Where to begin...1.) a. When I first started using Duolingo, there were sections in which you could choose your own learning path, so (depending on the level) you could choose to learn about basic communication, transport, school, or politics etc. Then they changed it to a "waterfall" style system which omitted the freedom to choose.b. It also used to have the ability to quickly refresh oneself with practise options once you'd finished a section. Just click on it, and review (useful if you run out of hearts on the free version). Now if you're on the free version, even when you have finished a section it brings up a menu telling you that you need hearts to do basically anything, but advertises the super/pro version because it likes to penalise free users wherever it can. More on the hearts system coming up next. 2.) The hearts system is the most soul-destroying way of trying to learn. Free users get PUNISHED for making mistakes by having a heart removed for each mistake made - even when your answer is actually correct as a translation in your language, it will sometimes think it isn't. You can report this, but there is no-one to ask for assistance. People learn by making mistakes, but Duolingo punishes you for it unless you give them money. 3.) Streaks. I HATE streaks. Duolingo will reward you for keeping up a streak. The problem with this, is the longer you intentionally or unintentionally maintain this streak, the more likely some people (myself included) feel to keep it going, and going and going. At the time of writing this, my streak was 1428 days (though admittedly there have been a few of their streak freezes used). So, you lose your streak if you're perhaps unwell, on holiday, in hospital for surgery, looking after someone, working extra hours and don't have time etc. If you have streak freezes, great, but if not, your streak is over. The thing is, the longer it gets the more I've felt compelled to FORCE myself to use the app to keep that up. So it's keeping me on a screen far more than I want to be. Sure, I could give up the streak, but but but I'm doing so well with it right? Compulsion is a powerful tool, and Duolingo enforces it. This is supposed to be language learning, people; not Overwatch. 4.) It does not teach grammar, and it does not teach context. It makes you guess (and for free users, you'll lose more hearts, which pushes you to do those practise sessions, because you want to keep up that streak right? And you can't continue "learning" without those hearts - oh, unless you fork out to pay for super/pro). Sure, there's a little button at the top of a unit that brings up what they call a guidebook... except it isn't a guidebook. It just tells you what sentences are in that unit. I'm AuDHD and really need lessons in the grammar and context to really understand the language I'm learning. Duolingo does not cater to this at all.5.) It's not always accurate either. There used to be a comments section on each "lesson" (they aren't lessons, just tests) in which learners would discuss the sentences in question. However, they locked this off (at least for free users) and then gradually did away with it entirely. Anyway, when that still existed, I saw that there were some native speakers of the language I was learning around, and they had said "we actually wouldn't say it this way" or something similar. 6.) The AI voices are unnatural, and often speak unnaturally fast. There is sometimes an option to slow it down, but then it is painfully and unnaturally slow. Those voices are often mixed up as well, so where a question has a box of several words that you have to click on to piece a sentence together, the different words have a male or female voice so it sounds really messed up. 7.) There are even leaderboards. I mean, again, this is language learning, people, not Overwatch or a similar game. In do not want to be in competition with other people when I am only trying to learn a language. Language learning should be interesting and even fun, yes, but it should never be a competitive game. Duolingo is ultimately a MONEY GRABBING GACHA GAME designed to keep you on your phone/computer. It does not care one whit that you're actually trying to learn a language. I refuse to pay for it based on all the aforementioned b/s, and I am only still using it because I can, at the very least, learn SOMETHING of a variety of languages - albeit haphazardly - and it has far more languages available. That said, I have recently paid for the lifetime access on Babbel and I'm finding that actually properly teaches a language. Duolingo does have some good points, but it nevertheless remains a highly toxic company that only really cares about money. Given how poor most of the reviews are, perhaps one day they'll give it an overhaul and actually make it user friendly.
