Are any other sitters using Duolingo to get even just the basics of the language of a country they hope to sit in? I’m in the early stages of Italian, and hope that the topics will help me - thankfully “I don’t understand” and “I’m lost” were covered early, but I’ve a long way to go before I will be able to understand the responses I might get!
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Yes, I used it for Spanish. Love it 
I can order food and drinks really well now. I know a few key words, I really try hard to speak a little Spanish when out and about.
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I use it for Spanish also and it has helped me a lot. Definitely won’t ever be fluent but learning some basics really helped me very much in Spain
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I’m past the first 300 days for French. 
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Yes for Spanish, we have a family plan with Duolingo (but it’s Latin American Spanish… but close enough to Spain-Spanish to get me going). It teaches you without you realising it.
Within 6 months of doing it on most days I was able to vaguely understand the basic gist of a conversation with a stranger when in Spain and I could definitely order food/drinks whereby I could be understood but in both scenarios I didn’t necessarily know what I was meant to say back as my head needs a longer time to process that 
. Also within 6 months train stations, buses, taxi’s etc were all do-able, I’m not saying it’s easy… but it’s enjoyable to try (ie no fear factor anymore). Asking for things in a bakery, or fruit shop too was do-able too, not easy, but do-able and fun to test my new skills.
After about 10-12 months though, you feel like you really need to start listening to real-life easy day to day conversation instead of lessons. I still need to hunt out some easy going Spanish tv programs to do that. Any recommendations from anyone is welcome, they need to be simple. We definitely don’t see language as a barrier in Spain for more remote pet sits, the language doesn’t even come into it anymore.
I’d definitely persevere with it, I thought I was pretty rubbish at languages, but it turns out the way I was taught in school was just rubbish for me, with long verb lists whereas the way Duolingo does it is so much easier.
I even think that after I’ve perfected Spanish, I’ll learn another language via Duolingo… but that is a long way off.
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Yes. I kept Duolingo going with Spanish for years prior to petsitting. Now I’m studying French on Duolingo to prepare for a Christmas sit in France. I pair it with the dictionary app FrenchDict.
What I’m really happy about is that my partner is also studying French with Duolingo. He didn’t study Spanish and I’ve had to do a lot of translating.
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@HappyDeb your timescales are encouraging - my plan for a trip to italy is over a year away, so i stand a chance of getting by! I am wondering about joining a paid plan but, although i find the ads very irritating, i am benefitting from the extra exercises to earn hearts.
My disadvantage is that I’ve learned latin, French and Spanish but im bad at all of those, possibly because of the teaching method. And i find myself referring to those to help me find the words i need. So instead of one step from English to Italian, im taking 2 steps or more through the other languages - and it doesnt always help!
I have taught English to speakers of other languages (complete beginners - some of them couldn’t read or write in their own language) and thought the rules are complex - but Italian beats English for that!
If anyone is looking for a Duolingo friend, I’m Diane156924
Do it!!! Pay it!!! Because then you have to justify the cost to yourself rather than have it going to waste. When you’ve parted with money you’ll be much more likely to really give it your focus and attention. Instead of putting it off for today… then today runs into tomorrow etc etc.
Our son actually paid for the family plan (as he’s the one that lives in Spain) and so that is the reason I really did it at the start, he paid, I have to use it! I’d feel guilty if I didn’t! Even though it was no hassle to him, he just got the family plan because he needed it for him and his partner. I regularly use emotional blackmail against myself to get things done, it works a treat lol 
I can’t remember how the free version works, but I presume the paid version is the same, get yourself to 12000 XP points and you’ll start to realise just how much you know in such a short period of time, and once you get to about 20000 XP points, you’ll start to feel like you need-need to listen to more slow day to day conversation to take you forward, which is brilliant. I am far from being fluent, but I’m okay with that, food, drink, transport, shopping are all do-able. I think the fact we were pet sitting made it so much easier.
It becomes quite addictive after a while, whereby you think you’ll only do 5 minutes today because you’re pushed for time, and you’re still there an hour later wondering where the time went, it’s great.
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Duolingo is entertaining, easy to use, and a good way to create a language learning habit as a beginner. It’s gamification of language learning, great for killing a bit of time if you’re in a lineup or on a bus, and gives you a feeling of achievement. But you’ll make far better progress including other tools.
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I’m already addicted! And I had no idea how competitive I am. I’ll reconsider the plan - it’s not expensive. And once I feel more confident I’ll join an Italian conversation group.
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@meow do you have suggestions for other tools to use?
At one time I engaged the services of a tutor on the Verbling platform to brush up my Spanish before traveling to Mexico for research. It was easy to schedule lessons and very reasonably priced, as well as fun and helpful. European tutors are of course more expensive than Mexican and South American tutors. Most tutors offer basic conversational up to advanced. Many different languages available.
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Duolingo is useful up to a point. I use it every day as a sort of brain exercise. Have a look at Coffee Break Languages. I’ve been following their Italian courses for a few years. They explain the grammar really well.
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If you have Spotify, they have “learn X language in your car” I’ve found it really helpful as a complete beginner to French for pronunciation etc.
Duolingo is a great tool, I have found it really helpful, but that is in combination with other methods. Finding my tutor on Italki has been the most helpful for me as there is no substitute for speaking with another human!
Joining a conversation group would not be great use of your time. It’s harmful to listen to everyone else’s mistakes and butchered pronunciation, and you get too little time for your own speaking. You’ll advance more quickly (and accurately) with 1:1 conversations either through a free language exchange or with a paid tutor through a platform like iTalki.
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Duolingo is not realistic practice for how you’ll actually use the language. You need a ton of input in Italian so that your ear gets comfortable hearing it, even though you won’t understand everything, and you need to get comfortable expressing yourself in Italian, even if you sound like a four year old.
Find a YouTube channel of an Italian language teacher you like and start watching their content. If they focus too much on grammar, move on. There are also podcasts galore for the same thing.
I get Pimsleur for free at the library and find it useful for listening to native speakers and practicing speaking and working on proper pronunciation. It’s considered old fashioned, no doubt, but I appreciate the value it provides for pronunciation and listening and for forcing me to speak.
I use LingQ for importing native content to listen to and read. It’s paid, but you can replicate most of its functionality using free add ons and such in your web browser. I also use their mini stories as beginner listening and reading content. Duolingo has actually had stories for a while now, too, and they were a great addition to the app.
You need to hear and read real Italian and lots of it, which in the beginning can be frustrating and challenging. That’s why apps like Duolingo are so popular: they’re fun, easy, and addictive and they trick you into thinking you’re making this effortless progress, and while you are progressing through the app, you’re not making much meaningful progress that will truly help you on the ground in Italy.
Find what works for you and keeps you motivated. Sometimes Duolingo is all a person has the time and motivation for, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but if you’re up for it, you can go much further if you start investigating all of the language learning material that is now available.
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Agree about Duolingo + iTalki. First trip to Sicily, Duolingo was helpful mainly for reading signs. For second trip there I found a tutor living in Sicily and had a few lessons where we concentrated on the vocabulary that is actually practical for tourism, especially eating in restaurants and buying food in markets.
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“I don’t understand “ and “I’m lost - love it 
I need to get back on my Polish streak myself as we have an upcoming sit in a remote part of Poland where no one speaks English apparently 
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Thanks - I’m looking at conversation groups that have Italians in them because of the risk of picking up bad habits.