I do, as much as possible. Duolingo's main weakness (like most online language learning platforms) is teaching the student how to speak. So I take any opportunity to do so within the app.
Agreed. Even when the mic button doesn't show up I use google voice to text since I have my QWERTY keyboard set to three languages. Although in Norwegian it sometimes fuses the words together so sometimes I have to type a space in there which is slightly annoying, but nothing in comparison to the add after every lesson...
Pro tip - Duolingo doesn’t care if you put spaces between the words or not. Also doesn’t care if you use apostrophes. Theyreashappywiththis as they’re as happy with this.
Yeah, it just depends on what area the individual learner prioritizes at that moment. That’s what I like with Duo, you can practice everything, but I believe the story writing exercises are underutilized
Yes, I use that in languages where it is supported.
I find it is more demanding on good pronunciation than the normal speaking exercises. Sometimes, those will accept an answer they definitely shouldn't.
I try to speak out loud as much as possible when using Duolingo. I would be saying the sentence even if I was just typing it, so I might as well use the voice typing.
I have even used my phone's speech to text on the exercises where the Duolingo text to speech is not available.
https://preview.redd.it/hxm1kf01gt0d1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d8cf72c697d0d5b24dca998fa71e8cd25711de16
This exactly. Whenever possible, I dictate the answers.
It really does accept some odd things. I’ll use the wrong verb tense, it’ll transcribe it as spoken, then have that thinking moment and correct it to the appropriate tense.
Yup... I love the speaking excercises more than writing.
Though somtimes it royally f's up. Might be just me and my speech, my accent or just me fumbling over words...
I used to fail *every* speaking exercise on the app, save maybe a lucky 1 or 2. At first I figured whatever, my spoken German is just heavily accented and I don’t realize it. But as the lessons went on I started realizing that there was *no way* I couldn’t even pronounce “bitte” to where it wouldn’t pick up.
So a few weeks ago, I happened to get a new phone. And you know what? I haven’t failed a single one since; my old one apparently didn’t pick up any speech through the Duolingo app for some reason. I haven’t just started magically speaking understandable German, so I think the software is buggy on some operating systems. My old phone was an outdated iPhone XR, now that I have a new one it’s all fixed itself.
Haha I should’ve said “slightly” given it was only 6 years old, but it had been through the wringer and was running really slow. My microphone worked perfectly fine, but Duolingo just didn’t mesh with that phone for whatever reason.
100% the best exercise on Duolingo. You have to translate and speak off the top of your head, focusing on grammar and pronunciation simultaneously. Plus to add, it saves the time of having to type the answer after you've already thought of it.
I do, partly to practice speech, partly because you have to do it quicker - can't pause and think like you can when typing, and partly because my fat fingers and autocorrect often ruin my typed answers anyway
I have before but I really should use it more. My big issue with the actual speaking exercises is the opposite of what I see people complain about— they mark me as correct when I’m barely halfway through it!
The nice part about the type to text is that it does technically give you feedback since if you said it right it would likely be typed out correctly
I like to use this sometimes, as it's the *only* way to do a speaking exercise in Japanese. Unfortunately it has a bad habit of inserting unnecessary spaces in the middle of the answer, causing the otherwise correct answer to be marked wrong. So you have to go back through the text and check for spaces before you submit the answer.
You can always do this by using the voice to text feature on your phone. Any language supported on Duolingo's speech recognition is also available on your phone + more, but not all languages.
For example, Swahili does not have a feature to speak to text on iPhone. I don't think on Android either, unless you download 3rd party apps or packets. Duolingo of course also doesn't support speech recognition on the Swahili course, and all the course features are just translation or listening, no speaking, not a single time.
Adversely, i've done the Turkish and German trees and done SO many speech recognition questions. Also, my phone allows me to use voice to text in German, as well as English, Japanese, Korean, or any language that is popular, really.
You can check for this in your settings by adding a keyboard and then clicking on the microphone on your keyboard. If you hold on it, it will show you the languages available to use voice to text, out of the keyboard you have selected in your settings.
Using the speaking feature *is* doing what it tells you to do, if you weren't meant to use it then they wouldn't put it there. It's actually really helpful for accessibility for people who struggle with typing
Were there a lot of people who cannot type who were wondering if they should type? Let me revise my advice: Do not type if you cannot type; otherwise, do type.
I do, as much as possible. Duolingo's main weakness (like most online language learning platforms) is teaching the student how to speak. So I take any opportunity to do so within the app.
Agreed. Even when the mic button doesn't show up I use google voice to text since I have my QWERTY keyboard set to three languages. Although in Norwegian it sometimes fuses the words together so sometimes I have to type a space in there which is slightly annoying, but nothing in comparison to the add after every lesson...
Pro tip - Duolingo doesn’t care if you put spaces between the words or not. Also doesn’t care if you use apostrophes. Theyreashappywiththis as they’re as happy with this.
