#duolingo is helpful

[vani-is-typing]

Duolingo doesn't necessarily teach you grammar but it is a fairly accessible resource and I find it quite easy to use. So while it won't give me a full fledged course that'll render me fluent in whatever language I'm currently pursuing on it, it does have its benefits. So if one day I come across any written information or perhaps a tourist or am in a European country myself where I'm in a situation where I have to understand German, (the language I'm pursuing at the moment) then I'll at least be semi prepared and have a rough idea of what is attempted to being conveyed to me.

And it's all thanks to Duolingo!

#duolingo german #duo #duolingo #language resources #gratitude #grateful #thankful #german language #language sites #language learning #studyblr #study #random #random thoughts #something to think about #accessible resources #free resources #useful #duolingo is helpful #life skills #language tips #language #german resources #learning german #late night rambles #latepost #late night #spilled thoughts #langblr #studyspo

[too-fond-to-be-fearful]

Been thinking recently about the goings-on with Duolingo & AI, and I do want to throw my two cents in, actually.

There are ways in which computers can help us with languages, certainly. They absolutely should not be the be-all and end-all, and particularly for any sort of professional work I am wholly in favour of actually employing qualified translators & interpreters, because there's a lot of important nuances to language and translation (e.g. context, ambiguity, implied meaning, authorial intent, target audience, etc.) that a computer generally does not handle well. But translation software has made casual communication across language barriers accessible to the average person, and that's something that is incredibly valuable to have, I think.

Duolingo, however, is not translation software. Duolingo's purpose is to teach languages. And I do not think you can be effectively taught a language by something that does not understand it itself; or rather, that does not go about comprehending and producing language in the way that a person would.

Whilst a language model might be able to use probability & statistics to put together an output that is grammatically correct and contextually appropriate, it lacks an understanding of why, beyond "statistically speaking, this element is likely to come next". There is no communicative intent behind the output it produces; its only goal is mimicking the input it has been trained on. And whilst that can produce some very natural-seeming output, it does not capture the reality of language use in the real world.

Because language is not just a set of probabilities - there are an infinite array of other factors at play. And we do not set out only to mimic what we have seen or heard; we intend to communicate with the wider world, using the tools we have available, and that might require deviating from the realm of the expected.

Often, the most probable output is not actually what you're likely to encounter in practice. Ungrammatical or contextually inappropriate utterances can be used for dramatic or humorous effect, for example; or nonstandard linguistic styles may be used to indicate one's relationship to the community those styles are associated with. Social and cultural context might be needed to understand a reference, or a linguistic feature might seem extraneous or confusing when removed from its original environment.

To put it briefly, even without knowing exactly how the human brain processes and produces language (which we certainly don't), it's readily apparent that boiling it down to a statistical model is entirely misrepresentative of the reality of language.

And thus a statistical model is unlikely to be able to comprehend and assist with many of the difficulties of learning a language.

A statistical model might identify that a learner misuses some vocabulary more often than others; what it may not notice is that the vocabulary in question are similar in form, or in their meaning in translation. It might register that you consistently struggle with a particular grammar form; but not identify that the root cause of the struggle is that a comparable grammatical structure in your native language is either radically different or nonexistent. It might note that you have trouble recalling a common saying, but not that you lack the cultural background needed to understand why it has that meaning. And so it can identify points of weakness; but it is incapable of addressing them effectively, because it does not understand how people think.

This is all without considering the consequences of only having a singular source of very formal, very rigid input to learn from, unable to account for linguistic variation due to social factors. Without considering the errors still apparent in the output of most language models, and the biases they are prone to reproducing. Without considering the source of their data, and the ethical considerations regarding where and how such a substantial sample was collected.

I understand that Duolingo wants to introduce more interactivity and adaptability to their courses (and, I suspect, to improve their bottom line). But I genuinely think that going about it in this way is more likely to hinder than to help, and wrongfully prioritises the convenience of AI over the quality and expertise that their existing translators and course designers bring.

