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[drops-official]

Hello dear friends!

I have made a very big decision for this blog’s future. One many of you will not agree with.

This blog is now no longer the Duolingo Appreciation Blog.

It is now the Drops (by Kahoot) Appreciation Blog.

I will be deleting all my Duolingo posts, and in the future be replacing them with Drops!

This is for a few reasons:

Duolingo has made critical and unsavoury changes to their app and policies

Duolingo does not release pride specific vocabulary

I no longer like the colour green

Kahoot music is my classical rock

Hope you all will support my decision! With love, D.A (That name will not change)

Side note: All joking, this post was made October 22nd, 2023 specifically for April Fools. Play along in the comments, but go wild in the reblogs. None of this is true, except for the Kahoot music bit. I am unsure if Duolingo will release pride vocabulary, but perhaps this will persuade them to do so.

Sorry for the possible heart attack,

With sincerity, D.A.

EDIT: HAHAHA UNFORTUNATELY, this is no longer an April Fool’s post. I’m using this queued post to announce the movement this blog is going in, this will now be @drops-official, where I will share language learning tools and language learning experiences with everyone who follows.

I will be keeping the previous posts for character development purposes, likewise I will continue being D.A, because D.O is a stupid name, and D.A from The Magic School Bus is my spirit animal. As for the profile picture, below is a poll for whether I should keep my current “Duo is melting” one, or create a new one.

New tags will be “language appreciation post” and “language appreciative reblog” taking over their counterparts.

Expect reblogs of positive language experience, and handpicked recommendations for resources.

With love and even more sincerity, D.A.

[drops-official]

Please note: the next time you will hear from me will likely be in a few months with my next scheduled post. It will contain information regarding the future of this blog.

[drops-official]

Oh, I think I must terminate this blog soon.

Hear me out, the following reasons are my current reasons, all relating to Duolingo, not this blog:

The recent laying off of translators in favour of AI.

Poor quality lessons.

Reliance in meme status to keep face and relevancy.

Termination of critical courses to focus on the Big Five.

Inaccuracy in many lessons.

My hyperfixation is dying.

Numerous other reasons to leave to a higher quality learning app, not one that’s just a translator.

Please let me know your opinions on the situation.

[drops-official]

I’ll continue reblogging alternatives to my blog’s namesake. Against my better judgement, but you all deserve the finest learning experience available, and Duolingo may not provide that for you anymore.

Duolingo Sucks, Now What?: A Guide

Now that the quality of Duolingo has fallen (even more) due to AI and people are more willing to make the jump here are just some alternative apps and what languages they have:

"I just want an identical experience to DL"

Busuu (Languages: Spanish, Japanese, French, English, German, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Polish, Turkish, Russian, Arabic, Korean)

"I want a good audio-based app"

Language Transfer (Languages: French, Swahili, Italian, Greek, German, Turkish, Arabic, Spanish, English for Spanish Speakers)

"I want a good audio-based app and money's no object"

Pimsleur (Literally so many languages)

Glossika (Also a lot of languages, but minority languages are free)

*anecdote: I borrowed my brother's Japanese Pimsleur CD as a kid and I still remember how to say the weather is nice over a decade later. You can find the CDs at libraries and "other" places I'm sure.

"I have a pretty neat library card"

Mango (Languages: So many and all endangered/Indigenous courses are free even if you don't have a library that has a partnership with Mango)

"I want SRS flashcards and have an android"

AnkiDroid: (Theoretically all languages, pre-made decks can be found easily)

"I want SRS flashcards and I have an iphone"

AnkiApp: It's almost as good as AnkiDroid and free compared to the official Anki app for iphone

"I don't mind ads and just want to learn Korean"

lingory

"I want an app made for Mandarin that's BETTER than DL and has multiple languages to learn Mandarin in"

ChineseSkill (You can use their older version of the course for free)

"I don't like any of these apps you mentioned already, give me one more"

Bunpo: (Languages: Japanese, Spanish, French, German, Korean, and Mandarin)

[drops-official]

I just answered a post of alternative language learner apps, so here are a few more if you choose to leave Duo!

In light of Duolingo laying off its translators, here are my favourite language apps (primarily for Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and te reo Māori).

Multiple Languages

Anki is a flashcard programme and app that's not exclusively for languages. While making your own decks is ideal, you can also download shared decks for most languages.

If you're learning Japanese, specifically, Seth Clydesdale has websites for practicing alongside Genki's 2nd or 3rd editions, and he also provides his own shared Anki decks for Genki.

And if you're learning te reo Māori, specifically, here's a guide on how to make your own deck.

TOFU Learn is an app for learning vocabulary that's very similar to Anki. However, it has particularly excellent shared decks for East Asian languages. I've used it extensively for practicing 汉字. Additionally, if you're learning te reo Māori, there's a shared deck of vocabulary from Māori Made Easy!

