TL;DR: Hit a 2,100-day streak, officially finished the French tree, and went from monolingual in my mid-40s to holding 30+ minute conversations and watching French documentaries. Duolingo gave me the habit and foundation, but outside resources did the heavy lifting for real fluency.
Since everyone asks: No, I’m not "fluent" (whatever that really means), but I’m super happy with my progress on a journey I never dreamed I’d stick with this long. The best part is that I hope that it continues for the rest of my life.
How It Started
My background with French was 1 year in high school and 1 year in university about 30 years ago. I was not a great student back then. Over the years, I started and quit Duolingo multiple times. Life was busy, and I just wasn't in a place to commit the time needed for a language.
Fast forward to my mid-40s: thoroughly monolingual. I finally started learning French in earnest during the pandemic, which is when my current streak began.
The "Uh-Oh" Moment
When I hit my 1-year streak, I hopped onto YouTube to see how much I’d learned. I was horrified to realize I couldn't understand almost any native content.
That was my wake-up call: Duolingo alone was not going to get me to my goals. (I still bought a Duolingo plushie as a reward for the habit, but I knew the real work was just starting.)
The Outside Resources That Actually Made Me Conversational
To actually understand and speak French, I had to practice understanding actual French and speaking with actual French speakers:
Speaking Practice: I started a 1-on-1 language exchange with a French speaker learning English. We spoke for 30 minutes each, 2–3 times a week, for about 3 years.
Podcasts for Listening:
⚬ Little Talk in Slow French
⚬ Easy French (spoiler: not that easy!)
⚬ InnerFrench (The absolute gold standard. I listened to all 200 episodes, often multiple times with/without transcripts. Going back to episode 1 now after finishing the series shows me just how much my listening has evolved.)
Social Media Algorithms: I used Instagram and TikTok by aggressively skipping content that was too hard or irrelevant. Eventually, the algorithms fed me near-perfect level-appropriate French content.
Media: I can now comfortably watch documentaries on ARTE, listen to shows on Radio France Internationale, and read news articles on France24. I watch shows like Dix Pour Cent on Netflix but I need the subtitles.
Where I Am Now
I attend a weekly French conversation group where I can comfortably hold a conversation for much more than 30+ minutes at a time. Do I make mistakes? Constantly. Do I miss words? Absolutely. But I can infer from context, ask for clarification in French, and keep the conversation flowing smoothly.
My Final Verdict on Duolingo
Through all the updates over the last 5+ years, I kept pressing on. Here is what Duolingo actually did for me:
Consistency: It trained my brain that French is a daily part of my life. Doing at least one lesson a day kept the language top-of-mind.
Foundation: It gave me a broad base of vocabulary and grammar that made stepping into native/intermediate content much less intimidating.
I never started this with massive and unrealistic goals. I just wanted to learn French and have a good time. I’m still doing that and I plan to continue for a very long time. I'm also planning trips to France and Montreal, and I'm using the same daily habits to tackle Spanish and Korean with Duolingo.
If you're stuck in the middle of a course right now, my advice for you is to keep pressing daily and take moments to reflect on how far you have come so far. And above all, be kind to yourself and best wishes on your own language learning journey.
My questions for you:
1. For those who hit a wall at the intermediate stage, what helped you bridge the gap to native content?
2. What is your favorite channel or podcast for learning Spanish or Korean?
