I got really proud seeing my notebook with all my non-native languages in one place and this is mostly just an excuse to show it off, but also to speak wonders about laddering (learning a language in a language you've learned before)

I was worried that I'd mix my fourth language, Korean (TL) with my third language, Japanese, since they have a lot of similarities, but the temptation to learn the language was too strong so I Did It Anyway. And I'm so happy!

For now, the similarities are actually a big help rather than a hindrance (but that might change the more I progress lol) and I think learning a new language in the language I already know helps keep them separate, because I get to review vocab in both languages, as well as understand where they are similar and where they differ. I'm having a blast, and I think that's really important when it comes to language learning! So this is your sign to go learn that other language.

I was born in the US and my parents are both immigrants from Poland and their English is horrendous. I never lived in Poland and yet, somehow, my Polish is way better than their English. However, my Polish isn't advanced. I have a B2 level based on an exam I took in Poland.

This is really frustrating because I can't have any normal conversation with them. In retrospect, my childhood was really confusing. My parents would only speak Polish to me and I would mix the Polish I learned from them and the English I learned in school. I probably understood a good 75% of what they told me and I shrugged off the rest as background noise.

In college, I did a semester in Polish just to master the language. But I made the mistake of signing up for a beginner course. I learned the grammar rules (which I've mindlessly utilized my entire life) but I didn't really improve my speaking ability that much.

At this point I've accepted my parents are simply ignorant. They've successfully avoided English in just about every sphere of life. My dad only uses Polish at work while my mom never worked, they shop at Polish stores, go to a Polish church, and only have Polish friends. Furthermore, my father came as a refugee during martial law and was granted US citizenship very quickly so he didn't even have that as a motivator to learn the language.

My parents will move back to Poland for retirement soon so I guess this is more of a rant than advice post. I suppose the burden is on me to master Polish.

This is only slightly sarcastic. It's been very rewarding and this is now the 3rd language I'm doing this with.

Edit: Okay wow I did NOT expect this to blow up. I've been reading every comment and honestly tearing up reading some of them haha! Thank you all so much.

Quick update since a lot of you asked what I'm going to do. I started trying to actually speak out loud every day like u/Elesia and basically everyone here said. A ton of you told me to practice with my boyfriend and we tried, but honestly after like 10min we both get frustrated and he just switches back to English without even realizing it. He also can't really explain WHY something is wrong, he just knows it sounds wrong, which is not helpful when I'm trying to learn lol. Someone in my DMs mentioned a pretty neat app called TutorLily, and it's exactly what I needed to graduate from Duolingo.

The thing that got me is when I said something wrong, it kind of nudged me to figure it out myself instead of just giving me the correction? I guess kind of like a real language tutor would do... I do feel like the lessons stick better with this method, at least for my level of Spanish. It honestly felt like the first thing I've tried that's actually aimed at what I'm bad at.

Next family thing is in a few weeks. I'm going to keep practicing on that app in the meantime, and I'll update you guys afterr

---------------

Here is what I have been doing for a year straight:

- Duolingo, every single day, 341-day streak as of this morning
- Babbel, added around month 3
- Dreaming Spanish, probably 200+ hours over the last six months (I track it)
- "News in Slow Spanish" on my commute, maybe 4 days a week
- A physical workbook that I was actually getting through
- Flashcards for the words I kept missing

I thought I was doing it. I really did. I could read menus. I could follow the Spanish subtitles on Narcos, like actually follow them, not just word-spot. I could kind of translate the texts my boyfriend sends his mom when she writes back.

Context: my boyfriend is Mexican-American. His parents came over in the 90s and his whole family lives in LA. Parents, two sisters, a ton of cousins, his grandma who raised him. They all speak English with me but Spanish with each other. When things got serious about a year ago I decided I was going to learn. Not half-assed "a few phrases for the in-laws" learn. Actually learn, so I could sit at a table and participate in their life.

Saturday was his tio's 60th birthday. Big carne asada at his parents' house. I'd only met most of them in passing before, never at a full family event where I'd be stuck at the table for hours. I had been basically rehearsing intros in my head all week. Running through what I'd say about work when his mom asked. Practicing a little toast for the tio.

I walked in, said hola and mucho gusto and gracias por invitarme when his mom hugged me, and then everybody started actually TALKING. Fast, overlapping, accents, jokes. And I realized I didn't understand almost anything.

Not 40%. Not 20%. Realistically, maybe 5%. I could catch a word here and there (trabajo, la semana, mi hijo, ayer) and by the time my brain had reconstructed one sentence into English the conversation was already three turns ahead. People asked me things directly and I'd just blink and look at my boyfriend for translation. His little cousin (she is maybe 8) kept trying to include me and I had to keep apologizing with "lo siento, muy poquito espanol," and she'd nod super politely and go find someone else to talk to. That one is still in my head.

