One year of German
Today I completed one year of German with no breaks. My stats as of today are: 365 day streak (which is the same number of days I have been using duoLingo) Level 25 30531 XP 2766 words 67% fluent (strangely, after I reached 50% it stayed there for a long time until during a three week period it grew steadily to 69% and then settled in at 67%. During the three week period it would go up a percent or two even if I did nothing but scroll through the tree!) Over the past year I averaged 83.6 XP per day. I finished the Tree in 100 days but it took until day 200 to get it completely golden. After that I would try to keep it golden at the end of everyday. Some days I would have to do 13 lessons and sometimes only a few. I also read all of the stories a few times and used the bots on the mobile app. I have no confidence speaking or writing German but I can understand the meaning of most everyday text. I also like to watch German television with german language closed captioning turned on. I think I can understand what happens in "Tatort" and I even watch some game shows and get the answers correct. I watch programs at http://www.daserste.de Anyway I just wanted to share my experience with DuoLingo and hopefully inspire others with the saying,
"A year from now what will you wish you had done today?"
I am happy that I started duoLingo one year ago today
53 Comments
41
Wow, that's a really sweet sentiment, and a great accomplishment. Also, even if you're not confident speaking or writing in German right now, just keep on going! Language learning is a difficult process, but to me it seems like you'll definitely get to become fluent in German!
Thank you. I plan to keep working and getting up the courage to speak.
That is a great achievement! I hope you go on to advance your German and maybe even learn another language!
- 1132
You're really fast. Thanks for sharing the story. Good work und mach weiter so!
happy learning :-)
Thank you. It is amazing see most people are learning more than one language. I don't know if I could keep everything separate. I learned some Russian when I was in my 20's and when I started German I would often insert Russian words. (I am in my mid 50's now)
- 1132
In my case it's not as bad as it looks, I really started Duolingo to learn German and since I found the learning method here quite effective (especially for beginners) I decided to learn some French too. I started French only when my German already reached a decent level (by using many sources, not just Duolingo) and so I wasn't confusing the two languages. The two other flags are trees I did mostly for fun (Czech - my native language, and English - been fluent for years).
It can happen that even language that you learned years ago will be somehow stuck in your head and you will confuse some words but I would think it probably stopped after a while? .. or it will stop soon, after you become even better in German. I personally never had this problem but I know that people often report that. I on the other hand don't confuse words but it can happen to me from time to time that I can somehow get stuck in between the languages and couldn't say what I want to say even in my native language. It's funny :-) , but I am glad it doesn't happen too often .
Happy learning.
- 1416
Congratulations, keep practicing!
I have started in July 2015 and hopefully I am aiming for a 1000 day streak! With regard to fluency, I went from 40% in Nov 2016 and 57% in mid Jan 2018 and now 62% at present. I average 30XP per day. While watching movies, I use English/German subtitles.
I am grateful that I am still using Duolingo.
Thanks for the link.
wow congratulations! that's an awesome achievement! nice to see somebody so dedicated to learning :)
- 602
Congrats! I'm looking forward to your update next year! Are you considering the reverse tree?
That is a great idea. I am very goal driven so I was wondering what to next. Thank you.
I have to agree - an EXCELLENT idea. I started my reverse tree just a few days ago, and feel much more comfortable and motivated in German as a result!
I was originally going to wait until I had my tree golden before starting the reverse, but work intrudes and getting golden wasn't happening as fast as I wanted ... so I started the reverse tree earlier than I had originally planned. And I must say, the reverse tree has done wonders for my inspiration level!
Thank you very much for your story; I appreciate it! And also thank you for the link you provided above; I've also been collecting sources external to Duolingo where I can practice what I'm learning here.
Sure can ... instead of taking German from English, take English from German!
Congrats !!! Can you share where we can watch German TV with closed caption ?
http://www.daserste.de The closed captions are also in german so you have to read along. My next step will be to watch without closed caption but sometimes I need to use them when I watch US television and English is my native language!
Thank you for this story. I am trying to learn german and started about two months ago. I am at 47%. Does it really stop around 50%? Thanks again!
For me it stopped and then it started to go up again. I think everyone has a different experience but 47% in two months is really good!
- 1330
Don't worry about the %, it really is almost meaningless. It goes past 50%. Mine hovers round 64-66, but it really does not reflect anything real.
Herzlichen Glückwunsch to level 25 and finish your German language tree! You are really fast!
- 44
By some coincidence, today is my year long streak too! Herzliche Glückwünsche !
