Duolingo Russian Language In-Depth Review 2024: Does It Really Work?
I am a person who loves learning new languages. If you have read my previous blogs, you must know how much I admire Duolingo for it. For anyone who asks me for guidance, I always suggest using Duolingo. When one of my friends was going to Russia for higher studies, she was very nervous due to the language difference. The first thing I told her was, Why don’t you try Duolingo Russian Language? On hearing this, she asked me to help her use Duolingo as she was new to it.
I being a Duolingo lover, could not refuse her. So, we both started the course. Although it was not my plan yet, I still learned many new words. While helping her, I discovered a lot of different things regarding the Russian course, which I have discussed in this guide.
How is the Russian course designed on Duolingo?
This was something, I was sure I was getting. I mean it is clear that all the courses on Duolingo follow the same structure. Whether I was learning High Valyrian or Spanish, everything was the same. There was the same learning path that was followed on it. Again it was divided into different sections and each section was again divided into units.
Further, there are a lot of lessons in each of the units. You will have to complete them one by one to unlock new units. The lessons in each unit are generally very small. You can easily complete them within 10-15 minutes. At present, there are 5 sections and 67 total units in it. The course is structured in such a systematic manner, that you will start from the beginner level and ultimately receive the intermediate level of knowledge.
Important:
The path was earlier the Duolingo tree, There were crowns and a skill system. If we talk about the crown system, you were getting 474 crowns at that time.
What are the different activities that you get with Duolingo Russian Language?
Every lesson on the platform has a different set of exercises. Following is the different set of activities that you get with Duolingo Russian Language-
- Mark the correct meaning
- Picture flashcards
- Sentence shuffle
- Complete the translation
- Select the missing word
- Speak this sentence
- Translation
- Tap the pairs
- Tap what you hear
What are the special features of Duolingo Russian Language?
French and Spanish are two such courses where you get special features like Stories, audio lessons, and podcasts. Unfortunately, not all the courses have them. Duolingo Russian language also lacks these features. It does not mean that there is no special feature with it. Duolingo Russian language has a special feature called the writing system tool.
The Russian language has some words which may be similar to the English language, most of them are different and uses a different writing system. This writing tool helps you better understand Russian sounds by associating them with the Cyrillic alphabet. Once you make a habit of using it daily, you will see the difference by yourself. You will also get help in writing the letters with the help of a tracking exercise.
Note: As Duolingo keeps working on the updates, you may see the other special features in this course.
What are the other features that you get with Duolingo Russian Language?
Although special features are the ones you will see in rare courses, there are other common features in all the courses. Following are the other features that you get on Duolingo with Duolingo Russian Language-
1. XP
When you are participating and completing the lesson you will get some XP. Every task you perform will help you to earn some XP points. It helps you to stay at the top of the league you are in. If you want to earn more XP in less time you can always take advantage of XP ramp-up challenges (timed challenges) or Duolingo happy hour
2. Duolingo Leagues
The Duolingo leagues are one week long in which you will participate with the other users. When you participate in the leagues, you can earn more gems. In these leagues, there are a total of 30 people participating in it. The only requirement to win the league is to earn more XP.
3. Gems
Duolingo gems are the currency for the Duolingo platform. It will help you unlock a new lesson and is also used to take advantage of other features like unlocking legendary levels or streak freeze. You may also buy a costume for your Duolingo owl with it.
4. Duolingo Plus
Duolingo Plus is the subscription plan of the platform that provides you with some premium benefits like removing ads, unlimited health, etc. Earlier, you could download the new lessons on the platform if you were a Plus member. However, with the current update, you can download the content with the free membership.
5. Friends
Duolingo is a platform where you can find a lot of other users who are also learning some new language. You can make new friends by following them on the platform. When you follow friends, the chances of completing the course will be increased by 5 times.
6. Streak score
Streak represents the number of days you spend completing the lesson. Suppose, you are completing 4 lessons in 4 consecutive days, the streak score becomes 4. Remember, you need to complete a lesson in a single day. Otherwise, there will be no streak score for you. Further, when you reach the streak score of 365 days, you will unlock a feature known as Streak Society.
Is Duolingo Russian language worthy?
As a fresher, one thing that I love about Duolingo is it is free to use. It means the Russian language course is also free to take up. But what about the content? Well, the platform offers its courses at the intermediate level. It means it is best suited for you if you are a beginner. But if you are looking for advanced-level learners, you will not find it worth it.
The best feature of this course is the writing system tool. Not every platform will offer it. However, if you want to get fluent in it, I would recommend you to look for the resources along with Duolingo. To make it more clear, I have further discussed the benefits and drawbacks one by one.
What are the advantages of the Duolingo Russian language?
The following are the advantages of the Duolingo Russian language-
- If you are a beginner it is a great platform that will help you to learn the basics of the language.
- As the platform is free, you can take advantage of it, if you are on a tight budget.
- The writing system tool will help you to learn how to write the Russian language and also help you to understand the basic tone of the Russian language
- You will also get a lot of reminders from the Duolin Owl and other Duolingo characters. Thus, this platform is very motivating.
- There is very little grammar. As Russian has different grammar rules, you may not enjoy this platform much.
What are the disadvantages of the Duolingo Russian language?
- The following are the disadvantages of the Duolingo Russian language-
- `If you are a person who already has the knowledge of basics and is looking for advanced content then you may not find the course useful. Therefore, you must try using some of the alternatives with Duolingo.
- As you only get the basic level knowledge you will only be able to have the basic communicational skills.
- There are no podcasts or stories available for Russian courses.
- There is a heart system on the Desktop or iOS devices. It gives you 5 hearts to practice. If you lose one of your heat, you will wait for 4 hours to refill it.
Conclusion
Taking up the Duolingo Russian course will benefit you if you are a beginner in that language. If you are a person who already has intermediate knowledge, then you may not enjoy this platform much. Just like other courses, it is also a free course. It is one such course that has a special feature known as a Writing system tool. It will help you learn the writing style of the language. However, if you want to become fluent in it, you must try to use other sources along with it.
FAQs
How long will it take to learn Russian on Duolingo?
If you really are interested in learning the language, you must take all the lessons seriously. As the lessons are short, you may only need to spend 5-10 minutes on the starting lessons. According to various studies, it took 720 hours to complete the course.
Can you become fluent in Russian with Duolingo?
There is no doubt that Duolingo is a platform that helps you to learn the Russian language in a fun manner. But the biggest question is if you will become fluent in the language. According to Duolingo, you can only learn the language at the Intermediate level. Therefore, you can not become fluent in it.
How accurate is Duolingo’s Russian course?
The Duolingo Russian course is created by native speakers of the language. It means there is no doubt about the accuracy of the course.