Duolingo

Fun and effective, but grammar explanations are thin

Duolingo made starting Japanese far less intimidating with its colourful, game-like lessons. I have learned a lot of vocabulary and basic sentences in a few weeks. The one thing missing is proper grammar explanation, so I sometimes get answers right without understanding why, and I have to look things up elsewhere.

Finally stuck with a language thanks to the streak

I tried learning Spanish for years and Duolingo is the first thing that made it stick. The bite-sized lessons fit into my commute and the streak system is dangerously motivating, I am on day 300 now. The little stories and speaking exercises genuinely helped me hold a conversation on holiday.

Lost my long streak over a known bug

I had a 400-day streak that vanished because the app failed to register a completed lesson, and a streak freeze I had bought was not applied. Support sent a templated reply and never restored it, which was deflating after that much effort. The learning content is fine, but trust in the streak system is the whole point and it failed me.

Brilliant for daily practice, ads are relentless

The gamified format keeps me coming back to practice French every single day, which no textbook ever managed. Lessons are short and the spaced repetition really cements vocabulary. My only complaint is the sheer number of ads on the free tier between lessons, it does push you hard towards Super.