Alta para un Hobbit

[what-even-is-thiss]

I gave up on dreaming Spanish for a while because I was at the point where the beginner videos were boring me but the intermediate videos tired me out but then I saw someone on the reddit give an answer to my problem that’s so obvious I’m mad I didn’t think of it.

The solution is to just watch the beginner videos at 1.25x and the intermediate videos at .75x.

And just like that my problem was solved. I’m watching videos in Spanish again.

[what-even-is-thiss]

Me: gosh these videos are too slow and I’m bored

Reddit: then make them faster.

Me: *head does a cartoon explosion*

[spanishpod101]

Most Common Adjectives ❄️ PS: Learn Spanish with the best FREE online resources, just click here https://www.spanishpod101.com/?src=tumblr_infographic_adjectives_yourself_030625

[thisbibliomaniac]

If anyone was wondering, Duolingo just got even worse.

[cazort]

Duolingo was already on a downward spiral for years. I discovered it in 2015 and it was an incredible tool and I used it for a few years but then I started to notice a decline. It got worse and worse in a lot of ways.

I actually ended up having a surreal and jarring one-on-one conversation with Luis von Ahn, the founder and CEO, who reached out to me after a scathing critique I posted on Reddit started to get significant traction.

Talking to him was like talking to someone who had been brainwashed by a cult. I told him how I and others in my life had found Duolingo so useful and efficient for language learning, and that its usefulness was evidenced by me noticing a real-world improvement in ability to listen to, understand, and speak the languages I had been practicing, but that recent changes had made it dramatically less useful to where I needed to put much more time in to get the same amount out.

His response was like "But all our metrics are up, our data shows that our changes are working." It was so frustrating. The metrics were all about engagement. He was showing people were spending more time practicing languages, not that they were getting more real-world ability to converse in those languages. Practice time was going up but actual language ability was going down. I tried explaining that to him but he seemed completely unable and/or unwilling to understand my point.

It was like talking to a wall.

I left the conversation with any remaining faith in the Duolingo leadership completely shattered, and I completely withdrew from using the site.

I now use Clozemaster to learn languages in place of Duolingo, and I think it is far superior it terms of efficiency, especially when combined with listening to material produced by native speakers.

[the-real-seebs]

metrics of engagement are such a bad tool

[natequarter]

nosferatu? non. VOSferatu. c'est pas mon problème

[eviltoxicmosssauce]

nosferatu? no. VOSferatu. no es mi problema

[witchinghourstudycoven]

Looking for a magical accountability community?

Join 🌙✨The Witching Hour Study Coven🌙✨, a safe and supportive space for students who thrive at night!

We're an inclusive Discord group, especially welcoming LGBTQ+ and neurodivergent folks, where you can:

🔮 Connect & Collaborate

Study with us nightly from 11 PM - 1 AM (or longer!)

Get accountability buddies for tackling assignments.

📚 Grow Together

Join our themed challenges (like the "Midweek Magic: Power-Up Challenge") to boost productivity.

Share study tips, music playlists, and motivation.

🎉 Feel Supported

Participate in fun seasonal events (like creating winter self-care plans!).

Build friendships with fellow late-night learners.

✨ Who We Are: We’re a community of passionate students creating a safe, judgment-free space for learning, growing, and thriving together—no matter your academic goals or study style.

🔗 Join us here! https://discord.gg/TuA4W2DG4U

✨ Let’s thrive together in the witching hour! 🕯️🌙

[ayin-me-yesh]

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.

[mysterygrl20]

duolingo owl came for steamboat willie

[daydream-the-demon]

Guys I'm dying-

THIS IS THE OFFICIAL DUOLINGO TWEETING THIS-

(THE ACTUAL TWEET FOR PROOF-)

(Here's some fanart of this tweet-) Edit: it's aislinceivun on [tumblr], go check 'em out!

IT IS REAL.

DUOLINGO IS SHIPPING THEMSELF WITH ALASTOR-

I AM DYING HELP ME-

[ruhua-langblr]

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)

[tallforahobbit]

✨ The Witching Hour Study Coven✨

Would greatly appreciate some ideas on how to find more members for my discord group ✨ The Witching Hour Study Coven✨

It's a focused atmosphere with a witch/magical theme where everyone is encouraged to be their most productive selves.

Link :D ----> https://discord.gg/vpktyrFE

A lot of Reddits don't allow self promo so I'm unsure of where to post. I'm an online college student so I can't share on campus.

[thespanishgarden]

Spanish Word Wheel - La Medusa

La Medusa - Jellyfish 🪼

• Did you know that jellyfish do not have brains?

• Sabías que las medusas no tienen cerebro?

• Jellyfish are aquatic.

• Las medusas son acuáticas.

[Gif not mine]

[geeses]

reblog to diminish the horrors from the person you reblogged from

[incognitopolls]

What works BEST for you, personally, to relieve period pain?

Standard/over-the-counter pain medications

Special/prescription pain medications

Heat (e.g. hot water bottle, hot bath, heating pad)

Exercise/activity

Eating a different diet

Sex/orgasms/masturbation

Sitting or laying in a specific position

Something else

Nothing I've tried relieves the pain

I don't have pain while menstruating

I don't have periods/show results

Voting ended onAug 7, 2024

We ask your questions so you don’t have to! Submit your questions to have them posted anonymously as polls.

[cryptotheism]

Your body must be rested and fed if you wish to be a pervert.

[orcboxer]

[orcposts]

[pokkin]

If I had to choose a last meal before getting sent to the gallows I would choose all of the worlds suffering so nobody has to hurt anymore

[reefsharkivist]

i would choose olive garden endless breadsticks

[pokkin]

Oh I love breadsticks changing my answer

[joeinct]

Corner Houses #20, Photo by Michael Wolf, 2010

[atomic-chronoscaph]

The X-Files (1996)