The Green Owl: Has Duolingo Made Language Learning Simple?

I’ve rather fallen in love with Spain because of its food, scenery and marvellously chilled population. We now visit in our motorhome at least once a year, often for a whole month. This is a shot that I took on our most recent holiday. I took it at Praia das Catedrais on Galicia’s Northern coast. The guidebooks describe it as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. For that reason it’s chocker block even when we went in low season. In fact between Easter and mid September you have to book a free access visit to keep numbers manageable.

Nonetheless I would highly recommend going there to wander amidst those cathedral-like columns and dip your toes in the pool. It’s properly stunning. Just make sure you’re mindful of the tide times and go when the beach is exposed to make the most of your visit otherwise you might get your dress or shorts wet.

Learning Spanish with Duolingo: Has It Worked?

Because we visit Spain so frequently I decided to learn the language. So I’m now in my fifth year of studying on the paid version of Duolingo.. I started with the free version but the adverts became a nuisance. What’s more I feel that the creators deserve monetary payment for such an extensive development.

I do lessons twice daily except on a Monday. It’s fun so I’m motivated to keep my position in the highest Diamond league. Sometime within the next six months I’ll have finished the Spanish course . At this point my learning will have reached stage B2 of the Common European Frame of Reference for Languages (CEFR) measure of language skills. That means that I should be pretty fluent by now. So am I?

Eh no! Firstly, I think the lack of practising listening and speaking in real life situations holds me back. I’d also benefit from a bit more grammar tuition. Finally I don’t do a lot of exercises in Spanish where I come up with my own written work. I don’t see the point. I’m never going to use the language in that way to write reports or essays.

I now feel that I can understand written information now pretty well. It’s probably my strongest area and of course having Google Translate to hand helps as well. I think I’ve sussed how to manage in restaurants and now get by in shops and tourist spots. Once I told the receptionist in a campsite that Barney is a dinosaur in fluent Spanish. ‘Barney es dinosaurio!. After learning that sentence I had to drop it into a conversation somewhere. I’m not sure whether she was impressed or puzzled.

Spain: A Multilingual Country

Here’s another photo that I took on my Spanish travels. It’s a sculpture of Antoine de Sainte Exupery’s Little Prince that I snapped in L’Escala, a seaside town in Catalonia a couple of years ago. A shot from this particular area is there to illustrate another problem that I have with learning Spanish. For both the pictures that I’ve used so far were taken in regions where Spanish is not the preferred language of the locals. I seem to spend an awful lot of time where the main languages are Galego or Catalan. It’s not an ideal environment for practising my Castilian Spanish, the official language of the country.

Ah finally I’m sharing a snapshot from somewhere that I’ve been in Spain where they speak the language that I’ve been learning. The line of windmills at Consuegra are high up on the plains in the middle of the country. We parked up underneath them and stayed the night. They’re so famous that they feature in Don Quixote. They’re old too. Miguel de Cervantes wrote it at the beginning of the 17th century. It’s one that I’ve downloaded onto my Kindle but I’ve yet to read.

What’s Next?

When I finish my Duolingo Spanish course I won’t stop using the app. The green owl hooked me in and the habit is too ingrained. I’ll keep my Spanish refreshed with maintenance lessons and I’ll start to brush up on my French.

However I’m going to mark the not insubstantial achievement of finishing the Duolingo Spanish course. it will involve more than a plate of croquetas and a good bottle of Albarino wine. Four years of continuous learning is no mean feat. So I want to celebrate by making a plan of how I can be truly deserving of that B2 language learning status. I’m not sure what form this will take but here’s some ideas that I’ve had.

• Reading more in depth articles: I thought that I might find some about my interests so that I can expand my vocabulary in a way that is meaningful.
• Listening to Spanish language podcasts: Apparently Duolingo has some of its own that I can use as a starter.
• Watching Spanish TV programmes or films without the subtitles:. I’m sure that I’ll be able to find something on YouTube which suits my level. Kid’s cartoons for starters maybe.
• Getting to grips with the grammar with a good old fashioned textbook: I thought that I could treat it like a puzzle book.
• Paying for a online language tutor: There’s quite a few online marketplaces where language teachers ply their wares. I’d have to do more research but these seem pretty reasonable.
• Joining a conversation class online or in person: Maybe these would have the potential to be even more cost effective than 1:1 tuition.
• Having conversations with my Spanish friend. Yes I have one but have been too embarrassed to talk to her in her native tongue up to now. What’s more she’s Catalan so there’s another excuse I avoid speaking the lengua. I’m sure that she’d say that I’m being a cowardy custard and she’d be happy to oblige.

Disclaimer

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