DuoLingo

DuoLingo is a free application that teaches a number of languages.  It's presented as categories (with levels and lessons), with no explanation- each lesson has text or voice (in English or the chosen language) to translate, either by dropping word bubbles in the correct order or (as you go up in level) typing the answer. Each category has five levels to master, with options to test out if you can.  Each level has 2-10 lessons. Example categories: basics, food, animals, accusative case, nature, business, imperatives, etc.

And . . . I'm done! Shortly after moving to Germany in December 2018, I began doing the DuoLingo German course daily- typically three lessons per day. I missed only one day, and after 435 days, I finished.

It's a good concept (and can't beat the price), though I would have liked having an introductory module before each category to explain the concepts to be presented.  Throwing the student into it has its advantages, but in a language like German, where there are many possible articles, suffixes, and verb conjugations, having no explanation beforehand is a real handicap- the student is left guessing. Since I already had 4 years of German instruction in high school, it was a little easier for me, but I imagine that I'd be lost if I lacked that background.

I think the next step in my language journey is to look into official German examinations.

Rating: B+