#alright getting off my soapbox now #apologies if this is not particularly coherent - i was very much working through my thoughts as I was writing #but yeah tl;dr i am not huge on LLMs especially for language education and am deeply disappointed by the way things are trending #anyways if anyone knows any learning tools that are similarly structured i'd appreciate the recommendation #being able to easily do a little bit of study on a regular basis helped me a lot and i've yet to find anything similar #duolingo #language #language learning

[selfloathingextraordinaire]

With what's happened with Duolingo, I'm looking for a new language app, but need some help.

Is there a Japanese language app that is:

Great for people with learning disabilities (my brain struggles with language and has to learn it very slowly)

Kid friendly

Colorful

I've seen a bunch of posts with all these recommendations, but it's super overwhelming and I have no idea where to start.

#duolingo #languages #language app #need help #also not kidding about the disability part #duolingo making things like a game helped me push past my stuggles #I'm so mad that they're using ai translations and fired a bunch of translators

[mjshortformcjesus]

IM SCREAMING

#duolingo #holy shit im so fucking scared #help

[weepylucifer]

Wild to me btw that at some point, to pass on the password for the book club meeting, Steban had some kind of conversation with Call Me Mañana. What in the World does this combination of people have to talk about

#mañana is so cool and steban is... steban. how tf did that talk go? #and he invited him to the book club?? apparently?? i mean he gave him the password #like at that point they were demanding ideological purity and an essay for entrance #but then steban was like ''and also this guy should come''?? #like ''idk he seems cool''?? #whatever the conversation was... i fear my duolingo spanish would not have helped me with it #posts by me #more of my disco elysium impressions

[chocolateal]

Deciding to let go of my Duolingo streak after all these years since the quality is really starting to decline from the AI use, and from the layoffs. Just wanted to document it since I studied and worked so hard to maintain it for so long

#duolingo #langblr #looking forward to using some of the other options I've seen floating around #I'm actually a little sad about it!! #but letting go of things that aren't actually helping me is good #but still 🥲

[autistic-ravenn]

duolingo guess what i kept my streak for 3 weeks r u proud plz give my ferrets back😢

#duolingo #german lesson #haha #ferrets #please help

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

Whyyy is he melting???

I am going to have nightmares!!!

#duolingo #storyrambles #help…?

[fulldenimjackett]

thinking about how my profile picture on duolingo is this fucked up image of danny elfman and i can NEVER change it because duolingo updated it so you can only make one of their little ugly fucking avatars and you can never upload another picture again hes there FOREVER

#duolingo #danny elfman #oingo boingo #help

[pademelonluck]

duolingo's getting a little egotistical...

they now teach themselves...

#duolingo on crack #duolingo #languages #linguistics #language learning #bilingual #latin #etymology #two #duo #humor #funny humor #funny #jokes #hilarious #haha #lol #lol memes #help lol #hahaha #funny stuff #comedy

[vani-is-typing]

Well, guess what, folks? I bagged it.

#german language #third language #language tips #language learning #language #duolingo is helpful #duolingo is weird #duolingo german #duolingo #duo #langblr resources #langblr #langblr tips #german resources #german tips #learning german #studyspo #studyblr #study #german apps #germany #practice #duolingo diamond league #polyglot #on my way to be a polyglot #language tumblr #study hard #progress report #work in progress #language learning sites

[ilikegameslol]

y’all have never try to learn fcking German because two fictional cats know it?

well! Duolingo isn’t helping

#lackadaisy #lackadaisy mordecai #lackadaisy comic #husk #husker #hazbin hotel husk #hazbin hotel #im a masochist #i hate this #german #graman is hard someone please help me #duolingo

[marsbar17]

No one has requested Genshin yet so I'm going to. XiaoAetherLyney, you've got this darling

Nsfw and Sfw <33

It's time to bring the genshin fandom to my account hehehehe >:)

XiaoAetherLyney headcannons hot and ready for dinner my children

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

《SFW》

• Aether absolutely adores Xiao, and after they met in Liyue, Aether quickly made it his mission to date Xiao

• Xiao thinks that Aether is like a shining light, an angel of sorts, but he doesn't want to bother Aether with his karmic debt

• Xiao can't stop Aether from hanging around him though, and eventually gives in to dating him

• They grow closer over their time together and Aether always comes back to liyue with trinkets from his adventures

• Xiao is just happy that Aether loves him even though he's far from perfect in his eyes

• Aether goes to Fontaine and comes back with magic playing cards, a friend gave them to him

• Aether took Xiao to Fontaine to watch his new friend Lyney perform, and Xiao could see how Aether's eyes lit up watching him

• It's the same way he looks at Xiao

• Eventually, Aether brings up the idea of polyamory, and maybe him being able to have another partner

• "It's that guy, Lyney, right?"