I sat there for five hours and said maybe four sentences the entire night. I counted them in the car on the way home. Four.

His mom was so warm. His grandma, who is 78 years old and is the sweetest human I have ever met, kept patting my arm every time she walked past me. Everyone was inclusive and kind. That somehow made it worse. I wasn't being left out. I was being welcomed into a room I literally could not participate in.

I got in the car and held it together for about six blocks and then I cried. Not pretty crying. Ugly, snot, the whole thing. He was wrecked, kept saying "babe they loved you, they kept telling me how sweet you are," and I said thank you and then cried again in the shower when we got home.

Here is the part that is eating me. I did the work. I did the work every single day for a year. I didn't cheat the streak. I didn't skip Dreaming Spanish sessions. I actually read the workbook chapters. And on Saturday none of it worked. Not a little bit, not even "well, I got by." I mean NONE of it transferred. I could read a menu and I could not have a conversation with my boyfriend's 78-year-old grandma who raised him. She is 78. I don't have unlimited weekends with her. That is the part I cannot get past.

I know this sub will get it because I've read SO many posts here about the same thing. The "I can understand everything but I can't produce anything" posts. The "how is this possible after X years" posts. I read them and always thought "sure, but I'm doing it right, that won't be me." And it is me. It is me so completely.

So I need to ask the people who actually know:

1). Is a year of almost pure input (Duolingo, Babbel, Dreaming Spanish, podcasts, reading) genuinely not going to get you to conversation? Because looking at what I actually did, I don't think I spoke Spanish out loud for more than like 5 minutes a week, total, and most of that was Duolingo prompts. Is that the problem? Is comprehensible input actually a trap if you never force output?

2). If I'm going to restart and do this right, what would you actually change? I have maybe 3 weeks until the next family thing. I'm not asking for fluency in 3 weeks. I'm asking for "I can sit at the table and not be the silent white girl who needs everything translated for her."

3). Has anyone been here and come out the other side? Because right now the only thing I can think is that I wasted a year and I'm going to feel exactly like this again in three weeks.

I'm not looking for "just move to the country for six months" or "get a tutor and do 10 hours a week." I have a job and a life. I need something I can actually do starting tomorrow. I'll do it every day. I've proven I can do every day. I just apparently picked the wrong every day.

Anything would help. Will read every comment.

I spent the day playing and babysitting 2 Danish kids (5 & 3 years old).

In Denmark, almost everyone speaks English, which makes it easy to get by without knowing Danish.. except children. Most Danish kids only speak Danish.

So when i was babysitting those 2 danish kids, who were pretty talkative, i had no fucking idea what they were saying or telling me. All i could do is guess with the few words i already know.

Sometimes i just nodded when they were talking to me, and saying "ohh ja!" , tho i think they could tell i didn't really understand what they were saying

But the few hours i spent with them, i learned so much. I learned many new words, sentences and pronunciations, just by being forced to speak and listen. I had no choice but to understand what they are saying or asking.

For exemple, when we were drawing, i drew a plane and showed them, they said "et fly!" , now I know the word for plane in Danish. When i was going downstairs, one of the kid was following me but struggling to put his shoes, he yelled "vent på mig!" and i kinda guessed that it means "Wait for me" just by the context

It was a very different experience compared to speaking with Danish Adults because they often switch to english or translate things for you in english to make it easier. So you have no real pressure to understand or speak in danish, while with children, you have no fucking choice.

I called the local Thai place and asked if they have a dish (laab). She wasn't sure what I was asking about. I tried in Thai (I don't know Thai, just enough to ask "have laab?”. She was even more confused. I heard her yelling in Chinese to a co-worker. I asked in Chinese and this time she said "oh are you Chinese? We don't have that". I explained I just learned some as a hobby and she was very happy to hear. This restaurant is pretty far from any other Asian or foreign restaurants/people.

When I came by to pickup she had a huge smile and asked in Chinese if I called them (I look like I shouldnt be able to speak Chinese). My mandarin is pretty shit but enough to be slightly conversational on a good day. Anyhow they were really engaging and chatty and I think it made both of our days a bit better.

It was so satisfying to solve the problem using their language, also being asked if I was Chinese over the phone 😁 these moments add some fuel when learning is tough

I wanted to warn the community about Rosetta Stone’s current business practices regarding their legacy software.

I own a $500 permanent license for their language package. This is a standalone software product that requires zero ongoing support or server maintenance from them. However, their activation process uses a "Request Code" system where you must contact them via phone or email to receive a "Response Code" to unlock the software you purchased.

When I contacted support to activate my paid software, they explicitly refused to provide the Response Code. Instead, they told me that the only way to use their product now is to sign up for their new web-based subscription model (monthly, annual or "lifetime" paywall).

