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by Rendello 436 days ago
I had a longer comment but it was too all over the place. For me, ultimately, I think Math Academy has really helped me. That being said, I put a lot of time and effort into it, and I imagine it would be difficult for people with a lot of commitments. I sometimes reach for supplementary materials, sometimes get ChatGPT to re-explain something, but mostly I manage.

I think the article gives the impression that MA is like Duolingo, but it's not. There's no flashy animations, sound effects, or mascots, the interface is spartan like Hacker News. It can't be (effectively) done in five minutes a day. It requires total concentration and a lot of time commitment.
2 comments
AlchemistCamp 436 days ago
The most significant difference from Duolingo is that people get results with it. I’ve known literally hundreds of people who have put real time into Duolingo, over 10 hours a week for years in a few cases and zero of them have actually learned a language to a B2 level or higher through that massive time commitment. The best case I’ve seen is from people who accumulated a back of memorized word translations and grammar patterns through Duolingo and then spent time reading and listening to content that included them. Even those people learned slower than those who just focused on input from the beginning, though.

In contrast, I don’t know anyone who’s put 10 hours a week into Math Academy for multiple years but those I know who have done it for 6 months have made considerable progress, sometimes the equivalent of years of course work.

Duolingo’s flashy animations and casino-style gamification techniques are actually a negative signal for an educational product.

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Rendello 436 days ago
I agree totally, that was my point but perhaps it wasn't clear. I can't stand Duolingo or any flashy education tech, as soon as there's a sound effect and bubbly animations I'm out. I learned nothing from Duolingo (I ended up learning the language through other means) but I've learned a ton in my (coincidental) 6 months of Math Academy. MA's Justin Skycak put it best:

https://www.justinmath.com/why-is-the-edtech-industry-so-dam...

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emseetech 436 days ago
I would love to find a Mathacademy style language-learning app. Fluent Forever is good, but an app that drills mercilessly without any flash would be perfect.
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