Recently, learning Korean became available on the Duolingo app! I’m so excited about it and have already begun reviewing. I’ve used this free application before to review the French that I had forgotten since high school and I find it very useful.
Here are some descriptions about the features as well as some of my thoughts on the app:
- As with every language, there’s a placement test in the beginning to put you roughly in the right spot to start learning/practicing. For example, if you already know hangul (Korean alphabet), then it’ll skip all those lessons. There are also shortcuts that you can use to skip ahead if you think the lessons in between each checkpoint are too easy. However, if you get 3 wrong answers (represented by 3 hearts), then you can’t pass the test.
- I’m familiar with the structure of the lessons as it’s the same as all the other languages, so the repetitiveness of the sentences is not surprising. In one lesson, you’ll get the same sentences but the questions are different. For one sentence, you’ll translate from English to Korean (with words given), then from Korean to English (with words given), then Korean to English (without the words given). I guess repetitiveness is important so I’m fine with this. However, sometimes the sentences don’t make a whole lot of sense in English. They are not really what you would ever say in any language actually. For me, this app is more for learning vocabulary and sentence structure so far.
- The lessons are packaged into different categories such as numbers, verbs, clothing, past tense, etc. The number of lessons in each category varies, but I think there are at least three. Once all the lessons in the category are complete, the category reaches gold status and the strength bar is full. However, you need to keep reviewing because the bar decreases over time, which brings me to my next point.
- There is a button (dumbbell symbol) near the bottom right of the app that allows you to review everything you’ve learned already. The main reason I use this button is to strengthen the bars of all categories back to gold status instead of reviewing each category separately. It will test you on all the vocabulary and sentence structures you’ve gone through, so it’s a great way to practice without having the clue that you’re talking about just food for example.
- Whenever you do a lesson or review a lesson, you gain experience points (XP). There is a daily goal that you can reach (about 3 lessons/reviews) and if you reach that goal every day, you can achieve streaks, like a 7-day streak, and gain achievements. You can also follow friends and see how much XP they have; it’s a way to compete with and motivate each other to keep learning. There is also Duolingo “currency” called a lingot (red gem looking thing) that you will obtain. They can be used to purchase “power-ups” and other special items. For example, you can spend 10 lingots to purchase a “streak-freeze” which you can use to freeze your streak even if there is one full day of inactivity.
- If you’re interested in learning with others, you can join or create a club within the app. I just joined one so I can’t tell you much about the experience so far, but people can post questions and answer questions. It’s a way for people to help each other as they learn. What I don’t really like is how they tell you everything that’s going on with the members of the group including what lessons they did, what their streak is, or that someone passed another in the amount of XP they achieved, etc. If there was a way to choose what shows up, that would help…or maybe have a separate place for asking questions for all Korean learners.
- If you’re wondering about the interface and functionality, I can tell you that it’s very user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing. It’s colourful and the symbols are very cute. I would say the voice of whoever recorded all the sentences and words is also very good. It’s clear and easy to understand. Most of the time, it doesn’t sound like the words were recorded separately and then pieced together, at least to me.
- This app will help you with reading and listening to Korean. So far, they don’t have questions with strict listening like they do in French for example, but you can always listen and not look at the sentence provided. If you’re looking to practice writing/typing or speaking Korean, it doesn’t have those features yet like they do with other languages. I’m not sure why, but I hope they add that option later.
Overall, I would say this is a great app for all levels of Korean learners, whether you’re a beginner or upper-intermediate level, although it might be difficult for absolute beginners. I’m only about halfway through the categories so I still have a long way to go, but I can’t wait to learn more. I highly recommend using this app if you’re learning Korean. Did I mention it’s completely free? ๐
Becoming Multilingual 