- 691
Very cool. I started German (50 xp per day target) on January 1, and am curious to see where I will be on December 31.
thanks for your experience, i wonder when i arrive to your level, if i can speak or pass B1 exam
I think I am higher that A2 but not yet ready to pass a B1 exam. Somewhere in the middle. I took some placement exams here. https://learngerman.dw.com/en/placementDashboard These tests placed me in B1 courses. I don't know how accurate they are. They also have free courses that can supplement duoLingo
Congratulations on learning German and a one-year streak. I started German and then learned I was 18% German. My Dad was stationed in Germany in World War II and came back speaking a few words of German, which he used to teach us children.
So I think you are from the USA is that correct?
Its hard to overcome the past and learn from it and never make the same mistakes again.I dont want to make this too political but I wish Germans were reckonized for much more then WW2 and the Wall and Sauerkraut.
Many people have some connection to most countrys in the world.Good people are in every land.It would be so nice to find some.
congrats thats an awesome accomplishment. i hope to get there one day too.
I just started German yesterday, I'm only at level 3 now but I'm really eager to learn and I hope I can make this much progress! Great job! :)
Duolingo works quite good for beginners.But I recommend to anyone to chat with Native Speakers.I search Japanese, Spanish and French speakers to learn from.Everybody who speaks English quite well is welcomed to chat with me.I am German and I think Duolingo is an interesting website.
- 44
Indeed - talking with native speakers is the best way to learn. Duolingo is a good step towards that goal! Unfortunately, native German speakers are very hard to find in my particular area.
i am a student in china, and i wanna go to germany to study for univercity, i like german so much, but i am just beginning. how can i learn as fast as you. please give me some advice. thank u so much!
You can learn German faster with native german speakers and watching movies in German with chinese subtitles.
When I was learning English it worked for me to eat sleep and breath the Language and cry because of understanding English Songtext proberly.
Hard to find people who are at a good level but I can offer you a hand.People can be cruel but if you have the honest wish to learn just contact me.
In exchange you might teach me Chinese.I just wanna give it a try and help people and get good contacts.
I hope I will not generate hate.My intensions are good.
Your welcome.
wow! I am doing German as well and i am on level 6 at %30 percent! i really want to be like you!!
Herzlichen Glückwunsch!! I am also learning German with Duolingo and just moved to Germany so the speaking part is definitely getting better! Find some people to speak with and you will be speaking in no time :)!
hi! i am a student in china, i'm happy to see that you are learning chinese ! If you haven't been to China. I can be your guide of your trip!
Herzlichen Glückwunsch zu deinem einjährigen Jubiläum. Ich bin beeindruckt von deinem Durchhaltevermögen. Ein Jahr, jeden Tag, ist wirklich ein großartige Leistung. Mach dir nicht allzu große Sorgen wenn es um das Sprechen oder das Schreiben geht. Glaub mir, ich habe bestimmt schon schlimmeres von Muttersprachlern gelesen oder gehört. Viel Erfolg weiterhin, ich hoffe Deutsch macht dir weiter Spaß.
(Congratz on your one year anniversary! I am really impressed by your resolve ( I think it would be endurance if you translate it directly.. ah well.). One year, everyday, is a great performance. Don't worry too much about speaking and writing german. Trust me, I have read and heard worse by native speakers. I wish you great success (that's weird to translate) and I hope that german will be fun for you!)
Actually, while I'm writing this... If you want to improve your writing, you could write me. I don't mind mistakes and I'm happy to explain. And I'm a native german speaker. If you don't want to, I won't be mad (because that would be stupid of me).
Anyway, be proud of yourself.
Congrats, and not to take anything away but this really emphasises the need for learning outside of duolingo. After a year of learning a language should at the very least be able to acoustically understand and speak german
- 153
Congratulations, I really admire you! Meine geschichte mit Duo hat weniger erfolg als deine. Tv sendungen und films sind noch zu schwierig. And I always need subtitles (when I find them!). Now please tell me how many errors you find in my little sentences!
Thanks for the inspiration! Although i am a little anxious now since i have not been as sincere as you have been. Hoping to pick up some speed from here and make progress. But a year and you're saying you can understand though not conversational! Man, i don't even know with my efforts if i will get that far! Hoping for it.
I don't have anyone to speak to so I am nervous to speak. I think if I went to Germany and had to speak German, I would be able to get around and have small conversations with others. Keep working and you will be happy you did.
hey ollie i know this post is quite old but i figured id comment anyway. Im in the same situation as i have no one to speak it with as well. instead i just talk to my pets in german or name the different foods on my plate and even ramble to myself in german. I found that it helps and now when i speak it i find that i actually piece together sentences quicker and makes it feel more natural
