<p>You can test out. There is a button on each lesson.</p>
<p>NJTheatreMOM, what is the upper level of proficiency you would say that a person could gain with diligent use of Duolingo?</p>
<p>Wow, Duolingo sounds fantastic. Is Korean instruction available on this site?</p>
<p>I heard about Duolingo on NPR. God bless NPR! </p>
<p>Zoosermom, I can’t really answer your question about level of proficiency because I haven’t gotten all the way through Italian yet. My guess would be something like a year or two of the language in high school, maybe…certainly not a year of college study.</p>
<p>They don’t really explain grammar. You kind of have to intuit it through usage.<br>
That usually bothers me, but Duolingo is very well designed. I have gone to websites that explain Italian grammar a couple of times when I’ve been confused.</p>
<p>I’m hoping to be able to read things like newspaper articles after doing Duolingo in Italian. I’ll let you know!</p>
<p>No Korean on Duolingo. Just French, Spanish, German, Italian and Portuguese so far…plus English instruction for non English speakers.</p>
<p>I would adore it if they added more languages!</p>
<p>I forgot to mention that Duolingo goes as far as the subjunctive, at least in Italian.</p>
<p>Based on my son’s experience in French, high school students might not get the subjunctive until the third or fourth year of study.</p>
<p>In just two nights with this program, I have been able to identify exactly what my son’s problem was last year in Italian. Now, fixing it is another thing entirely, but knowing certainly stops me flailing about like a dimwit.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for posting about Duolingo! It is exactly what my D needs for a French refresher. Her university placement test put her in a higher class level than expected, so she is feeling a little nervous and has been trying to review over the summer. Duolingo is perfect for that.</p>
<p>And I confess…a little addicting, too!</p>
<p>Alright, my D just texted me “OMG get me off of this French website thing! I’m so addicted!!”</p>
<p>And she did say she was finding it to be a very good review tool. </p>
<p>Success. :)</p>
<p>Very impressed with the success posted above. </p>
<p>Poor dedication to one language here. I’m on the Spanish long term plan, and understand more every year. I read everything, hair color directions, toilet cleaner directions when provided. I work with some Spanish speakers who challenge me on occasion. The best is having a non English speaking patient. I am from fluent, but through exposure, can stammer through many situations functionally. </p>
<p>Language study has been my default activity since the kids left home, and most years sign up for an evening adult learner class. The language coincides with travel plans, which coincide with where the kids are living. Chinese, then Spanish, Korean, and most recently French. I really enjoy the folks I meet in these classes, and the concentrated reason to study. </p>
<p>Korean was the most exhilarating, as I have Korean family, and taught English there back in the dark ages. Learning the phonetic alphabet was like unlocking a secret code. But sadly, little reason to practice, so have forgotten a lot. </p>
<p>For French, have used BBC, MaFrance, but they have other languages as well.</p>
<p>I am another fan of Korean dramas, sticking only to historical period dramas. Love the history, colorful elaborate costumes etc but have only picked up a few Korean words here and there. I read Kanji so I am able to decipher signage and documents. I am still streaming them free online through viki.com</p>
<p>Just read an article in Time magazine that studies have shown speaking a second language can delay cognitive decline.</p>
<p>Great Lakes mom, I dearly wish there was a classroom setting available in which to study Korean locally. Our community college offers Japanese instruction, but not Korean, which I find ironic given the fact that we have a far larger Korean population than Japanese here. I’ll admit I’m normally a much better student in a structured environment, being spoonfed so to speak. But, I must also say that I’m surprising myself somewhat by how motivated I am to learn this language. It’s definitely one of the more difficult ones for English speakers to grasp. Right now, I’m finding Particles to be particularly challenging. There are just so many of them, and their applications are very precise. I thought subject, topic and object marking particles were tricky, but they’re just the tip of the iceberg. Nevertheless, I’m slowly beginning to Suss it all out, so that reading text is beginning to make much better sense. I find the cram-it-in and review, review, review method works reasonably well. It would be great, however, to have access to dialog practice sessions, so that my pronouciation could be corrected.</p>
<p>Cbreeze, how cool is it to find another fan of kdramas here on CC? The costuming and cinematography are indeed often breathtaking in historical dramas, but so is the brutality depicted. I sometimes find I don’t have the heart to watch them. I’m much more into family dramas and RomComs. I have the Viki app on my IPad, but most of the the time, I watch my dramas commercial-free using my DramaFever account and my Roku device on the flat-screen in the den. A late 2010, early 2011 drama called Secret Garden (which has nothing to do with the Frances Hodgson Burnett children’s story) was my gateway drug into Kdramas, and I’ve been happily hooked ever since. Often while watching, I’ll assign myself the task of listening for the use of honorifics, and noting their use (or lack thereof) based on the social status of the characters relative to one another. Other times, I listen for the use of particles and verb conjugations. It makes the viewing even more enjoyable.</p>
<p>I know enough to be humbled at your dedication to learning to speak Korean well! For those who don’t know, it is incredibly complex grammatically. Living a 5 minute drive, or 20 minute bike ride from UW Madison, I have access to some amazing continuing ed courses. The Korean class kept me very busy. Spanish and French at the C College were a breeze by comparison. </p>
<p>Have you considered finding an on line tutor? I know folks who have weekly skype language lessons. If not a real life tutor in your area. Finding someone to exchange English learning for Korean might be easy, as Koreans are mad for English learning. </p>
<p>I have yet to join the craze for Korean dramas, but will check out your site, viki.com. But it makes me smile, as my Korean step mom is certainly enjoying them, as well as the many Thai students I know.</p>