this post was submitted on 14 Mar 2026
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Find the people who actually learn a new language to any respectable degree... and none of them use Duolingo. Duolingo is a gamified piece of crap designed to sell advertisements. It makes you think you are learning.
At best, Duolingo gets you maybe to A1 level (ie: understanding the alphabet of target language, sounds, and a few common words). There was a time when some select languages had strong community forums on Duolingo that the community would learn despite the shitty software, but all the moderators + teachers were fired and "replaced by AI". So you don't even get a community these days. The people are the key to any liberal art. And language is at its core, communication. A community of people can learn despite any level of shitty software.
The paid software (ie: Babbel, Rosetta Stone, etc. etc.) all have small but paid communities of teachers behind their exercises. Its not the best learning, but its better than Duolingo.
If at all possible, find in-person learning. Community college, actual college, or other language schools. iTalki is available if you want a cheaper online-only teacher. If you live in an area with lots of spanish speakers, it should be possible to find a local language teacher...
Private tutors are most convenient but are the most expensive. (3 hours a week private tutors are the cream of the crop, but very expensive). If you have a large enough community, there's a chance you get into small-group study (4 people per class), which cuts costs down dramatically (half-off or cheaper per person). Community college and other courses are only a few hundred bucks for a semester, a bargain for what you get in comparison to private tutors. But you won't get as much attention.
Self study options (ie: self-help software like Duolingo, Babble, Rosetta Stone) are the slowest and hardest way to learn. Its better than nothing, but you'll really need someone to talk Spanish with in your life to actually practice. Plenty of people learn languages by themselves, so its completely possible. Just know you are taking the hardest path.
I probably should tell you about "intensive learning". Some people go all out, which means quitting their job for extended periods of time, and joining a school for 4+ hours a day with 4-hours of homework per day, and spending months drilling a language. This includes Diplomats at the US State Department, Military Linguistics, and "Intensive Language Schools". Its considered the most efficient way to learn, but many people fail and the lifestyle is incompatible with a regular life. (either that, or you use it to replace your job, like a military linguist officer).