When will the vocabulary tab be back?
I found this function extremely useful when revising the words learned in a lesson. I really really really hope this tab will be back soon! Am quite upset it's been taken down.
63 Comments
I really want the vocabulary tab back too! It was very useful. You could mark the work that you already know well and duolingo would not give you sentences with these words anymore. I liked this because after a while repeting personal pronouns which are almost in every sentence becomes ridiculous. Besides, you could practice only those word that you know worst without redoing the whole lesson over and over again.
To all. It was promised back to us by the team, this May! So they are working on it and hopefully it will be with us very soon. And Yes it was only available on the computer, not the app, but perhaps they may be working on that too, as everybody loved this function
2204
Glad I am not the only one missing it. There are some specific words I would love to practice
I'm just curious... why they removed it, of all things, in the first place?
I'm not much user of the vocab tab (I have other sources), but I'm seeing lot of people using it- used to, and I wonder why staff would do such a thing? what's the reasons behind to reach their conclusion? it's just bizarre...and why something, that removed so easily and so sudden, requires months to be recovered?
The friend who brought me here tells me there were plans to change the algorithm for... something... about the way it works?
- 588
That calls for changing the algorithm behind the scenes, not for removing the thing entirely for months. Explanation doesn't hold up.
The thing is, they didn't set out to change the algorithm. They thought it wasn't used very much and that people wouldn't miss it, so they took it out. Turns out, people did, and now the rest of the website has changed and they want to make a version that they are happy with. Had people not complained so much, they probably would never have been planning to put it back.
The fact that they have already announced a timetable for its re-emergence (late April or early May) which they then haven't been able to stick to is unfortunate.
I wish they just gave us a deadline that they can keep. I think the most frustrating thing is that at first it was supposed to be back in March, then April, then the begining of May and it's still not here... Why not be honest with us and not get our hopes up in vain?
Programming (and I imagine lesson designing) is harder than it sounds. Complex projects can rarely stick to hard dates. Especially with small staff.
Of course, but still, I imagine that when people do it for money, they do give their clients some estimate deadline and even if they don't make it, it doesn't change from one month to more than three. Or am I wrong? Now, I know it is a free site, but my point is that it's doable (I think). And if you're not sure how long it's going to take, why not give yourself some extra time: you think you can make it by May, let the deadline be July, just to be safe ;) And if it's ready before the announced deadline, it will be just a very very nice surprise.
To be frank, you're not Duolingo's client because you're not paying for the service. Like any company Duolingo has limited resources and has to address the most pressing needs of the business first. So while they may have promised it in April, perhaps they became busy working on features or support for areas of the software that actually brings in the money. Or perhaps they just want to make it the best damn feature that they can!
Typically, a company producing a piece of software does not remove a feature lightly, but rather by considering the maintenance cost of the feature, the usage of the feature, and how useful the feature is, it may be necessary to remove it.
- 1993
Aren't you forgetting that all of us are the ones that are doing the translating for them?
No. But that makes you the product, not the client. A client does not do work. A client pays for work to be done.
You could think of yourself as an employee: for your time and effort (translating) you are compensated (language skills). Just as a normal employee, you have a right to stop "working" for Duolingo and go somewhere else; but while you have a right to be heard regarding your "employment conditions" and how you would like things to work, you most certainly don't have the right to demand that management do exactly what you want. That won't get you anywhere in a real job, and I highly doubt it would get you anywhere here
Yes Duo would not exist without it's users, so the users need to be kept happy, but they actually only need to be kept as happy as is needed for there to be enough that stick around and drive your business.
Personally, I think that Duolingo could benefit from the service UserVoice for features like this. The site allows users to vote on their most important features and thus the team can see what is most important to people.
Why on earth would anyone down-vote you for this?
p.s, that is one mean streak you have there!!
- 2275
Possibly someone that lost a grueling duel? <g> Credit for the streak belongs to Duolingo for making this learning experience so engaging that I look forward to showing up daily.
- 1140
Perhaps Kristine or another member of the DL staff would like to update us on her earlier promise of a new Vocabulary tab being available in late April/early May.
I have seen a browser plugin that provides word drilling for your duolingo vocabulary
- 1995
I've being trying to work with the one for FF but, imho, it's cludgy and conflicts with other FF stuff.
I've only heard about it since I joined, and I look forward to its arrival (return) as well.
Can't say I grudge them for taking their time though. So long as it doesn't take more than another year; then I might become impatient ;)
- 109
It is horribly inconvenient without it and I'm still at a loss to understand why it was removed in the first place.
