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Duolingo and other learning apps
L
ink contributor Caitlin Maynard writes about preparing to move overseas.
“After spending a little over four years in Australia, my fiancé and I are moving back to Europe and one of the ways I am preparing for this is learning French on the app Duolingo. I have been on the app and practicing for over 130 days in a row. Duolingo takes me through different lessons from beginners to more complex ones. It has a tracker and leaderboard to keep me accountable and connected to friends and other people. It is helpful to have apps like this, as not only do they make learning fun, but also accessible. With this app I am able to practice listening, reading, speaking and writing in French from home. Duolingo and other learning apps provide new hobbies and simpler ways to learn and have fun. As a wheelchair user it is nice to be able to learn something new and connect with other people doing the same thing without having to get ready and make my way to a language class. In the past I have avoided signing up for classes or activities because of worries about access or interacting with new people. Living with a chronic condition also means I don’t know how I will feel each day. I might be having a great day and be able to do several activities with ease or I might have a flare-up day, rest and do low impact activities. This can make it hard to commit going to a regularly scheduled class, however, with this app I have none of these concerns and am able to practice as much, or as little as I feel, on any given day. I am pleased I started Duolingo because it makes me more confident to go out and use my French.”
42
August/September 2022