I've been using Duolingo for three months and I've made pretty good progress, but my coworker says apps don't work for actually speaking. I wanted to know if anyone here has reached a decent level with just the app or if I need in-person classes too.
Duolingo gives you a solid foundation in vocabulary and grammar, but your colleague has a point: it's not enough if you want to reach fluency. The app is good for training recognition and memorization, but it lacks the real-time conversation part, where you have to think fast and react. With three months you probably have the fundamentals, but to go from "I understand something" to "I can hold a conversation," you need speaking practice.
The ideal thing is to combine Duolingo with something that forces you to speak. You can look for language exchanges online (there are free platforms), conversation groups, or even a private tutor over video call a couple times a week. It doesn't necessarily have to be an expensive academy; sometimes half an hour a week with someone who actually speaks English speeds you up way more than months of the app alone.
If you stick with just Duolingo, you're going to hit a ceiling pretty fast. The app is excellent as a complement, but real listening, pronunciation, and speaking fluency require interaction with people. You could try something free first before paying for lessons, just to see if the online conversation method works for you.
Are you already trying to practice with real people or just doing the lessons?
Because the thing is, Duolingo works well for what it promises: giving you vocabulary and basic structures in a pretty entertaining way. Three months with real progress is solid. But your colleague has a point that the app doesn't teach you to think fast or understand weird accents or react in a conversation without having time to mentally translate every word. It's like watching swimming technique videos without ever getting in the pool.
What a lot of people don't mention is there's a tipping point: if you stick with just Duolingo you'll probably get stuck around low intermediate level. But if you use it as a base and also start looking for content in English (movies, podcasts, Discord servers about stuff you're into), writing in forums, or if you can afford occasional classes or language exchanges, that's when it takes off. The app isn't the enemy; the problem is thinking it's all you need. I'd say keep going with it since it's working, but start looking for other inputs. They don't have to be expensive classes; sometimes an online community where you actually talk with other people live is gold.
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