’Stories’ is a nice surprise
Duolingo Stories came to me as a surprise. I don’t know how I found this amazing new option for my favourite free online language learning application, but I amvery happy I did.
I have been practising Spanish, German and Russian combined with each other and English in all possible way Duolingo made is possible so far. Achieving 3x50 XPs daily with trees and reverse trees in a way to include German, Russian and Spanish is now one of the first things I do every morning (even before walking my dogs) for more than 2.5 years now.
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| Owls eat mice, but Duo does not eat this cute little mouse! :) |
More fun and another positive addiction
Duolingo Stories added more fun and variety to the ’game’. ”Much to learn, I still have” in Spanish, Russian and German, and it was not boring to me at all to do the 150 daily XPs. Stories simply broadened the range of my addictions, ha-ha. I set a goal of doing only one Duolingo Story a day, because it would not be lucky if I neglected my other duties (for example my job, LOL) due to my language-learning mania. I completed slowly but surely the Spanish Stories, then moved on to the German Duolingo Stories ’tree’.
How does Duolingo Stories work?
Stories consists of sets of tales that have tasks in them regarding reading and listening skills.
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| Choose the correct word! |
(I consciously avoid using the word ”competence” here, as for us teachers and students in Hungary there are compulsory tests we have to make kids write, and I speak for all of us, we do not like it, especially because these tests are obligatory.)
We have to complete tasks on vocabulary, finish sentences, fill in the gaps with the right word and so on. The narrator’s and participants’ speech can be played in a slower version as well, just like in the basic Duolingo language courses.
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| Duo is busy reading, so our little mouse can show us the meaning of words :) |
Great graphics and layout
I love the way Duolingo Stories look, as well. We can find the good-old user friendly, colorful drawings we all have got accustomed to. The program also shows us the meaning of words when we hover the mouse over them (or point on it with our fingers on portable devices).
Mobile devices or PC? Which is the best Stories platform?
Take care of your eyesight first!
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| Do yourself and your eyes a favour and learn on the biggest screen possible |
First of all, if you still have good eyesight, and want to keep it that way, stop staring at small, or actually bigger smartphone screens. I noticed my eyesight deteriorating when I did an insane daily dose of 330 XPs a day on Duolingo using my Samsung Galaxy S4 mini ( a very small) smartphone. It is best to learn on desktop, but I still bought a bigger, 10.1 inch tablet only for the sake of learning languages with Duolingo. Yes, I know I said use your PC, but for me the app version of Duolingo is better. I like it how the words in the sentences are in front of me and I can click on them to rearrange them in the correct order. So I do not have to hover the mouse over each word I am not familiar with. The app version makes it possible for me to see all the words in a task and as I am a visual type, I can find out the meaning of the word even though it is completely new for me.
So, as a last word on whether I recommend smart devices or PC for Duolingo, I say that if you do not find the app version better, use your computer with that nice big screen to save one of the most precious things in life: your eyesight.
What languages are available?
At the time when I am writing this blog entry, there is no app version of Stories. I prefer using basic Duolingo on my tablet, but Stories work for me better on my computer. I can move on faster by tapping ”Enter” key, for example, and for me the handling of the whole program is all-in-all faster for me on my PC. I also enlarge the screen when I use it either on my tablet or my desktop.
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| More languages will arrive soon thanks to the work of Duolingo staff and contributors |
Stories from Duolingo is currently available in four languages. English is the first language (language one), and the target languages are Spanish, French, Portuguese and German. I have completed the Spanish and German Duolingo Stories trees. (I use this phrase here too, though the structure looks less like a tree here.) I listed the content (story titles) of Duolingo Stories in all sets of Spanish and German bellow:
Duolingo Stories Spanish title list:
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| Ola, yo soy Duo! :) |
Set One:
¿Te conozco?
Bellas artes
Cuidando un pájaro
Tenemos que hablar
Encerrada en el baño
La carta perdida
La peor cita de mi vida
¿Puedes hablar?
Sigue las flechas
Tres deseos
Set Two:
El robo
¡Renuncio!
Alguien me persigue
¡Ayuda a Alicia!
El mayor tesoro
La cita misteriosa
¡Una serpiente!
Reunión de colegio
Da la vuelta
¡Acampando!
Set Three:
Un nuevo autor
Trabajo de laboratorio
¡Las manos arriba!
Cuarto en alquiler
La sorpresa de cumpleaños
La caja secreta
En la televisión
El ático
La persecución
¡Son las tres de la mañana!
Set Four:
Listos para despegar
¿Qué está pasando?
Cosas viejas
Tablero de güija
Tenemos que decirnos adiós
El panecillo matutino
Barbanegra
En la biblioteca
La bolsa de papel
A escondidas
Set Five:
El amor está en el aire
El mejor presidente
¡Es él!
Fifí necesita una habitación
La Pirámide de Tikal
Una boda más
Parada de tránsito
Se vende un auto
Un paquete para entregar
Citas rápidas
Set Six:
Decisiones
Muñecos de boda
Capítulo dos
Salto en paracaídas
La primera misión
Un nuevo plan de vida
Pan de Azúcar
El Cazador
Un paseo salvaje
El sobre
Set Seven:
Cristales
¿Campistas felices?
Fuera de horario
Atlántida
El traidor
Los planos
El duque de la Bastilla
El admirador secreto
El gran escape
El asaltante
Set Eight:
La entrevista
La reparacion del auto
Una carretera en el campo
Reserva natural
El salto
Jasmir
La segunda misión
La artista
2042
Cazadores furtivos
Duolingo Stories German title list:
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| Hallo, ich bin Duo! :) |
Set One:
Zimmer zu vermieten
Ein geheimnisvolles Date
Kenne ich dich?
Wir müssen reden
Folge den Pfeilen
Es ist drei Uhr morgens!
Abflugbereit
Vogelsitting
Camping!
Kapitel 2
Set Two:
Ein furchtbares Date
Er ist es!
Noch eine Hochzeit
Auto zu verkaufen
Hände hoch!
Alte Sachen
Im Fernsehen
Fernbeziehung
Nach Geschäftsschluss
Verkehrskontrolle
Set Three:
Liebe liegt in der Luft
Eine Schlange!
Die geheime Kiste
Die Papiertüte
Der vergessene Brief
Fi Fi braucht ein Zimmer
Morgen-Muffin
Neuer Lebensplan
Wilde Fahrt
Der erste Auftrag
Set Four:
Verschlossenes Badezimmer
Zuckerhut
Klassentreffen
Hilf Georg!
Der Verfolger
Einbruch
Der Verräter
Kristalle
Der Jäger
Der Briefumschlag
Set Five:
Hochzeitspuppen
Der größte Schatz
Drei Wünsche
Entscheidungen
Blackbeard
Paket geliefert
Herumschleichen
Fallschirmsprung
Speed Dating
Atlantis
Set Six:
Der Straßenräuber
Was ist los?
Der heimliche Verehrer
Die große Flucht
Der Herzog von Bastille
Jasmir
Blaupausen
Die Künstlerin
2042
Die Wilderer
It is nice to see the sentence at the end with Duo saying:
”You completed all sets!”
It also says:
”Check back soon for the next set.”
It
will be great when there will be Stories in Duolingo for more languages. I
would like Russian as well, and in all possible combinations, like the language
trees and the reverse trees.
Okay, I have nothing more left to say, grab a coffee and get started! :)