- 2019
I'm really missing it too. I used to find it really helpful to be able to go in and practice specific problem words. Reading between the lines, it sounds as if we might not get that specific functionality back, because they said that the vocabulary tab probably wouldn't take the same form.
I'm crossing my fingers,but things have been very quiet on the vocabulary tab front lately, so I'm not overly optimistic.
- 1275
I would love to be able to ask general questions of the site owner and give specific feedback so they would hear our voices on things like this. The only feedback I've been offered is whether or not I would recommend Duolingo. Of course I would but I would also like to let them know that since this program is a combination seeing/hearing/translating, it would be good to be able to review words previously learned for review without waiting for them to crop up again. Some of us are visual in our reinforcement.
I also keep checking back to Duolingo in hopes that we see the return of the vocab. I had been using a substitute that was rendered depreciated due to the sudden lack of API, and quit learning because I found myself unable to properly train the words I don't feel I know well at all. At this point I'm preparing to give up on Duolingo, even though it was the first time I felt I was learning quickly, because it is such a necessary part of study.
That sounds great, I really hope we get it back. I came on the discussion board to suggest they create such a thing.
They should bring it back again ! For now, I have my own lists, where I write down all the words and their meanings.
I've created mine in Memrise, but honestly I'm waiting for DL bring it back, so that I wouldn't have to use mine...
I've just started Memrise too, on recommendations from another post. It's no replacement for the vocab tab on here, but in its own right is great. At first I found it just too basic, but it moves on rapidly, and presents many things in a different way to DL. The more variety you get, the more you learn. But DL will always remain my No. 1 learning tool. I've tried book courses: Teach Yourself, Hugo etc and they're all good, but it's DL where I've learnt 90% of what I know.
The great thing about Memrise is the vast amount of other things to study. I dipped in for Italian, but am now freshing up on British Trees, Flora and Fauna, a bit of History and some Finnish. And it's training system works scientifically well on the brain. :)
I wouldn’t comment on that until I saw what DL came up with when it’s back. One main difference I seem to assume from other comments is that it was/would be giving you full sentences to practice the words you highlighted, or wouldn’t give you certain sentences if you marked the words “ignore”... Not sure how that works but it sounds better to me than just the words coming out like in Memrise... Having said that... i think Memrise is great, and as long as DL doesn’t have this functionality, I’m using it...
It's a complete list of all of the words that you have learned, categorized into skills. They also had how long ago you last practiced specific words, and the strength of the word in your memory.
Wow... it sounds like a dream :P I really wish it was back then - I came AFTER it was removed, unfortunately
Yeah, it's really cool to see everything that you've learned :D It's pretty useful if you're the type of person who likes flashcards, but I personally like to use the strengthen skills button over flashcards.
Whoa. I'd LOVE to have that. I too joined after it was removed, but I'm really looking forward to having it when they roll it (back) out.
i'm new here so i can't really say if it's good but its always awesome to have new material
I have never heard of this before, and I want it! Was it available in the computer format, or only on smartphones?
Have you considered sending in a support ticket and asking? It's worth a try.
I think I will wait till the end of May as it was apparently promised to back by May? How does one send in a support ticket though.
Yes wait till the end of May. But if you ever really need to ask a question, or submit info to DL, you'll find the 'support' Tab, on the left hand side of the main screen. Where you just need to give a brief Title to a query, and some detail below.
Me as well. What does it cost to bring vocab back? Is it a liability on Duolingo? I don't understand.
It costs a lot of coding time, since they have changed other things since then. Also, the staff commented after it was taken away that they felt it didn't work properly, so it's not a matter of putting something back but rather of rewriting it.
- 588
Clearly lots of users disagree with the staff, since they miss it. And it took the staff effort to remove the tool in the first place.
I would like to say that I'm new to Duolingo, or fairly, so could someone explain what it was?
You'll see when it comes back. But, put simply, it is a listing of all the words you've learnt to date, how long since you've last used the word, and how strong you are measured to be in it. Then it gives you a chance to practise the word (s) in short little lessons, selected from the main units.
- 1993
I'm waiting for the vocab to come back, too. Since they took it down, I no longer recommend DL to people, and my husband stopped using DL altogether.
- 1993
You may not have appreciated Aminek's choice of words but I think many of us can appreciate Aminek's frustration. Being polite and respectful doesn't seem to be getting us anywhere in terms of getting the vocabulary section back.
