- May 19, 2011
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I'm trying to learn German again (my wife is German, I am English), this time I've been using Duolingo. I've got something like an 80-day streak with it so far and it's been refreshing my GCSE-level German plus some vocabulary here and there, but the real problem I find with Duolingo is that its method of teaching is like:
translate this (variation on a sentence you've previously been shown) into German
No, you got it wrong. This is what it should be.
But in the case of learning proper grammar and sentence structure, simply pointing out what a particular sentence should be isn't that helpful without also teaching why or at least going into how German sentences are typically constructed, like the difference between asking someone a question like:
Do you have to work early tomorrow
and
I have to work early tomorrow
(that's probably too simple a sentence but it probably contains the correct number of complicating factors)
My wife bought me a German grammar book and I pulled up the section talking about cases (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative), and admittedly I tried reading it late at night so I'll probably try again with a fresh brain, but my brain promptly went WTF and then I watched the Latin grammar scene from 'The Life of Brian'.
My wife says she can't help because while she picked up good general grades for German (first language) in school, she flunked the grammar section and says she just has "a feel" for it without understanding it.
I'm wondering if maybe I just keep re-practicing the sections I've had trouble with then maybe it will sink in without me necessarily understanding it either, but when Duolingo just wraps my fingers and says "wrong" repeatedly, it starts getting tedious (as well as free users only having 5 'lives' which can bring a learning session to an abrupt halt) and wears away my enthusiasm/patience.
translate this (variation on a sentence you've previously been shown) into German
No, you got it wrong. This is what it should be.
But in the case of learning proper grammar and sentence structure, simply pointing out what a particular sentence should be isn't that helpful without also teaching why or at least going into how German sentences are typically constructed, like the difference between asking someone a question like:
Do you have to work early tomorrow
and
I have to work early tomorrow
(that's probably too simple a sentence but it probably contains the correct number of complicating factors)
My wife bought me a German grammar book and I pulled up the section talking about cases (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative), and admittedly I tried reading it late at night so I'll probably try again with a fresh brain, but my brain promptly went WTF and then I watched the Latin grammar scene from 'The Life of Brian'.
My wife says she can't help because while she picked up good general grades for German (first language) in school, she flunked the grammar section and says she just has "a feel" for it without understanding it.
I'm wondering if maybe I just keep re-practicing the sections I've had trouble with then maybe it will sink in without me necessarily understanding it either, but when Duolingo just wraps my fingers and says "wrong" repeatedly, it starts getting tedious (as well as free users only having 5 'lives' which can bring a learning session to an abrupt halt) and wears away my enthusiasm/patience.