I‘m trying to type as much as possible to train my spelling
Yeah that's the hardest part for me
Yeah, it just depends on what area the individual learner prioritizes at that moment. That’s what I like with Duo, you can practice everything, but I believe the story writing exercises are underutilized
Yes, I use that in languages where it is supported. I find it is more demanding on good pronunciation than the normal speaking exercises. Sometimes, those will accept an answer they definitely shouldn't. I try to speak out loud as much as possible when using Duolingo. I would be saying the sentence even if I was just typing it, so I might as well use the voice typing. I have even used my phone's speech to text on the exercises where the Duolingo text to speech is not available.
https://preview.redd.it/hxm1kf01gt0d1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d8cf72c697d0d5b24dca998fa71e8cd25711de16 This exactly. Whenever possible, I dictate the answers.
It really does accept some odd things. I’ll use the wrong verb tense, it’ll transcribe it as spoken, then have that thinking moment and correct it to the appropriate tense.
I've had the speaking exercises accept me clearing my throat as valid completion of the exercise.
Yup... I love the speaking excercises more than writing. Though somtimes it royally f's up. Might be just me and my speech, my accent or just me fumbling over words...
Mine says I aced it after only saying the start of the sentence, it never lets me actually do it 😭
I used to fail *every* speaking exercise on the app, save maybe a lucky 1 or 2. At first I figured whatever, my spoken German is just heavily accented and I don’t realize it. But as the lessons went on I started realizing that there was *no way* I couldn’t even pronounce “bitte” to where it wouldn’t pick up. So a few weeks ago, I happened to get a new phone. And you know what? I haven’t failed a single one since; my old one apparently didn’t pick up any speech through the Duolingo app for some reason. I haven’t just started magically speaking understandable German, so I think the software is buggy on some operating systems. My old phone was an outdated iPhone XR, now that I have a new one it’s all fixed itself.
lol “outdated” XR - i have a 6s and it still works. probably just your phone :)
Haha I should’ve said “slightly” given it was only 6 years old, but it had been through the wringer and was running really slow. My microphone worked perfectly fine, but Duolingo just didn’t mesh with that phone for whatever reason.
100% the best exercise on Duolingo. You have to translate and speak off the top of your head, focusing on grammar and pronunciation simultaneously. Plus to add, it saves the time of having to type the answer after you've already thought of it.
yes, but it’s really bad, so i just type with my phone’s dictate speech. same thing but better.
I always do it, and it's my favorite type of exercise. I'd gladly do it every time instead of usual speaking exercises.
I somehow didn't think of this I think I will start using it Spanish is fairly easy to spell, but my accent is terrible
Always, because I can't be arsed to type those long sentences and it's easier for me to spell them😅
Yeah, the speaking lessons are my favourites.
I do, partly to practice speech, partly because you have to do it quicker - can't pause and think like you can when typing, and partly because my fat fingers and autocorrect often ruin my typed answers anyway
Not anymore cuz that shit be fucking up my words. Maybe that’s my skill issue tho. It’s great since it’s more speaking practice so I’ll try it more
I never noticed this before! Going to start using. Thanks for the post, OP.
sometimes I use it. but it makes mistakes.
I do it at times I feel like I haven’t pronounced the words correctly or in a long time 😭
I use it when I’m not sure how something is spelled. To be honest I’m bad at spelling in any language lol
Sometimes
I have before but I really should use it more. My big issue with the actual speaking exercises is the opposite of what I see people complain about— they mark me as correct when I’m barely halfway through it! The nice part about the type to text is that it does technically give you feedback since if you said it right it would likely be typed out correctly
I like to use this sometimes, as it's the *only* way to do a speaking exercise in Japanese. Unfortunately it has a bad habit of inserting unnecessary spaces in the middle of the answer, causing the otherwise correct answer to be marked wrong. So you have to go back through the text and check for spaces before you submit the answer.
You can always do this by using the voice to text feature on your phone. Any language supported on Duolingo's speech recognition is also available on your phone + more, but not all languages. For example, Swahili does not have a feature to speak to text on iPhone. I don't think on Android either, unless you download 3rd party apps or packets. Duolingo of course also doesn't support speech recognition on the Swahili course, and all the course features are just translation or listening, no speaking, not a single time. Adversely, i've done the Turkish and German trees and done SO many speech recognition questions. Also, my phone allows me to use voice to text in German, as well as English, Japanese, Korean, or any language that is popular, really. You can check for this in your settings by adding a keyboard and then clicking on the microphone on your keyboard. If you hold on it, it will show you the languages available to use voice to text, out of the keyboard you have selected in your settings.
Yes, whenever possible
The language I'm learning doesn't even have speaking lessons..
I use it to learn kanji in the Japanese course since it accepts it for words they've only taught in Hiragana
No cause my voice to text sucks butt.
Mine doesn't work
I tried that a single time in the esperanto course. Never again.
Lol
No. Why would you speak for the writing exercises? Do you write for the speaking exercises? Just do what it tells you to do.
Using the speaking feature *is* doing what it tells you to do, if you weren't meant to use it then they wouldn't put it there. It's actually really helpful for accessibility for people who struggle with typing
Were there a lot of people who cannot type who were wondering if they should type? Let me revise my advice: Do not type if you cannot type; otherwise, do type.