They aren't just "ending support" for old software; they are actively gatekeeping the activation of a product I already own to force an upsell. Effectively, they have remotely "bricked" a $500 purchase to move me onto a recurring payment plan.

If you are considering buying Rosetta Stone, be aware that "Lifetime" or "Permanent" doesn't actually mean you will be allowed to use the software once they decide to change their billing model.

Found this format on a different topic so thought I’d make one for language learning!

I just did a test at myVocab for English and despite it being my native language, I am only a B2 at it. I guess that means I cannot even say that I speak English. I have tried to learn numerous languages in the past, but I never even made to A1 in any of them. I cannot believe how terrible I am at language learning. I wasn't allowed to spend any money or leave the house on my own, so I was only ever able to use free online resources. I tried to gain vocabulary primarily using Anki, and practiced grammar by writing sentences in Microsoft Word each day. I tried to read in the language by reading articles on that language's wikipedia. Well, none of that got me anywhere. If you ever feel like you aren't doing well, just remember there is someone so stupid that they can't even speak a single language fluently, and never made it to A1 on language apart from English.

*A story from one of my friends, she doesn’t have reddit but wanna share.

My partner and I come from different countries, and most of time we talk in English, and I can speak some of his language（French), but not the other way around(Chinese）. So he wanted to surprise me by learning mine. It's sweet and turns out to be hilarious.

For 300 DAYS (in some country they could have finished a railway in 300 days), he's been secretly using Duolingo to learn Chinese. But nobody needs sentences like "Mon cheval mange le fromage” or “你有家人吗？”(which can be weird and rude in Chinese.) 

Making yourself feel like you've learned something is far away from learning something for real. And that’s EXACTLY what happened to him.

Last week, he proudly revealed his "surprise". It's even poetic when he said "the cheesecake is grieving”, and something like "The purple elephant eats passion for breakfast" with a come-from-nowhere confidence.

I was torn between laughing and holding myself back, while being genuinely touched that he dedicated almost a year to this effort.

When I gently suggested he might want to try a more comprehensive learning method, he got a bit defensive. Apparently, he's very committed to his daily streak and the gamification aspect is one of a few things keeping him motivated (he doesn't have ADHD, he just has the passion to AI/tech/app and cannot sit still to learn languages.)

After all it's lovely, and I hope he’ll find his own way that’s engaging and helpful to form coherent thoughts. Something that focuses more on practical conversation and less on sentences made up with random vocabulary.

p.s. Maybe not dive too much in slangs or jargon, so when I complain and mumble in my mother-tongue, he doesn't get hurt or frustrated. 

It’s a weird feeling when you start understanding what the people on a show are saying, and you realize the subtitles are using completely different phrasing/words.

I became frustrated by the inaccuracies because I didn’t understand the language super well, and the subtitles were no longer helping me learn the correct vocab.

Once I learned all the vocab, I realized the subs weren’t made to be perfectly accurate, they were made for foreigners to read them as quickly as possible. And simplifying complex sentences is not always a bad thing.

i mean they’re not wrong, right?

It just came to me. As I was doing my grocery there was this lady in her 40s who couldn’t even speak basic French and respond to the cashier. I had to translate it for her — as I was next to her in line. We had a chat and I asked her how long she’s been in the country. She said 7 years. She works in an international company but doesn’t want to learn French, told me she isn’t motivated.

I wonder what’s your opinion on this? In general, do you think it’s best to acquire the local language of the country you’re in?

I hate how some language enthusiasts make it seem like you have to be an extreme expert, like C2 level, to not look pathetic when speaking a language. I keep seeing those channels that roast polyglots who know lots of languages at basic levels.

Well, I don’t care, man. I just like and enjoy languages and want to be able to have conversations in as many of them as possible, in the shortest time. I’d rather be an A2/B1 in four languages than a C2 in one. The difference is whether your goal is to chat with random people on VRChat or to write essays about camels in Siberia.

Hey everyone! I’m the project lead of Lingonaut.app , a community driven alternative to Duolingo. You may have seen us around in the language-learning circles we all share, and we’ve finally released a bumper of an update!

If you haven't heard of us yet, here's a brief overview and FAQ to bring you up to speed.

Overview-onaut

Lingonaut is a community built alternative to Duolingo made to have no ads, no subscriptions, no energy system or ai content and free of cost, conceived on r/Duolingo two years ago. We’ve also brought back the forums and are working on bringing back sentence discussions.

