Tag: review

Why I’m Quitting Duolingo

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The thing that kept me going the longest was the daily learning streak, but I am not getting value from the app anymore. This isn’t a formal review of the Duolingo app; these are just my thoughts. I plan on making my account private before deleting the app off my phone and logging out completely. That way, I’m not letting down anyone who was previously completing weekly challenges with me. Some of the contacts I had on Duolingo are also my blogger friends on WordPress. ✌️💕

Duolingo has been a popular language learning app for years, and I finally decided to try it back in December 2022. I even found a way to get it for free, which saved me hundreds of dollars. It offered the features I needed, and although there were a few things I couldn’t unlock with the free version, I had unlimited lives, which meant unlimited hours of learning.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

So what went wrong? Over time, I realized that it was not the best way to learn a new language. I was learning German at the time but eventually started repeating earlier lessons just to keep the daily learning streak going. I liked that the app had a gamified approach to learning, using a streak system and allowing us to win challenges with other Duolingo learners in the community, but it became too addictive and repetitive for the wrong reasons. My biggest gripe was that it ultimately fell short in providing a comprehensive learning experience. Here are my 3 biggest reasons why:

1. Duolingo Will Keep You Hostage Until You Leave.

A major issue I have with Duolingo is that the app keeps you hostage and tied to their daily streaks until you delete it for good. Not only that, but you can temporarily freeze your streaks if you miss a day or two. I should have lost my daily streak months ago, but because of that, my streak kept going, and I felt obligated to do useless Duolingo lessons just to maintain it. Personally, I found that Duolingo’s bite-sized lessons and constant push for maintaining streaks made learning a language feel like a chore or a game to be won, rather than a rewarding journey.

Just look at how ominous the owl looks ‼️

2. Grinding XP is a Waste of Time.

The leaderboards were fun initially, and I managed to reach the Diamond League. Although I never placed first in the Diamond League, at this point, I couldn’t care less. Similar to daily streaks, grinding for XP is also a colossal waste of time due to the gamification of this app. I used to spend every waking hour on Duolingo grinding for XP, but I honestly don’t have the time or energy anymore to even try and compete in the leagues.

3. Memorization Just Isn’t Enough.

The third issue I have with Duolingo is that it focusses too heavily on translation exercises and sheer memorization of vocabulary and grammar rules. Not only that, but the translations can be funny or plain weird lol I couldn’t help but chuckle multiple times at some of the words and sentences. While the fundamentals of German vocabulary and grammar are important, it doesn’t adequately prepare you for real-world conversations and immersive language learning. Unfortunately, the Duolingo app lacks opportunities for practicing real-time speaking, listening comprehension, and cultural context – all crucial components in order or someone to become proficient in a language. I haven’t personally used Rosetta Stone, but I heard that the program does a slightly better job at language immersion.

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(っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ FINAL THOUGHTS ♥

While Duolingo may serve as a decent supplementary tool, relying solely on it is unlikely to lead to true language mastery. I’ve realized that deleting the Duolingo app and using additional language learning methods, such as taking classes, conversing with native speakers, and consuming authentic media would be a better use of my time if I were to continue learning German. That being said, I am not traveling to Germany anytime soon and I plan on taking a break from learning a second language for now. I currently have a 477-day streak, but once I publish this blog post, I will delete the app, and my streak will reset in a couple of days. I am at peace with this decision as I feel it is for the best. Btw I took this screenshot a few days ago before switching my account to private mode.

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👉My account is private and unsearchable for now.

And one more thing, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t use this app. All I’m saying is maybe use Duolingo as an additional method of learning and not as the Holy Grail when learning a new language. On a slightly unrelated note, I feel that kids could benefit from Duolingo Math and Music, which are newer additions to the language learning app, so I recommend checking those out for any parents whose kids respond well to this style of learning.

Thanks for stopping by! ♥

Tropical Sour Patch Kids Review!

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A few months ago, I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t buy candy. This past week has been difficult for me, and when I’m stressed, promises may get broken. All my life, I’ve only known the traditional Sour Patch Kids, which were my favorite candy growing up. When Blue was introduced, that was exciting for me and blue raspberry did not disappoint. It is very rare to find unusual flavors in Canada where we live, so when I found a Tropical mix, I couldn’t say no. In the US, I could imagine finding a bag of Tropical Sour Patch Kids in every grocery store, but not in Canada. Here is my review of the tropical flavors, from most tasty to least tasty, to give you an idea of what to expect:

Orange – Tropical Twist; This flavor definitely lives up to the name. Tastes mostly like mangoes with some other tropical fruits mixed in. I cannot tell what fruits they are exactly, but the flavor is good for artificial tropical. Mango and Pineapple? Mango, pineapple, and orange? Who knows!

White – Pineapple; It’s not bad, and but I thought it was Pina Colada. Had they named it, “Pina Colada,” you would instantly know what flavor this is as soon as it hits your tongue? Also, this candy is white – not yellow, so I don’t know why their site features this flavor as a yellow candy. Pineapple-coconut or whatever this candy is by default isn’t my favorite candy flavor so I cannot give it first place. However, I’m impressed by this one.

Pink – Paradise Punch; Given that description, I had no idea what to expect. It didn’t taste bad but it didn’t taste great either. It definitely passed in terms of the sour factor. I love sour things, and Pink was the sourest of all 4 flavors. However, when it changed to sweet, that’s where it went from good to bad.

Purple – Passionfruit; This is an unusual flavor and I expected better, honestly. Passionfruit was the reason I bought these Sour Patch Kids in the first place. Overall, this flavor was the worst of the bunch and purple didn’t taste like passionfruit to me. This flavor possesses a very artificial, chemical flavor straight out of a laboratory.

Overall Rating: ★★✩✩✩

I won’t be buying Tropical Sour Patch Kids again. In comparison to original flavors in terms of tastiness, these tropical kids were nowhere close. Tanginess? Probably. The Pink is definitely the tangiest of the bunch but compared to the original flavors, these flavors are just “meh”. Tropical candy isn’t my preference when it comes to artificial flavors so this probably affects my rating. See for yourself: try them and rate them. See if they live up to the original flavors and let me know what you think of Tropical Sour Patch Kids in the comments below.↓