Mandarin Chinese

Hello Chinese is a fantastic app for people at the HSK 1-4 levels. While there's a paid version, the only thing paying unlocks is access to podcast lessons, which imo are not really necessary. Without paying you still have access to all the gamified lessons which are laid out much like Duolingo's lessons. However, unlike Duolingo, Hello Chinese actually teaches grammar directly, properly teaches 汉字, and includes native audio practice.

Japanese

Renshuu is a website and app for learning and practicing Japanese. The vast majority of its content is available for free. There's also a Discord community where you can practice alongside others.

Kanji Dojo is a free and open source app for learning and practicing the stroke order of kanji. You can learn progressively by JLPT level or by Japanese grades. There's also the option to learn and practice kana stroke order as well.

[drops-official]

My friends, in the coming days, you will see the result of my talent, my sheer capacity and dedication to my craft.

I have taken on many commissions, so it may be a few weeks before you are bestowed my radiance.

Choose wisely.

If you would like to know what happens, I, uh, I’m unsure, I mean you could ask nicely I would tell you.

[drops-official]

We hate to see you leave, yet in an ever pursuit of knowledge and understanding, here are a few alternatives.

Babbel; You’ve heard this one before, I’m sure. Highly used means better interface and user interaction, a safe bet for any language on there. No one on this blog has any real experience with Babbel, so I would recommend the reviews when deciding.

Drops; A great gameplay alternative to Duolingo. Keep things simple, yet still fun and interesting. As added bonuses, they have different courses that you may choose, and seasonal ones to spice it up. Pride courses, holiday courses, oh my! This app is hosted by Kahoot!

Memrise; The final one on this list. It features a practical learning style, with voice functions similar to Duolingo. It has a personalised AI to assist in learning. Again, this blog has no personal advice with this one, so read reviews. EDIT: apparently this has a few negative reviews, so take caution.

Although, yes, Duolingo is the far superior option in most ways, I understand anyone’s wish to remove themselves from the platform. If you are to leave, I encourage googling some language learning apps or websites.

Does anyone know any good duolingo alternatives for spanish? A new year resolution i wanted to do was learn spanish but after the duolingo stuff i want to terminate my account

[drops-official]

Look people in the eyes and tell them, “Google Translate is better.” If someone said that, I may throw the first punch.

I need answers.

[drops-official]

Choose wisely.

If you would like to know what happens, I, uh, I’m unsure, I mean you could ask nicely I would tell you.

[drops-official]

I’m aware, I’m aware, that I am the gimmick blog, dedicated to all that is Duo. One caveat, I said all. And Duolingo has been doing some… unsavoury things. Such as this. They may be my favourite, but they are not a prime example of an app.

Duolingo recently sacked most of their translators to replace them with AI, and kept on a few who now just check the AI content for errors.

I knew Duolingo was aiming to be the poster child of good apps turned to shit by greedy soulless stockholders but this takes the cake.

[drops-official]

Isn’t the latest Duolingo email wonderful?

[drops-official]

I am filled with giddy joy! Look at all those reaction images! I do hope you consider the offer and the weight of your actions.

Actual email I just got from Duolingo

[drops-official]

Oh dear, this sat in my queue so long my goal changed. It’s not going to be edited, but do know I meant 365.

New Year’s Resolution? My folks on this blog will know it like the back of their hand; keep a 356 day streak, all year, everyday. Great great aunt dies? DUOLINGO. I fail my course? DUOLINGO.

MY COMPATRIOTS, IT SHALL ALWAYS BE DUOLINGO! (<- Currently at a 0 day streak.)

[drops-official]

New Year’s Resolution? My folks on this blog will know it like the back of their hand; keep a 356 day streak, all year, everyday. Great great aunt dies? DUOLINGO. I fail my course? DUOLINGO.

MY COMPATRIOTS, IT SHALL ALWAYS BE DUOLINGO! (<- Currently at a 0 day streak.)

[drops-official]

*increased pitter-patters of bird feet running*

rEPENT-

OH NO I FORGOT TO DO DUOLINGO YESTERDAY

[drops-official]

Fearsome yet incredibly child friendly, not dangerous at all, rated E for everyone. That’s our totem of ceaseless destruction Duo!

I need to make a duolingo patch. Nothing scares me more then that owl. I figure he makes a great totem of protection from h8rs. Like eff you Karen. Go away or I will screech at you in extreme foreign languages about your CHAIRS

[drops-official]

Opening up the “duolingo” tag is quite a journey. Or any tag for that matter. My army community of learners does not hold even out little streak candle of passion to the massive and inescapable might of… porn bots.