The lessons are questionable. I did the Japanese one, and despite answering all of the incredibly easy questions perfectly, it dumped me into lesson 6, which is also incredibly easy and was the same thing I'd already answered correctly.
Beyond that, some of the Japanese text didn't exactly match what was being said, and some of it was basically the same thing twice, but once with more emphasis. (An exclamation mark.) As a long-time Japanese learner I knew which to expect would be expected as the answer, but a novice would not and it would be just frustrating.
Another was a whole question spoken out loud, but just 1 word from the question as an answer. It can be used like that, but it's asking a lot for a learner to get through it. It's like asking, "Okay?" when you mean "Are you okay?" and expecting a learner to figure it out.
I'm not really sure who this is for. It doesn't seem to fit well for beginner, intermediate, or advanced learners. Beginners need more basic info and explanation. Intermediates probably need things that are more topical. Advanced users probably need things that are more... Well, advanced.
Yeah - on the second point. AI-based Japanese TTS do that, issing arts of ords and/or inexanct with literacy import used. I don't know precisely why, but probably part labeling, part over-acting. Agreed on lessons being shallow.
The UI also hanged the browser for full 5 seconds in places.
It absolutely is. I don't understand how people are so delusional to think that their AI slop has any value.
If I were fine with AI, I could just prompt the LLM myself to create a course perfectly catered to me. Why would I need you? Because your prompting skills are magic? Yeah, no. That is like charging for google search results because you searching skills are so great.
The whole problem with Duolingo is that it got so much worse once they started using AI. Switching to another AI driven project would be out of the frying pan into the fire.
The lessons are questionable. I did the Japanese one, and despite answering all of the incredibly easy questions perfectly, it dumped me into lesson 6, which is also incredibly easy and was the same thing I'd already answered correctly.
Beyond that, some of the Japanese text didn't exactly match what was being said, and some of it was basically the same thing twice, but once with more emphasis. (An exclamation mark.) As a long-time Japanese learner I knew which to expect would be expected as the answer, but a novice would not and it would be just frustrating.
Another was a whole question spoken out loud, but just 1 word from the question as an answer. It can be used like that, but it's asking a lot for a learner to get through it. It's like asking, "Okay?" when you mean "Are you okay?" and expecting a learner to figure it out.
I'm not really sure who this is for. It doesn't seem to fit well for beginner, intermediate, or advanced learners. Beginners need more basic info and explanation. Intermediates probably need things that are more topical. Advanced users probably need things that are more... Well, advanced.
Yeah - on the second point. AI-based Japanese TTS do that, issing arts of ords and/or inexanct with literacy import used. I don't know precisely why, but probably part labeling, part over-acting. Agreed on lessons being shallow.
The UI also hanged the browser for full 5 seconds in places.
the character looks ai generated, doesn't inspire confidence
I built an app that offers 90-ish languages, and it is not vibe coded. I mean it's taken me over 10,000 hours, but it is possible :)
Almost certainly, but that’s no reason to immediately discount it.
Actually, it kinda is? Who's verifying that all the lessons are teaching actually correct info, instead of bullshit?
I'm less worried about the "vibe coded" than "vibe-language-learning"
Though I do think there is vast potential for such things, it needs to be approached judiciously.
From trying it out, it's definitely vibe created because both the pronunciation and wording it provides in a language I know are wrong.
Duolingo (at least for the same language) has correct pronunciation and grammar/words, even if it's not a good way to learn.
It's vibe coded because every button looks different.
It absolutely is. I don't understand how people are so delusional to think that their AI slop has any value.
If I were fine with AI, I could just prompt the LLM myself to create a course perfectly catered to me. Why would I need you? Because your prompting skills are magic? Yeah, no. That is like charging for google search results because you searching skills are so great.
The whole problem with Duolingo is that it got so much worse once they started using AI. Switching to another AI driven project would be out of the frying pan into the fire.
Yes, it is an excellent reason to discard it as a slop.