Duolingo announced plans this week to replace contractors with AI and become an “AI-first” company — a move that journalist Brian Merchant pointed to as a
The problem is that the description of the teaching method, at least in the theory course, was completely devoid of any rationale for how it is different from any other method of teaching (same as the website)
I have no reason to believe his app and courses don’t provide instruction. My issue is with his grandiosity without substance. An educator of all people should recognize the need to substantiate their claims. This, coupled with the fact that the first thing I am hit with on his site being:
“ABSOLUTELY MAGICAL"
“PURE GENIUS”
“TRULY A MASTERPIECE”
“SERIOUSLY THE BEST LANGUAGE COURSES EVER”
“INSANELY CRAZY GOOD”
“LITERALLY CHANGED MY LIFE”
“BLOWN AWAY”
“A TOTAL GAME CHANGER”
“PHENOMENAL”
“WORLD-CLASS”
(None of which are attributed to anyone, of course) makes me really skeptical.
One of those superlatives may well have been mine. I speak English natively, and have learned French, German, Sesotho, and Japanese (with a combination of classroom and immersion). Learning Spanish with Language Transfer immediately felt right and natural, and I wish I had it for those other languages. I really have never found a better system.
It’s not a miracle, and the teacher emphasizes the need for practicing the newfound skills (conversations with native speakers, watching TV or videos, etc.) in order to truly embed it in your brain. But this course really does give you the tools to understand grammar and the connections between the different languages.
Well like I said I’m not outright denying its efficacy, but based on initial reactions the guy is marketing it like pseudoscience and should maybe work on clarifying what his method actually is
He actually wrote a manual on his method, where it came from, and how it works. I’m not sure if it is still available for download. I got a copy a couple of years ago.
Are you have to do is get past the first lesson, and then it’s all language training.
The problem is that the description of the teaching method, at least in the theory course, was completely devoid of any rationale for how it is different from any other method of teaching (same as the website)
I have no reason to believe his app and courses don’t provide instruction. My issue is with his grandiosity without substance. An educator of all people should recognize the need to substantiate their claims. This, coupled with the fact that the first thing I am hit with on his site being:
“ABSOLUTELY MAGICAL"
“PURE GENIUS”
“TRULY A MASTERPIECE”
“SERIOUSLY THE BEST LANGUAGE COURSES EVER”
“INSANELY CRAZY GOOD” “LITERALLY CHANGED MY LIFE”
“BLOWN AWAY”
“A TOTAL GAME CHANGER”
“PHENOMENAL”
“WORLD-CLASS”
(None of which are attributed to anyone, of course) makes me really skeptical.
One of those superlatives may well have been mine. I speak English natively, and have learned French, German, Sesotho, and Japanese (with a combination of classroom and immersion). Learning Spanish with Language Transfer immediately felt right and natural, and I wish I had it for those other languages. I really have never found a better system.
It’s not a miracle, and the teacher emphasizes the need for practicing the newfound skills (conversations with native speakers, watching TV or videos, etc.) in order to truly embed it in your brain. But this course really does give you the tools to understand grammar and the connections between the different languages.
Well like I said I’m not outright denying its efficacy, but based on initial reactions the guy is marketing it like pseudoscience and should maybe work on clarifying what his method actually is
He actually wrote a manual on his method, where it came from, and how it works. I’m not sure if it is still available for download. I got a copy a couple of years ago.
Are you have to do is get past the first lesson, and then it’s all language training.