Start here · 15-minute practice
Speak without waiting for a partner
A practical way to practise speaking alone: rehearse one real situation, find the gaps, save useful language and return to it later.
Read the guidePractical language guides
Learn the language your life actually needs.
No grand promises. Just clear ways to prepare for a real conversation, practise on your own and remember the words that matter to you.
Sourced where facts changeWritten for real situationsClear about limitations
Start somewhere useful
Six questions. Six practical answers.
Choose the problem that sounds like yours. Each guide gives you something concrete to try—not another enormous glossary.
AI conversation practice
Choose an AI conversation app by what you actually want to do
Compare five different approaches to AI language conversation: open questions, guided roleplay, course-linked speaking and avatar-led practice.
Read the guideHuman or AI conversation?
A real person or an AI? Use both for what they are good at
Human language exchange and AI conversation solve different problems. Compare authenticity, privacy, correction, availability and social effort.
Read the guideMake useful words stick
Do not save the word. Save the moment it belonged to.
Turn a phrase you heard in real life into something you can retrieve and use: capture context, practise recall, space it and say it again.
Read the guideBefore the real conversation
Prepare the conversation, not every possible sentence
Prepare for the conversation you actually need: define the outcome, rehearse likely branches, learn recovery phrases and review afterwards.
Read the guideBeyond the course path
If Duolingo is not getting you talking, what should you add?
Looking beyond Duolingo for speaking? Compare speaking-first courses, AI roleplay, human language exchange and a personal language companion.
Read the guide