How To Get The Most Out Of Duolingo

how to get the most out of duolingo

duolingo is a great app/website that you can use to begin learning a foreign language, but unfortunately you most likely won’t be able to fully learn the language if you only use duolingo. so, here are some things that you can do to get the most out of duolingo and to learn your target better.

1. read the lessons - most of the languages (especially if you’re learning in english) have little lessons. however, these are only available on the website, so if you use the app, you might want to occasionally check in online and click on the little lightbulb to read the lessons. they usually aren’t super in-depth, but for beginners it is super helpful and not as heavy as a textbook grammar guide.

2. don’t work too fast and always revise - if you’re knocking out a bunch of lessons a day thinking you’ll learn faster, this could be true, but most likely it’s not. if you work at a steady pace and remember to do it once a day (preferably at the same time – they say this is better for memorization) you will learn it better. if you do one lesson or maybe two a day and you still have time for more, go ahead and revise a little. when i first started french, i did two lessons a day and then always revised to make sure i remembered everything.

3. study the vocabulary - not all of the courses have this, but on the online version some of the courses have a tab on the top that says “words” and this is a great place to find all the vocabulary that you’ve been learning in your courses. go through the list and find all the words you don’t know that well or at all and make some flashcards or a set on quizlet and study them. learn how to spell them, pronounce them, conjugate them, and use them within a sentence. if you do this, you’ll always have a solid base to fall back on. this goes for learning conjugations, as well.

4. start learning your native language in your target language - after you’ve finished all the courses in your target language, feel free to revise daily. you might want to, however, start learning your native language in your target language. this might not be an option for all the languages offered on duolingo. for me, i learned english in french. this was helpful for picking up more phrases and seeing more common ways that french people write. if you’re feeling particularly confident and know your stuff really well, try learning a new language in your target language. for example, i did the spanish course in french, which definitely helped with my french phrasing while translating. 

5. don’t stop after you finish your course - if you’ve done it right, finishing your course on duolingo will give you a really good start to the language you’re learning. after you’ve finished, keep revising, but also go ahead and start learning your target language in different ways. i made a whole in-depth post on how to learn a language online here. some ideas are reading children books, watching youtube videos and movies, and talking to natives all in your target language. never give up because it will be worth it. 

How to study: Information Based Subjects (Biology, Home Ec, History)

Hey everyone so I have been thinking about starting a series on how to study certain subjects. The subjects I did in high school were English, Irish, french, maths, home economics, biology and physics. I think this series will be a 4 part series starting with today’s which is How to study information based subjects such as subjects like Biology which has a lot of information to be learned !

Disclaimer: This is how I studied for my exams and it worked for me and it might not work for you!

Flash Cards

This is my number one way of revising anything with a lot of information.  Let’s say I am studying asexual reproduction in plants for biology. I go through the chapter and underline relevant information. If you don’t know what is relevant ask a friend or a teacher. Once I know what relevant info I need I start making my flash cards. I add a title card with the name of the chapter. I use small enough flashcards and so I like to write the information big. I tend to keep the information short and sweet and leave out any unnecessary words. Try to not overcrowd the flashcard. Try having 3 pieces of information on one flash card. If you are going to draw a diagram cut out a piece of plain white paper the same size as the flashcard that way it can be included in the pile of flashcards! Once I am done a set of flashcards I will put it in a pile and use a paperclip to keep a chapter together. Then I will go back to them when I am revising

Mini Whiteboards

I got this idea from my biology teacher who used mini whiteboards with us at the start of class where she would have a little pop quiz. Now I know most people won’t have access to a mini whiteboard so if not I am going to give you two ways to make one with everyday supplies. The first way is how I did it! So you will need a polypocket basically the things you put in folders to protect your pages. Then you will need a white page to insert into it. That’s it! You will then have a fully functioning whiteboard. Just write onto the plastic with a white board marker and rub it out with a tissue or a cloth to be more ecofriendly! Another way is to laminate a blank page. You could use lined or just plain paper whatever you think would work for you! And it works the exact same as the page protector! I use this to do definitions when writing them out again and again! This way im not wasting as much paper and you are still learning as you are writing the information down. I would also revise a chapter by writing down everything I know on a chapter and then revising anything I don’t know!

Notes

Take notes in class! Whether it’s writing it into the book beside the text or into a notebook they will come in handy at some point even if it’s when your doing questions on the topic! If your teacher uses powerpoints ask them to email them to you and take notes at home or review them at home while doing revision questions! The notebook doesn’t have to be anything fancy just a plain copy will do because by the end of the year it will probably be a mess anyways!

