you don’t control what lesson you start with. With the disappearance of the Tree, all grammar notes and explanations for courses not in the Big 8 (consisting of the courses made before the incubator like Spanish/French/German/etc. and of the most popular courses like Japanese/Korean/Chinese/etc.) are removed with it. Were you learning Vietnamese and have no idea how honorifics work without the grammar notes? Shit outta luck bud. Were you learning Polish and have absolutely no clue how one of the declensions newly thrown at you functions? Suck it up. In a Reddit AMA, Von Ahn claims that the new design resulted in more users utilizing the app/site. How he claims that statistic? By counting how many people log into their Duolingo account, as if an entire app renovation wouldn’t cause an uptick in numbers to even see what the fuck just happened to the courses.
Von Ahn announces next in a Reddit AMA that no more language courses will be added from what there already is available. His reasoning? No one uses the unpopular language courses — along with how Duolingo will now be doing upkeep with the courses already in place. And here I am, currently looking on the Duolingo website how there are 1.8 million active learners for Irish, 284 thousand active learners for Navajo, and even 934 thousand active learners for fucking High Valyrian. But yea, no one uses them. Not like the entire Navajo Nation population is 399k members or anything, or like 1.8 million people isn’t 36% of the entire population of Ireland or anything.
And now this. What happened to the upkeep of current courses? Oh, Von Ahn only meant the popular ones that already have infinite resources. Got it. Duolingo used to be a serious foundational resource for languages with little resources while also adding the relief of gamification.
It pisses me off. It really does. This was not what Duolingo started out as. And yea, maybe I shouldn’t get invested in a dingy little app. But as someone who spent most of her adolescence immersed in language learning to the point where it was literally keeping me alive at one point, to the point where languages felt like my only friend as a tween, and to the point where friendships on the Duolingo forums with likeminded individuals my age and other enthusiasts who even sent me books in other languages for free because they wanted people to learn it, the evolution of Duolingo hits a bitter nerve within me.
~End rant.
17K notes · View notes
ayin-me-yesh · 4 months
Text
In light of Duolingo laying off its translators, here are my favourite language apps (primarily for Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and te reo Māori).
Multiple Languages
Anki is a flashcard programme and app that's not exclusively for languages. While making your own decks is ideal, you can also download shared decks for most languages.
If you're learning Japanese, specifically, Seth Clydesdale has websites for practicing alongside Genki's 2nd or 3rd editions, and he also provides his own shared Anki decks for Genki.
And if you're learning te reo Māori, specifically, here's a guide on how to make your own deck.
TOFU Learn is an app for learning vocabulary that's very similar to Anki. However, it has particularly excellent shared decks for East Asian languages. I've used it extensively for practicing 汉字. Additionally, if you're learning te reo Māori, there's a shared deck of vocabulary from Māori Made Easy!
Mandarin Chinese
Hello Chinese is a fantastic app for people at the HSK 1-4 levels. While there's a paid version, the only thing paying unlocks is access to podcast lessons, which imo are not really necessary. Without paying you still have access to all the gamified lessons which are laid out much like Duolingo's lessons. However, unlike Duolingo, Hello Chinese actually teaches grammar directly, properly teaches 汉字, and includes native audio practice.
Japanese
Renshuu is a website and app for learning and practicing Japanese. The vast majority of its content is available for free. There's also a Discord community where you can practice alongside others.
Kanji Dojo is a free and open source app for learning and practicing the stroke order of kanji. You can learn progressively by JLPT level or by Japanese grades. There's also the option to learn and practice kana stroke order as well.
10K notes · View notes
oobbbear · 4 months
Text
I want to post this here too because I’ve seen it happen a few times
Tumblr media
Please understand that there are cultural differences and language differences, if you see this happening let the person clarify what they meant, that person might just not be familiar with words the western side of the internet use
8K notes · View notes
diabolicjoy · 1 year
Text
you can start learning anything you always wanted at any point in your life. & how nice it is to remember that
67K notes · View notes
glowsticcc · 5 months
Text
how many languages do you know?
(i’m counting languages where you took one class for a semester if you retained any of it congrats you are a little multilingual)
(reblog for bigger sample size!)
11K notes · View notes
Text
It's not what I expected by 我是阿彪叻
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
7K notes · View notes
goodplan-ipromise · 9 months
Text
Tumblr media
20K notes · View notes
theenglishnook · 16 hours
Text
The Complex Web of Spanish Adverbs
Historical Foundations Spanish adverbs, those subtle modifiers of action and description, hold a captivating allure within the vast landscape of language. In our exploration, we embark on a journey to unravel the intricacies of Spanish adverbs, delving into their historical origins and linguistic distinctions from their English counterparts. The origins of Spanish adverbs are deeply rooted in…
Tumblr media
View On WordPress
0 notes
lethinhchanhung · 8 months
Text
SEEING IS BELIEVING
Well said! 👏 And it's true... in most cases. 