• With a little bit of convincing, Xiao agrees to try it out, and then Aether gained another boyfriend

• In the beginning, Xiao didn't want to be all friendly with his lovers new boyfriend, but he tolerated Lyney

• I feel like they never really got super close, they dont regard eachother as lovers, it's more a love arrow than a triangle

• They aren't like, revolted by eachother. Lyney is fine with Xiao, Xiao just doesn't feel romantically attracted to him.

• Plus, it took him a while to just get close with Aether, he doesn't want to go through the whole insecurities and shit all over again

• But they'll both wrap their arms around Aether, share knowing looks when their boyfriend is being cute, glare at people who are acting off towards their boyfriend, that stuff

• Lyney will flirt with Xiao jokingly, but he knows that Xiao doesn't want anything serious

《NSFW》

• Xiao tops, as much as I love Xiao being bottom in some ships, he tops here

• In the beginning it was just Aether being bottom and Xiao and Lyney sharing him, but as time went on and Xiao warmed up to the other Lyney slowly became the switch/middle one in the relationship

• Aether loves being between them, one length I his ass and one in his mouth, being filled from both ends

• Xiao is very possessive of Aethers mouth because he gets to be the one to watch his eyes fill with tears from the pleasure and all the pretty expressions on his face

• Lyney doesn't mind where he is, he just wants to be a part of it dbshjsja

• Xiao loves holding Aether up so he has to look him in the eyes while Lyney keeps fucking him from behind

• Xiao is the slightly rougher top, face-fucking Aether while Lyney praises him for taking it so well

• Can yall tell I might have a thing for sucking dick? Cuz I do jdndnnaja. My poor girlfriend hates me

• Occasionally, if Aether is out and one of them is horny, they'll help each other out, but it doesn't go further than hand jobs or sometimes blow jobs

• And Lyney is always more eager to help out Xiao than the other way around

• I feel like there might be a little bit of bondage and dom/sub shit going on but I cant see them being super kinky

• Lil bit of spanking, lil bit of rope, lil bit of kneeling, all the good shit

• I bet you one day Aether whined about how he wants even more and Lyney suggests he take both of them in his hole at the same time

• Aether melts, he wants it so bad

• He loves feeling full, loves it when both his boyfriends use him at the same time

• Having two boyfriends means double the amount of aftercare :)

• Hot baths are a favorite, along with cuddling in a pile and watching a movie or smth, they always just make sure Aether feels good

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm so tired, peace out yall

#genshin impact #genshin headcanons #genshin aether #aether #genshin xiao #xiao #genshin lyney #lyney #xiao x aether #lyney x aether #xiaother #my duolingo streak is about to die help

[wheeled-jack]

DUO???

#HELP #duolingo

[jojo-has-a-blog]

Altoids wallets

If you have one of these can u lmk if they're practical enough to use? Or are they better at being decorational? because it's so cute but they look like a pain to try and open in public, should I just stick to little fabric pouches?

#altoids #altoids wallet #metal wallet #wallet #tin wallet #girlie things #once again seeking help #necesito ayuda #duolingo #adorable #cute #but #are they practical #yk what #ill just try the whole lizzy grant tags #lana del rey #lana del ray aesthetic #lana del ray aka lizzy grant #lizzy grant #brooklyn baby #ultraviolence #honeymoon #fiona apple #and her #paper bag

[brownsplodge]

#disaster twins #they fear duo as I do #help #I speak more Norwegian than o should be able to/hj #rottmnt #my art #doodles #rough sketch #comic #save rottmnt #duolingo