Past Papers

Past papers are one of the most important things to do when revising anything especially information heavy subjects. Start at least a year before exams that way you can get used to the layout and the marking scheme for your subjects. I didn’t do enough Home Economics papers and when I got the actual exam I felt out of my depth because of this. I would recommend asking teachers to mark them for you as they know the marking schemes better than you do and they might mark you harder than you would mark yourself which is a good thing when it comes to exams. Past papers are a good revision technique because they often repeat themselves over a certain amount of years so you start repeating questions and this helps you learn over time!

Homework

Always do your homework! There have been subjects that I hated so much that I refused to do the homework and it just caused added stress and anxiety and it came back to bit me in the arse when it came to exams ! Just take a half hour out of your day to do that essay or those revision questions because let’s be honest your teacher doesn’t really care if you do them or not because it’s going to harm you more than them ! Even if you start your homework during free classes or lunch it will benefit you. On days that I had a lot of homework I would take my lunch to myself and sit in my class with my headphones in getting it done and most of the time I would work on something that had a heavy book because I didn’t want to carry it home!

Videos

Since subjects with a lot of info can be a lot sometimes videos can come in handy especially the night before an exam. The night before and the morning of my biology exam I watched Crash Course and everything that I watched came up and I was able to picture the diagrams and definitions in my head and the examples Hank gave for certain things! Some of my favourite videos series include: Crash Course and Khan Academy

Quizlet 

I know a lot of information heavy subjects have many definitions to learn and I know mine did. I used quizlet to learn my definitions. I use the type function to learn them as it really helps to revise them and get them in my head. I do this until I know the definition!

Mindmaps

I not a fan of mind maps but they work for certain things. I found they work great for history especially if you draw pictures beside the fact!

These are my tips on how I studied for information based subjects especially subjects such as History and Biology. Take these tips with a grain on salt and learn what works for you and learn from what doesn’t! It took me a while to figure out how I studied and these are the majority of how I would study for these types of subjects!

Let me know how you study and if you liked this post please reblog it! I will be continuing this series in the next few weeks so keep an eye out for those! It’s great to be back and thanks for all the support over the past few months!

SITES FOR WRITERS

Fantasy name generator

Fighter’s block - try to defeat a monster by writing

Child’s Traits Calculator ; predict a child’s appearance 

Child’s Traits Calculator ; predict other traits

Fifty Plot Twist Ideas For Your Work-In-Progress!

Name generator (Character, Baby, Last name, etc.)

Plot generator ; Inspiration for your next novel, film or short story

Character generator ; Generate Rich Characters in Seconds

Writing Exercises ;  This site provides (completely free) writing prompts and exercises to help you get started with creative writing and break through writing blocks. 

Notebook ; create your characters, worlds, objects, places, etc. and save them

Festisite ; Create a fake license, marriage certificate, credit card, ticket and you can find other stuff as well.

The most common last names in the US

Lists of most common surnames

List of most popular given names

List of the least common surnames [last names] in America, rank 16,001-20,000

Fantasy name generator (again)

Random Name Generator (Choose origins, gender, etc.)

Said is dead (Remember that you can use said, don’t use it to less.)

How Much Blood Can The Human Body Lose? 

How Long Can Someone Go Without Breathing?

The 6 Types of Collars Every Man Should Know by Name 

18 Different Types of Sleeves Design Patterns

What are the most widely practiced religions of the world?

Differences Between a Short Story, Novelette, Novella, & a Novel

Hemingway editor ;  It grades your writing by its readability. 

Zen writer ; writing without distractions (Might not be free after a while)

33 Ways to Write Stronger Characters

75+ bad habits for your character

30 SCENE IDEAS FOR CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

10 Things Writers Don’t Know About The Woods

British and American terms

Free writing worksheets

Feel free to add more!

Oh dear Lord. Those stickers. 😍😱🦖

[Days of Productivity: 79/100]

The hardest part of doing a big essay is starting it off in the first place. My tip is to write a plan. Even if you don’t think you need a plan – you do. You always need a plan! Organise your notes and write a plan, and you’ll find that first sentence just that little bit easier. ✨ How’s your Thursday going?

I just found an INCREDIBLE youtube channel for learning spanish. Its this guy talking about various topics, slowly and using basic vocabulary. He includes imagery and draws out the story on paper while talking. It’s called Dreaming Spanish. He has playlists set up based on topic, and another set of playlists based on level (he has three, super beginner, beginner, and intermediate), and I imagine it’s extremly useful for anyone who knows a handful of spanish, but would like to improve vocabulary and grammar.

Altaïr: Stressed.

Arno: Depressed.

Bayek: Blessed.

Desmond: Possessed.

Ezio: Obsessed.

Edward: Impressed.

Jacob: Chicken breast.

Evie: …What?

Jacob: I just wanted to join in.