Duolingo alternatives for learning Ukrainian
Hello! Привіт! Pryvit!
I started learning Ukrainian on Duolingo in February 2022 following Russia's attacks. It was my first time attempting to learn a language for 10+ years and it just clicked. I grew to love the language, became entranced with the culture, and had desires to keep learning. Prior to Duolingo's redesign, I had a year+ streak and made it fairly far in the course.
The redesign has absolutely killed that passion. Maybe it's just the Ukrainian course, but it felt like I was going in circles and not really progressing as I once had. I've shelved my learning for a few months, but I really desire an alternative to Duolingo. Unfortunately, there's not many options that offer Ukrainian and I want to ensure I am learning the language as intended. I've read into how Russian influences have attempted to modify the language and I desire to learn the form that Ukrainian's would use.
I'm not quite at a level to learn from books or more static resources, and would prefer the interactivity of an app to help get me to that comfort level again. I've tried Pimsleur and wasn't as much of a fan of their format that reminded me of language tapes. One of the things I enjoyed with Duolingo was the verbal parts of it that helped with my pronunciation, and Pimsleur didn't appear to offer that.
Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated! I have seen old posts referring to a SubStack and other resources, but at this time I need a refresher before I feel comfortable diving into those. I would love to incorporate learning a little bit of Ukrainian everyday again! Слава Україні!
Привіт друже!
After the war I had a similar reaction as you. I decided to learn both Russian and Ukrainian; I picked Russian first because even my Ukrainian loved ones were not really using it often (and the war didn't change that). It's also ... a lot easier, there's more material. I did decide to learn both, and I'm very slowly starting to work on Ukrainian now.
I'm happy I took this route because Ukrainian is just ... easier, now. But I haven't started it that much yet so really it's too early to tell.
WITH THAT SAID, I documented my progress on Tildes. It was actually pretty incredibly satisfying and rewarding to see it come about so fast. Here is the last post I wrote about it, which has links to previous recaps: https://tildes.net/~humanities.languages/12ed/from_beginner_to_conversational_in_three_months_of_learning_russian_my_takeaways
So it's been 15 months actually, I didn't notice. Time flies. I'm pretty conversational in Russian now. My understanding is probably at B2, though my speaking has suffered from not practicing it much since the first few months.
Most of my advice/comments in that post will apply to you. Anyway, to cut it short, Duolingo is not the way. Do it as a little extra if you like, but you need a good mixed bag of sources. Surround yourself with the language. Put your computer and phone in Ukrainian and force yourself whenever possible to read and try to understand before you go to google translate. Find videos and podcasts, listen to them while you sleep to train your ear. Etc.
Wow! Thank you for sharing your journey and the great write up! Before I took a pause, I was broaching on B2 territory. I listen to a lot of Ukranian music and it has helped with my learning. I'm able to pick out some words and phrases to get enough context at times. I even invested in a high quality Ukrainian to English dictionary and some of the cookbooks I have give the Ukrainian names of dishes. Even was using some basic Ukrainian on Twitter by swapping the keyboard on my phone.
Duolingo's change and a particularly rough job has stunted that growth; it was just bad timing for both. This time when I get back into learning Ukrainian, I want to do it the right way with some better resources. Thank you so much for sharing what worked for your journey.
I'm not learning Ukrainian, but I am learning another language (Korean). I started with Duolingo, just on a whim, for fun. I'm still going with it (4 months now), but it became clear pretty early on that it was only for casual learning, and I needed more if I wanted to gain serious proficiency with the language. I don't like how DL gives so much hand-holding, which gives a false sense of mastery. I challenge myself by making myself type Korean instead of using the easy word set. So, while I still use DL, I have since supplemented it with visits to other sites which go into much greater detail with articles explaining grammar, culture, and so on. I also use spaced repetition (Anki) to work on vocabulary and other memorizables.