If you are learning a foreign language, you should never believe what you see. 🫣
For Vietnamese people who are learning English (actually, this applies to any language that uses the Latin alphabet), if you BELIEVE what you SEE, your pronunciation will get funky. 🥴 
For instance, "CH" is pronounced in different ways, in Vietnamese, in English and in French. 🤯
Even within a single language, such as English, "TH" is pronounced differently in "breath" and "breathe" 😬. 
So, how are you supposed to deal with these crazy languages? Do you have to find a native speaker and ask them to pronounce every word you encounter?
The answer is simple: NO!
The problem is, the letters LOOK the same, but they ARE NOT the same! 
Linguists realized this fact years ago, and to cope with these tricky-sneaky letters, they invented the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) to truly show you what you can (and should) believe. ✨
You might ask: "Why do I even need to learn the IPA? My neighbor is a native speaker! 😾". 
Uh-huh, pretty cool! Your neighbor can definitely help you with your pronunciation. Nonetheless, if you genuinely want to sound like a native, your first step is mastering the IPA.
Your neighbor, as a native speaker and a nerd, can pronounce words accurately for sure! However, each interaction incurs a problem. Your neighbor (assuming he's super impatient) will get sick of your questions after helping you with 20-30 words. 
And even if he doesn't, your ears (in fact, it's your brain) find it nearly impossible to recognize new sounds by simply listening to them. 🙉
For example, in English and Vietnamese, the letter "G" has different pronunciations, which are represented by different IPA symbols: "g" and "ɣ", respectively. Without the IPA, 96% of people would say they're identical! (I made up the statistics 😅)
Of course! (I know what you're thinking 👽) You don't need perfect pronunciation to get others to understand you (it's freaking hard to achieve that 🐛). Regardless, a near-perfect pronunciation will enhance your credibility in professional settings, such as interviews and business meetings.
That's it! A brief introduction to the IPA. 🤠
To better understand the IPA, google "HELP IPA [LANGUAGE]" and look up IPA tutorial videos on YouTube.
In case you’re learning English, it's up to you to decide whether to learn an American accent or a British accent (or a mix of both). The goal is to communicate your message clearly and avoid misinterpretations.
Good luck on your language-learning journey! 🤞
Bonus:
There are 3 main levels of pronunciation:
1. Newbie 🐣: You speak with a heavy accent (you replace English syllables with those from your mother tongue).
2. Proficient 🐥: You pronounce every single word as it is transcribed in IPA. 
3. Mastered 🦅: You connect, swallow, and replace sounds to smoothen your speech. 
The IPA will (probably) leave you at level 2. Only by practicing and practicing with REAL English can you get to level 3. 🦖
Once again, break a leg!!! 🦝
(I'm not sponsored by Microsoft, though if you want to pay me, you're more than welcomed to do so🥸)
Tumblr media
1 note · View note
inkskinned · 7 months
Text
i love when words fit right. seize was always supposed to be that word, and so was jester. tuesday isn't quite right but thursday should be thursday, that's a good word for it. daisy has the perfect shape to it, almost like you're laughing when you say it; and tulip is correct most of the time. while keynote is fun to say, it's super wrong - i think they have to change the label for that one. but fox is spot-on.
most words are just, like, good enough, even if what they are describing is lovely. the night sky is a fine term for it but it isn't perfect the way november is the correct term for that month.
it's not just in english because in spanish the phrase eso si que es is correct, it should be that. sometimes other languages are also better than the english words, like how blue is sloped too far downwards but azul is perfect and hangs in the air like glitter. while butterfly is sweet, i think probably papillion is more correct, although for some butterflies féileacán is much better. year is fine but bliain is better. sometimes multiple languages got it right though, like how jueves and Πέμπτη are also the right names for thursday. maybe we as a species are just really good at naming thursdays.
and if we were really bored and had a moment and a picnic to split we could all sit down for a moment and sort out all the words that exist and find all the perfect words in every language. i would show you that while i like the word tree (it makes you smile to say it), i think arbor is correct. you could teach me from your language what words fit the right way, and that would be very exciting (exciting is not correct, it's just fine).
i think probably this is what was happening at the tower of babel, before the languages all got shifted across the world and smudged by the hand of god. by the way, hand isn't quite right, but i do like that the word god is only 3 letters, and that it is shaped like it is reflecting into itself, and that it kind of makes your mouth move into an echoing chapel when you cluck it. but the word god could also fit really well with a coathanger, and i can't explain that. i think donut has (weirdly) the same shape as a toothbrush, but we really got bagel right and i am really grateful for that.
grateful is close, but not like thunder. hopefully one day i am going to figure out how to shape the way i love my friends into a little ceramic (ceramic is very good, almost perfect) pot and when they hold it they can feel the weight of my care for them. they can put a plant in there. maybe a daisy.
