Learning French with Duolingo In-depth Guide 2024

‘Comment vas-tu ?’ means ‘how are you’ in French. French is one such language that every one of us has thought of learning once in our lives. Duolingo helped me to do it. Learning French with Duolingo is so easy that even a beginner like me can easily learn it. Stay with me till the end and I will help you to know everything that you get in the French course.

How is the French course designed on Duolingo?

Just like Spanish, Dutch, Russian, and other languages, French courses again follow a particular path which is known as the Duolingo tree. The tree is divided into different sections which further have various units. These units include different sets of lessons. These lessons involve various activities that help you to learn various aspects like grammar, vocabulary, etc. These activities are so engaging that I love them all. At present, there are 219 units including 10 – 15 minutes long lessons. When I was completing these lessons, I encountered a lot of funny statements. On completing the lessons, I also get a lot of rewards for it like Streak score, Gems, etc.

What are the different activities that are available for learning French with Duolingo?

There are different challenges and exercises that you to take on the platform. Following are the different activities that you will be performing on Duolingo if you have taken French courses-

1. Practising listening

In this activity, you will have to hear the words of the native speaker of the targeted language. After that, you might be asked to complete a statement using a word or phrase from a list based on it. According to me, this is an important activity as it helps me to understand how native speakers talk.

2. Pairing

In it, you will be asked to match ten words properly. I am sure that you have gone through such exercises in your school time. In this exercise, you will get 10 words – five will be in English and five will be in French. You will have to match these words based on their meaning. Trust me it is one of the easiest exercises that you will get in the course.

3. Speaking training

I believe speaking is an important aspect of a language. That is why I have always focused on this exercise. After hearing a word or sentence said by a native speaker, you will have to repeat it so that Duolingo’s voice recognition program may check your pronunciation.

4. Fill in the blanks

This exercise is superb in making you engaged with the content. In this exercise, you may see different Duolingo characters on your screen with different statements. There will be blanks in each of the statement. You will have to complete these statements according to your own knowledge. This exercise has always helped me to understand where I stand.

5. Writing the whole sentence

Duolingo believes that you must have a proper knowledge of the language. Thus it gives you one such exercise where you will get a whole sentence written in either French or English. You will need to translate it. If the sentence is in French, you need to convert it into English and vice versa. 

6. Take part in the mock discussion

In this activity, you may have to choose the right option from the given list of words. You will see a word on the screen and get the options for it. Now, you will have to choose the right meaning of it.

What are the problems faced by beginners with French pronunciation with Duolingo?

The biggest problem, I faced was that there was not much gap between the two words and the pronunciation was too fast. Pronunciation of the language is one of the biggest problems. Following are the three main problems that you will see when you are trying to practice speaking-

1. French R

It is obvious that not many languages use this sound. The back of your tongue, and not your throat, presses against your soft palate to create this sound. You can learn to recognize that the French R is not a particularly strong sound when you listen to French speakers.

2. Nasal Vowels

Again, it is something that is not commonly found in other languages. These vowels are the ones that you speak through your nose. They are not available in English languages. Following are the Nasla vowels in the French language-

in, on, an, en, un

What are the special features of learning French with Duolingo?

Despite having a similar course structure, some courses also have special features. French is a course that has many special features. Below I have mentioned the special features that I get for learning French with Duolingo-

1. Duolingo Podcasts

Duolingo Podcasts are a great way of practicing communication skills. Although they are similar to audio lessons, you do not need to repeat the words in it. If you are someone who already has knowledge of the basics of the language, you must listen to these podcasts. Here, is a complete guide by which you can learn how to access these podcasts.

2. Duolingo french stories

The stories in the French course have helped me improve my reading, listening, and writing skills. All these French stories are generally for a few minutes. There are 288 stories currently available for the French language on Duolingo. These stories are designed so that they are available for users from all levels. Whenever I open these stories I see Duolingo characters which will help me stay engaged with the content.

3. Audio Lessons

In it, you will see different people talking about different French aspects. With the help of this activity, I not only get to understand how the native speaker talks, but also get insights into new vocabulary. You may also need to repeat what you have heard in the lesson. It does not only help me to boost my speaking skills in the French language but also my listening skills.

What are the other features that you get while learning French with Duolingo?

Each of the courses has similar kind of features in it. Following are the features that you get while learning French with Duolingo-

• XP score: When you complete a lesson or a task, you can gain XP from it. This XP score will help you get on the top of the leaderboards.
• League: The League is a weekly tournament in which 30 people including you will participate and try to win it. When you win it you will be getting gems.
• Gems: Gems are just like Duolingo currency, which will help you unlock new lessons and boosters. If you are using it on the Android mobile and desktop, you will get gems in red color. On the other hand, it is in blue color if used on ioS.
• Friends: Duolingo not only allows you to learn the language but also helps you make new connections. You can follow random people on the platform, which helps you take part in friend quests.
• Duolingo Plus: Duolingo Plus is the subscription plan that you get on Duolingo. It helps you to get some new features and remove some of the annoying ones.
• Streak score: When you complete the lessons or perform an activity on the platform, you will receive a streak score of 1. These streaks will help you know how active you have been on Duolingo.

How does Duolingo teach French grammar?

Grammar is the basics of any language, it should be taught through everyday situations. However, when you go on the lesson of the course you do not get much grammatical knowledge. In fact, you will get almost zero knowledge of it. Further, you will also get the words that are new to you and barely know their meaning. By tapping on these words you will see their meaning. You may also find some grammar tips before each lesson.

Is Duolingo Good for Learning French?

I have used Duolingo to learn French. Trust me it is really a good platform. As a beginner, it is very tough to learn a new language. But thanks to Duolingo, it made my journey so easy. There were so easy and interesting exercises, that I got engaged with the content so easily. There was not a single time I got bored with it. The fact that it is a free course, I could never have thought it could give me such a beautiful experience.

As it is a free platform, there will definitely be some problems. The problem I faced was the nature of the sounds. Another problem that I faced was the content at an intermediate level. Though French is the most developed course of the platform, there is no content for intermediate learners. Further, I have discussed the benefits and drawbacks for your better understanding.

What are the benefits and drawbacks of learning French with Duolingo?

The following table shows the benefits and drawbacks of the French course with Duolingo-

Benefits	Drawbacks
It is free to use.	There is not a lot of content for the advanced-level learner.
Perfect for beginners.	There is a heart system where you can only make 5 mistakes while practicing.
The French course is updated a lot with time.	You may face difficulty in learning the sounds of the French language.
Get special features – Stories, Podcasts, and Audio lessons.	There is less grammar.
There will be a lot of activities that are like a fun game.
It is a super motivating platform. You will get a Duolingo owl at every stage of your language learning.

Conclusion

French is one of the most learned foreign languages. When I started learning the language, I was really confused. But Duolingo made it easy for me to learn the language effortlessly. There were rewards every time I completed a lesson or task. It made me stay engaged with the content. However, the main problem was the sound problem of French R and Nasal Vowels. Despite being a free platform, it gives me a lot of content that makes learning the language easy for me. Additionally, you get special features like Podcasts and stories which will help in focusing on learning the content.

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