I also have bookmarked an English-Korean dictionary site, and Wiktionary, which is a great resource for language. (I regret not using it earlier in my life.) When I encounter new vocabulary, I go to these two sites (usually just Wiktionary, though), and do a deep dive on the word, including etymology, conjugation tables, alternate spellings, example sentences, and related words. Learning more about a word helps reinforce your memory and understanding of it.
Also, I watch TV and movies in my target language (in my case, that means mostly K-Dramas), and do two things.
First, I actively listen for vocabulary that I already know, and then delight when I recognize something that a character has spoken, or some text (like signage, or written text). You also begin to catch things like words being used or not used in ways you didn't expect. You start thinking like a translator, and think about why the subtitle writer choose some particular wording instead of what you might have expected. It gives you some insight into the nuances and differences between your native language and culture, and theirs.
Second, when I hear a new word used and it has particular importance in a scene (especially if it's used more than once in a short span of time), then I pause the playback, and look up the word. Then, I add it to my vocab memorization tool (Anki). Usually, when I recall a word, I recall the scene that I did this with, and the characters and setting are part of my memory, too. This reinforces the meaning of the word, seeing and hearing it used right in a related context.
Of course, as you've probably already heard a lot, it helps to practice your target language, both spoken and written. In my case, entering answers into DuoLingo suffices for the written, though I also do typing practice in Korean from time to time, to get better at the Korean keyboard, both on desktop and mobile. For spoken, I practice in Korean restaurants with the staff. Saying hello in Korean, ordering food, thanking the staff after, and so on.
Anki is something that I'm considering using when I resume my learning because I've heard good things about it. The reason why I was able to get such an initial good grounding in Ukrainian was through the timed drill challenges in Duolingo acting like a memorization game for me. Early on in my learning, I bought an Ukrainian-English Dictionary and used it as a cross reference to a children's Ukrainian language book. Any new word I saw, I would compare in the Dictionary and see what Google Translate offered. It was tedious, but a great learning method that sounds similar to your own.
Unfortunately, I live in area with almost no Ukrainians or those from other slavic countries. So I haven't had the chance to ever practice conversationaly in person and determined early on I would need to find am alternative for that.
I started Russian with duolingo and I still like it but only just because it's something quick that I can do every single day just to keep the language in my mind. I also really like Clozemaster but I only think it's useful if you already know at least a little bit of the language. Other than that I did Memrise and Mango Languages for a bit which I both enjoyed. I've seen people say to check your local library to see if you can get Mango for free through them.
I have been learning Ukrainian continuously for about a year now. Here are the resources I use:
LingQ - the mini stories are really good for learning grammar structure and some vocab. Plus you can export your vocab into Anki
Ukrainian Lessons Podcast - I bought the premium materials. The flashcards are really good.
A few Ukrainian textbooks. I started by reading Yuri Shevchuk's textbook and my tutor uses the Yabluko book series
Live tutoring lessons. I use Preply since they have favorable payouts to Ukrainians
Honestly, I didn't like Duolingo at all. I would do a Duolingo lesson and feel that was good enough for the day. I purposely let my streak lapse at 1 year.
Pimsleur may also be free still for Ukrainian.
Here are also 40+ resources from Ukrainian Lessons Podcast.
I anticipate I will need to keep learning Ukrainian like this for at least a few more years to be reasonable decent at it.
I also married a Ukrainian woman this year so maybe that will help things.
I have some experience learning languages, not Ukranian though. My advice would be to focus on comprehensible input. In practise this means listening or reading something that is just above your level. I have been doing this with podcasts that are geared towards learners, but this is easier in my current target language which is Spanish. There are even channels focusing on comprehensable input (this means using lots of pointing and showing and is mostly for beginners). There seem to be a few videos for Ukranian ("Comprehensible input Ukranian). I have also used Anki to practice words I find I hear often but don't know the meaning of. Good luck!
If you like videogames, lots of these have Ukrainian localization, list of upcoming games for example:
Baldurs Gate 3
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (also UA language will be available in a basic game)
Lords of The Fallen
Alan Wake 2
Frostpunk 2
I am pretty sure you already can play games like Skyrim on Ukrainian.