12K notes · View notes
salvadorbonaparte · 4 months
Text
Duolingo Alternatives by Language
Disclaimer: I haven't used or tested all of them. All resources have different strengths, e.g. Drops being designed for vocabulary. They often aren't full alternatives for Duolingo or formal classes. I just wanted to compile resources for all languages on Duolingo to make the switch easier, especially for the less popular languages.
Feel free to also check out my collection of free textbooks
If you want a more detailed resource list for any of these languages (or perhaps one not listed here) you can send me an ask and I can see what I can do.
Arabic
AlifBee
Arabic Unlocked
Beelinguapp
Bluebird
Busuu
Clozemaster
Drops
Infinite Arabic
Ling
LinGo Play
LingQ
Mango
Mondly
Qlango
Write It! Arabic
Catalan
Bluebird
Clozemaster
Drops
Ling
LinGo Play
LingQ
LyricsTraining
Mondly
Qlango
Chinese
Bluebird
Beelinguapp
Bunpo
Busuu
Chineasy
Clozemaster
Drops
Du Chinese
Hello Chinese
HeyChina
Immersive Chinese
Infinite Chinese
Ling
Lingodeer
LinGo Play
Lingopie
LingQ
Mango
Mondly
Pleco Chinese Dictionary
Qlango
Czech
Bluebird
Clozemaster
Ling
LinGo Play
Mango
Mondly
Qlango
Danish
Babbel
Bluebird
Clozemaster
Drops
Ling
LinGo Play
Lingvist
LingQ
Mango
Mondly
Qlango
Dutch
Babbel
Bluebird
Busuu
Clozemaster
Drops
Ling
LinGo Play
Lingvist
LingQ
LyricsTraining
Mango
Mondly
Say Something in Dutch
Qlango
Esperanto
Clozemaster
Drops
Esperanto12.net
Kurso de Esperanto
LingQ
Qlango
Finnish
Bluebird
Clozemaster
Drops
Ling
LinGo Play
LingQ
LyricsTraining
Mango
Mondly
Qlango
French
Babbel
Bluebird
Beelinguapp
Bunpo
Busuu
Clozemaster
Collins French Dictionary
Conjuu
Dr French
Drops
HeyFrance
Infinite French
Lilata
Ling
Linga
Lingodeer
LinGo Play
Lingopie
Lingvist
LingQ
Listen Up
LyricsTraining
Mango
Mondly
Nextlingua
Oxford French Dictionary
Qlango
TV5MONDE
Xeropan
German
Babbel
Bluebird
Beelinguapp
Bunpo
Busuu
Clozemaster
Collins German Dictionary
Conjuu
Drops
DW Learn German
Infinite German
Ling
Linga
Lingodeer
Lingopie
LinGo Play
Lingvist
LingQ
LyricsTraining
Mango
Mondly
Nextlingua
Oxford German Dictionary
Qlango
Xeropan
Greek
Bluebird
Clozemaster
Drops
Greek Alphabet Academy
Ling
LinGo Play
LingQ
Mango
Mondly
Qlango
Write It! Greek
Guaraní
Clozemaster
Guarani Ayvu
Haitian Creole
Bluebird
Mango
Hawaiian
Drops
Mango
ʻŌlelo Online
Hebrew
Bluebird
Clozemaster
Drops
Ling
LinGo Play
LingQ
Mango
Mondly
Shepha
Write It! Hebrew
High Valyrian
Valyrian Dictionary
Hindi
Bhasha
Bluebird
Beelinguapp
Clozemaster
Drops
Hindwi Dictionary
Ling
LinGo Play
LingQ
Mango
Mondly
Qlango
Hungarian
Bluebird
Clozemaster
Drops
Ling
LinGo Play
LingQ
Mango
Mondly
Qlango
Indonesian
Babbel
Bluebird
Clozemaster
Drops
Ling
LinGo Play
LingQ
Mango
Mondly
Irish
Bluebird
Clozemaster
Collins Irish Dictionary
Drops
Easy Irish
Ling
Mango
Teanglann
Italian
Babbel
Beelinguapp
Bluebird
Bunpo
Busuu
Clozemaster
Collins Italian Dictionary