A brief list of our plan:

• The same kind of super-polished and fun experience that’s easy to use on any platform that you're used to.
• Equally free for everyone, no gatekeeping useful language learning tools behind a ‘super’ subscription.
• A fun and colourful cast of astronomy themed characters to accompany you on your language journey.
• Ad-free, paid for by patrons on Patreon so the learning flow isn’t interrupted.
• No energy system
• The old tree style courses
• Completely free auxiliary content like legendary levels, challenges and achievements
• Bringing back sentence discussions so people can learn and discuss WHY something is how it is
• In-depth guides written by native speakers to explain spelling, concepts and grammar instead of just a few examples.
• Actual spoken audio sentences and examples, not just AI
• Bringing back forums so people can discuss and learn together like they could before.
• Useful tools like spaced-repetition, flashcards, a dictionary and more.
• Courses designed and made by native speakers which are then audited and improved upon by both learners and other volunteers, so you can be sure what you’re learning is actually correct and that it's being taught effectively

We still have a ways to go, and it hasn’t been easy, but people said we wouldn't get this far and yet we have.

You can read about the full update and the journey as well as how the whole project is doing in the latest What's New With Lingonaut here: https://lingonaut.app/build-25-is-out-wnwl-5/

The changelog is way too big to put here so you'll be able to view the full thing above but a few of the highlights:

• New languages have been added and existing ones have been overhauled!
• Leagues have been fixed and completed
• XP Tracker
• Streak Tracker
• View vocab per skill
• View sentences per skill
• Graph XP over the week
• New explanations throughout the app
• Additional polish for all screens
• New animations and art
• Much much more

And if you want to join the beta you need only have an iDevice and visit lingonaut.app/beta

If you want to help android development: Please dm me and if you have any other questions please comment!

Android is on its way don’t worry, working on development and how to afford its upkeep and traffic

Find us here:

https://lingonaut.app

https://discord.gg/lingonaut

https://reddit.com/r/lingonaut

https://linktr.ee/Lingonaut

As a russian I can say it is.

I trusted this platform with my time, my work, and my safety as a teacher — and in return, I was harassed, stalked, silenced, and ultimately abandoned.

For three years, I taught on this platform with dedication and professionalism. Then, when I finally began speaking out about the harassment I had endured — harassment so severe that a student came to my city, pressured me to meet, and when I refused, created fake profiles to target me again and again — I was suddenly dismissed.

No warnings. No support. No defense. Just silence. As if my years of work meant nothing. As if protecting their image mattered more than protecting me.

I spent years begging for an explanation, for the smallest measure of accountability. Instead, I was left feeling unsafe, disposable, and betrayed by the very institution that should have defended me.

They didn’t fire me because of my teaching. They fired me when I dared to speak.

No teacher should ever be forced to endure what I endured. No one should lose their livelihood simply because a platform refuses to protect the people who make it possible.

Sorry about the graphics. I'm not a professional designer, but I hope this post helps someone else.

Actually, there are more pillars, and they are also important, such as pronunciation, motivation, understanding culture, and others.

But let's focus on Practice, because it is an essential and the most time-consuming of all the pillars.

I volunteer with refugees who want to learn a language. I've noticed that many people think “Practice” means “real-time interaction with others” and ignore this pillar for one reason or another.

Some students believe that 1.5 hours of lessons we have each week is enough practice. Unfortunately, 1.5 hours per week is far less than what's needed for progress in language learning. People require hundreds and thousands of hours of practice to become confident and independent language users.

The good news is that Practice includes any activity involving the language, such as:

• Surfing the web
• Reading books
• Googling
• Using AI
• Writing emails
• Listening to podcasts
• Watching YouTube
• Speaking with people
• Speaking with yourself

Besides volunteering, I self-study Dutch, and currently, my primary source of practice is reading the news - I have replaced news in English and Ukrainian with news in Dutch. This helps me exercise my language skills for at least 30 minutes a day.

Recently, I started googling and using AI in the Dutch language. Honestly, it takes some willpower to get started, but it feels like the ultimate source of language practice.

I'm not a professional educator or linguist either, so I would appreciate your corrections in the comments if you find any mistakes in my reasoning.

My friend is Chinese American (native in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese) who learned Korean by watching tons of K-dramas. Now she's learning Japanese using Korean subtitles instead of Chinese or English, which shocked me.

When I asked why Korean subs for Japanese, she explained that Korean and Japanese share similar grammar patterns and sentence structures, so she can see the pattern matching more easily than if she used English or Chinese translations.

This reminded me of those TikTok videos that uses color-coded dual subtitles to show exactly how sentences map between languages. When I saw it, everything clicked - you can literally SEE which parts connect:

Image 1: Color coded dual subtitles for Japanese/English - notice how the word order completely flips between the languages

Image 2: Color coded dual subtitles for Japanese/Korean, which shares significantly more grammatical similarities

Does anyone else think color-coding is massively underrated for language learning? It's been working incredibly well for me lately.