My son is going to be sad that we don't use duo anymore
this post was submitted on 29 Apr 2025
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Let's also replace the customers by AI, that way the whole system will really be "AI first" and self-sufficient.
it's a matter of time (or more likely has already happen) where an AI company ends up having only AI users, it makes money be selling adds to show to the users, which are all AI bots, and then selling those bots as user data.
then said company celebrates that it has no humans involved making a shit ton of profit.
If you looking to replace dualingo, check with your local library, they may offer free access to different language learning apps. I was able to get Rosetta Stone for free using my library. And they also have access to Muzzy and Transparent language.
So they've killed themselves before adding Armenian.
Makes sense.
As an Armenian with family murdered by the Turks. What was the point of this?
Trying to help Duolingo add Armenian is something I've read about in 2018 or something like that, and it's still there. They are very firmly not interested.
Well that’s some BS. Why the fuck don’t they have Armenian? Are they Turkish run?
I dunno, but there were plenty of volunteers. Eastern Armenian is far from a dead language after all. Especially when comparing to Icelandic or Welsh. Those are awesome languages too, though, alongside Coptic and Assyrian.
I was also hoping they would add Afrikaans.
So if they're using a ChatGPT wrapper to teach me languages, why do I need Duolingo? Copilot is free.
Copilot is free.
Free.
Free with ads.
Freemium with ads.
Free trial with tiered subscription service.
New subscription tiers with reduced ads. Premium package for boosts to service.
Please enter your credit card number and watch the ad to unlock device.
Please drink verification can to continue..
If it's free you are the product.
i cancelled my subscription and told them why
So is there any Duolingo alternative that teaches Esperanto and Indonesian?
Esperanto you can learn on lernu.net
Apparently they've already been incorporating it and it's very inaccurate. I've decided to stop using them and have switched to LingoDeer and MemRise. Really pleased with how much better they are.
I can also recommend Pimsleur. A bit more expensive, but features more traditional style courses, while offering a lot of what Duolingo has. Plus actual topics with grammar, not just random words!
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Duolingo has enshittified so much over the last few years.
Even if I had the ability to become a millionaire tech founder, I don't think I'd want to because every "I want to make learning new languages free and easy for everyone" becomes a "I have to drive 3% more ad revenue this quarter by charting my users' every bowel movement".
I suspect the reality of being a rich tech bro is watching your adult self slowly consume your own childhood dreams, aspirations, and soul.
Enshittification is not driven by the founders (mostly, fuck Zuckerberg). It's driven by greedy investors who want their billion dollar unicorn payout and who who will risk a hundred company failures to get it.
A lot of tech companies that manage to resist outside investors are doing just fine.
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I have found Duolingo much, much less useful for language learning than Language Transfer. The latter actually helps you learn to think in another language rather than memorize things (which is still useful, but not nearly as much).
Short if total immersion, I have found nothing better than LT.
The problem I have with finding an alternative is that most just offer some five to ten largest languages. Want to learn Spanish, French, Russian, or Chinese? There are hundreds of both free and paid services available. Want to learn Hungarian, Irish, or Finnish? It’s Duolingo and a scant handful of sites specific to that language.
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Oh no! How will I pretend to learn a language now? Woe is me.
I get the hate for Duolingo, but you can actually learn with it
Duolingo got me enough vocabulary in Spanish to put the simplest sentences together, and then follow more robust lessons. I still think it was a good starting point, but I won't use it anymore on principle.
Right? My partner has used it for years and is now able to read simple to medium books and watch some movies in the learned language.
Duolingo is a tragedy. They really quickly realized that you don’t make money teaching things - you make it on retention and gamification.
Mango languages is great if your library has a subscription. I believe the US’s foreign service materials are also really good, if you want effective but boring.
I was so upset last year when they got rid of the comment section. There were often helpful explanations for WHY you conjugate the word that way, or how native speakers might use a different word.
I don't know how good this feature was on Duolingo, but there's a site/app called HiNative that does a really good job at this sort of thing.
that looks cool. Thank you for pointing it out!
Yeah, the comment section was amazing...and then they came out with "max", where you get "explain my answer" for a premium, powered by a [notoriously fallible] LLM. This is the definition of enshitification.
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If you decide to cancel your subscription and delete your account, they give a warning when deleting that says you need to cancel your subscription SEPARATELY. Just a heads up for anyone thinking of leaving like I did.
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