Problem
I am learning Portuguese. On Duolingo and TinyCards. Only about five minutes a day. Sometimes I miss a day. When I come back I feel like I am starting all over again. Then it gets easier and I do double the daily amount. Suddenly the stystem tells me I am 17% fluent. Hurray!
They have put a lot of effort into what seems silly but apparently is vital to making people stick with the course. Continuous rewards, smiling faces, consoling words when you make mistakes. They have done a lot of research, compared language learning systems and popular games and which features make people start, and stay.
I read that on one of their information pages. At first I just wanted to get started learning, not bother with what I thought would a lot of self-congratulatory stuff.
Later, I was puzzed, as well as full of praise for the ingenuity of the sytem. I wanted to know how they made each change and why.
As for the 17% success, at first I thought that mean I had completed 17% of 100 lessons they set you, and that I would make continuous progress. Then it seemed that the system was simply testing my speed at answering questions, and my persistence in keep up with the course every day.
I wasn't sure that I would be going on the trip needing Portuguese. Then I got confirmation of flights. Suddenly, learning the language seemed more urgent. More relevant.
Apart from the 17% message, have I made any progress? Yes, definitely. Surprisingly, the page where I did not learn any new words has proved the most useful. It was the grammar page on Duolingo. At first I missed out on the grammar page at the start of a course or a section. It depends on the size of your screen. I hope to progress from a laptop to a full size screen, like a small TV.
You might have an old screen lying around, abandoned by a family member or co worker. I decide I was getting round-shouldered, poor posture, short-necked, with back and shoulder ache from being hunched over a laptop on a kitchen table or dining table, or hotel desk or study desk. I am waiting for the dable to arrive. Meanwhile, vital things are disappearing off the bottom of the screen. I rf=frequently fail to spot the vital button. I think I have entered information. The submit or continue button is on the bottom right of my screen.
Regarding the Portuguese, I discovered the grammar information below one of the first couple of pages I had been doing that day on Portuguese. I learned about two vital things. Orange juice in Enlgish becomes juice of orange in Portuguese. The use of the de, which is superflous in English, has to be inserted.
I may be likely to forget that. However, today on Facebook I was reading comments on a post showing a video of teeny turtles, red eared sliders. I turned on translate and read the English. Then I went back to what was Portuguese. I could see all the constructions in Portuguese using the word de. I could work out whether the translation was a mistake and awkward, or simply the way that the Portuguese language is constructed.
I was immensely pleased with myself and happy. The message I have for you is that learning a language has enormous benefits, to your morale, and your understanding and feel of control, not just when you visit a foreign country, but also before, during and after, simply when looking at translations on the itnernet.
Useful Websites
https://www.duolingo.com
https://tinycards.duolingo.com/courses/C2yji/duolingo-portuguese-course
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I have several more posts on Portuguese and other languages as well as placed to visit. Please share links to your favourite posts.
I am learning Portuguese. On Duolingo and TinyCards. Only about five minutes a day. Sometimes I miss a day. When I come back I feel like I am starting all over again. Then it gets easier and I do double the daily amount. Suddenly the stystem tells me I am 17% fluent. Hurray!
They have put a lot of effort into what seems silly but apparently is vital to making people stick with the course. Continuous rewards, smiling faces, consoling words when you make mistakes. They have done a lot of research, compared language learning systems and popular games and which features make people start, and stay.
I read that on one of their information pages. At first I just wanted to get started learning, not bother with what I thought would a lot of self-congratulatory stuff.
Later, I was puzzed, as well as full of praise for the ingenuity of the sytem. I wanted to know how they made each change and why.
As for the 17% success, at first I thought that mean I had completed 17% of 100 lessons they set you, and that I would make continuous progress. Then it seemed that the system was simply testing my speed at answering questions, and my persistence in keep up with the course every day.
I wasn't sure that I would be going on the trip needing Portuguese. Then I got confirmation of flights. Suddenly, learning the language seemed more urgent. More relevant.
Apart from the 17% message, have I made any progress? Yes, definitely. Surprisingly, the page where I did not learn any new words has proved the most useful. It was the grammar page on Duolingo. At first I missed out on the grammar page at the start of a course or a section. It depends on the size of your screen. I hope to progress from a laptop to a full size screen, like a small TV.
You might have an old screen lying around, abandoned by a family member or co worker. I decide I was getting round-shouldered, poor posture, short-necked, with back and shoulder ache from being hunched over a laptop on a kitchen table or dining table, or hotel desk or study desk. I am waiting for the dable to arrive. Meanwhile, vital things are disappearing off the bottom of the screen. I rf=frequently fail to spot the vital button. I think I have entered information. The submit or continue button is on the bottom right of my screen.
Regarding the Portuguese, I discovered the grammar information below one of the first couple of pages I had been doing that day on Portuguese. I learned about two vital things. Orange juice in Enlgish becomes juice of orange in Portuguese. The use of the de, which is superflous in English, has to be inserted.
I may be likely to forget that. However, today on Facebook I was reading comments on a post showing a video of teeny turtles, red eared sliders. I turned on translate and read the English. Then I went back to what was Portuguese. I could see all the constructions in Portuguese using the word de. I could work out whether the translation was a mistake and awkward, or simply the way that the Portuguese language is constructed.
I was immensely pleased with myself and happy. The message I have for you is that learning a language has enormous benefits, to your morale, and your understanding and feel of control, not just when you visit a foreign country, but also before, during and after, simply when looking at translations on the itnernet.
Useful Websites
https://www.duolingo.com
https://tinycards.duolingo.com/courses/C2yji/duolingo-portuguese-course
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I have several more posts on Portuguese and other languages as well as placed to visit. Please share links to your favourite posts.
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