Conjuu
Drops
Infinite Italian
Ling
Linga
Lingodeer
Lingopie
LinGo Play
Lingvist
LingQ
LyricsTraining
Mango
Mondly
Nextlingua
Oxford Italian Dictionary
Qlango
Japanese
Beelinguapp
Bluebird
Bunpo
Busuu
Clozemaster
Drops
HeyJapan
Hiragana Quest
Infinite Japanese
kawaiiDungeon
Ling
Lingodeer
Lingopie
Lingvist
LingQ
LyricsTraining
Mango
Mondly
Oyomi Japanese Reader
renshuu
Takoboto Japanese Dictionary
Todaii
Qlango
Write It! Japanese
Klingon
boQwl! Klingon Language
Klingon Translator
Write It! Klingon
Korean
Beelinguapp
Bluebird
Bunpo
Busuu
Clozemaster
Drops
Hangul Quest
HeyKorea
Infinite Korean
Ling
LinGo Play
Lingopie
Lingodeer
Lingvist
LingQ
Mango
Mondly
Qlango
Write It! Korean
Latin
Bluebird
Cattus
Clozemaster
Collins Latin Dictionary
Grammaticus Maximus
Latinia
Legentibus
LingQ
Mango
Mondly
Perdisco
Qlango
Vice Verba
Navajo
Navajo Language Renaissance
Navajo Language Program
Speak Navajo
Norwegian
Babbel
Bluebird
Clozemaster
Drops
Ling
LinGo Play
Lingvist
LingQ
Mango
Mondly
Mjolnir Norwegian
Norskappen
Qlango
Polish
Babbel
Bluebird
Busuu
Clozemaster
Drops
Ling
LinGo Play
Lingvist
LingQ
LyricsTraining
Mango
Mondly
Qlango
Portuguese
Babbel
Beelinguapp
Bluebird
Bunpo
Busuu
Clozemaster
Collins Portuguese Dictionary
Drops
Infinite Portuguese
Ling
Lingodeer
Lingopie
LinGo Play
Lingvist
LingQ
LyricsTraining
Mango
Mondly
Nextlingua
Qlango
Romanian
Bluebird
Clozemaster
Drops
Ling
LinGo Play
LingQ
Mango
Mondly
Qlango
Russian
Babbel
Bluebird
Beelinguapp
Busuu
Clozemaster
Collins Russian Dictionary
Drops
Infinite Russian
Ling
Linga
LinGo Play
Lingopie
Lingodeer
Lingvist
LingQ
Mango
Mondly
Nextlingua
Qlango
Write It! Russian
Scottish Gaelic
Bluebird
Clozemaster
Go!Gaelic
Mango
Spanish
Babbel
Beelinguapp
Bluebird
Bunpo
Busuu
Clozemaster
Collins Spanish Dictionary
ConjuGato
Conjuu
Drops
Infinite Spanish
Ling
Linga
Lingodeer
LinGo Play
Lingvist
LingQ
Listen Up
LyricsTraining
Mango
Mondly
Nextlingua
Say Something in Spanish
SpanishDict
Qlango
Xeropan
Swahili
Bluebird
Bui Bui Swahili App
Clozemaster
Drops
Ling
LinGo Play
LingQ
Mango
Nkenne
Swedish
Babbel
Beelinguapp
Bluebird
Clozemaster
Drops
Ling
LinGo Play
Lingvist
LingQ
LyricsTraining
Mango
Mondly
Qlango
Turkish
Babbel
Beelinguapp
Bluebird
Busuu
Clozemaster
Drops
Ling
LinGo Play
LingQ
LyricsTraining
Mango
Mondly
Qlango
Ukrainian
Bluebird
Clozemaster
Drops
Ling
LinGo Play
LingQ
Mango
Mondly
Mova Ukrainian
Qlango
Speak Ukrainian
Vietnamese
Bluebird
Clozemaster
Collins Vietnamese Dictionary
Drops
Learn Vietnamese with Annie
Ling
Lingodeer
LinGo Play
Mango
Mondly
Welsh
BBc Cymru Fyw
Bluebird
Clozemaster
Say Something in Welsh
Yiddish
Bluebird
Clozemaster
Mango
Proste Yiddish
Roni Gal Learn Yiddish
Vaybertaytsh
Yiddish Book Center
Zulu
Bluebird
Nkenne
Bonus: Polygloss which claims to be available for all languages as long as there is another user also learning the same language
6K notes · View notes