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How to use the new “snake”?

Tips and tricks ...


Kate50
United States of America

How to use the new “snake”?

Post by Kate50 »

My DuoLingo suddenly changed to the new system, without me doing anything or being asked. If there’s a way to get back to the old system, I’d love to know it. If not, would someone please walk me through how to use the new one? I am a couple of generations from being “computer native”, I’m a few weeks from my 365 day goal, and I can’t figure out how to find my level, or even choose one.
They could at least have told us how to use it. Or did I miss that somewhere?
Thanks so much. And good luck, y’all.

User avatar
John Little
Brazil

Re: How to use the new “snake”?

Post by John Little »

I have completed my course to purple level and had to do the final test to confirm I was really at the end of the path.

But reading the blurb and reports from others, you should not lose any progress, points, crowns, ingots or gems.

I presume you will be presented with a level test and then inserted onto the path at the appropriate point. That seems to be the plan, anyway.

My wife is still partway through the same course so I'll see what happens to her. :)

John661162

User avatar
Dana_Dany Danuta
Poland

Re: How to use the new “snake”?

Post by Dana_Dany Danuta »

Hi, [mention]Kate50[/mention], my advice is to leave that snake 🐍 and go back to the old site with trees! 🌳🌳🌳

Here you have a link that will make you happy! :)

https://www-internal.duolingo.com/learn

... have a nice study .. 🙂

Native language: 🇵🇱 Duolingo levels

Be smart and write poems. :D

User avatar
dakanga

Re: How to use the new “snake”?

Post by dakanga »

I can only speak on the study I have done on the new French for English speakers course.

They have released for access information to teachers as to what CEFR level each unit is at. And I understand this is the same across all the courses.

You can see the layout of the 199 skill French for English speakers course, and including the information provided to educators at this discussion. viewtopic.php?p=29995-duolingo-path-ove ... its#p29995.

However I suspect that you are not doing the French for English speakers course. And also have not registered with Duolingo as an educator at https://schools.duolingo.com/.
You do not have to be verified ticket holding educator to access/register with this resource. And if this is the information you are after, for the course you are interested in, then I suggest this would be a way to gain access to this information. And I recommend any motivated learner to do this. To take control of your own learning, and direct it also in understanding and direction that is relevant for your unique learning path.

I do see advantage in the new system/Duolingo path. Though I am still uncomfortable with it. Perhaps it will just take me a bit more time. I do see it has merit. Yet continue to see improvements, hopefully to give some much better choice to learners as to the direction of their learning, and a better and easier to access ability to understand in real terms, what you have hopefully learned, and where on scales, such as the CEFR levels, where you are at. Though that is my preference. I do not rely on a single source for Education myself. Yet I still find Duolingo has a place in the objectives I have need of. I still like this resource.

Deleted User 1414

Re: How to use the new “snake”?

Post by Deleted User 1414 »

I was worried, but I will continue duo. I'm still not used to the snake screen. After all, wouldn't duo be able to choose both trees and snakes? I think that will solve this problem.

User avatar
fiumanca

Re: How to use the new “snake”?

Post by fiumanca »

...go back to the old site
https://www-internal.duolingo.com/learn

It's not working any more :cry:
Yes, I do see the old tree, but I cannot open the lesson to revise it.

Is there any other trick or black magic?
I really don't like the new snake, and that's an understatement.

User avatar
PtolemysXX
Uganda

Re: How to use the new “snake”?

Post by PtolemysXX »

Have a look at the following thread for other workarounds:

viewtopic.php?p=38285-big-changes-comin ... you#p38285

Olav
Norway

Re: How to use the new “snake”?

Post by Olav »

fiumanca wrote: Fri Dec 09, 2022 9:40 am

...go back to the old site
https://www-internal.duolingo.com/learn

It's not working any more :cry:
Yes, I do see the old tree, but I cannot open the lesson to revise it.

Is there any other trick or black magic?
I really don't like the new snake, and that's an understatement.

It works again now :!: :mrgreen:

User avatar
Corinnebelle

Re: How to use the new “snake”?

Post by Corinnebelle »

[mention]Kate50[/mention] You've just got to follow the path. It just scrolls down to where you start. It will give you a quick lesson if you click on previous stones, otherwise you just advance through the unit. It will give you a review every so often and you will get new lessons and unit tests.

🇺🇸 L1 🇮🇱 Advanced beginner Duolingo levels

Languages without borders, languages bridging gaps, the Red Cross are my heroes.

User avatar
PtolemysXX
Uganda

Re: How to use the new “snake”?

Post by PtolemysXX »

Olav wrote: Sat Dec 10, 2022 9:22 am

It works again now :!: :mrgreen:

The links to sentence discussions work now too!

acolbro
Sweden

Re: How to use the new “snake”?

Post by acolbro »

Post by Dana_Dany Danuta » Mon Nov 07, 2022 9:24 am

Hi, @Kate50, my advice is to leave that snake 🐍 and go back to the old site with trees! 🌳🌳🌳

Hi Dana, Thanks for the link to the site with trees, that’s amazing. You are a star.

User avatar
LICA98
Finland

Re: How to use the new “snake”?

Post by LICA98 »

using the snake is as simple as it gets... since there's just 1 path you have no choice 🙄

for me this is a good thing as you no longer have to think what lesson you should do

LindaBerna
United States of America

Re: How to use the new “snake”? BIG issues with the new configuration and lessons

Post by LindaBerna »

I find being restricted to be a big problem.
Sometimes the recommendations won't let me exit when I've done as much as I want on that subject. And the same ones keep appearing every time I log on.
The BIGGEST issue I have is with the time limit on getting three stars: If I use my phone, my texting skills are so limited I can't beat the 1:30 clock (also WAY too little time). This option is NOT available on my iMac (macOS Big Sur) where I can type fast and use the Chinese keyboard. That means the speed tests are testing my texting skills NOT my knowledge of Chinese.
Ultimately, the fact that I have completed level 4 and nothing new has become available, means I repeat and repeat … and repeat lessons that I sometimes feel are a waste of my time, and which are often the same lessons I just reviewed. (
See my first sentence in this message.)

LindaBerna
United States of America

Re: How to use the new “snake”?

Post by LindaBerna »

I just cancelled my paid subscription to Duolingo Chinese effective December 28, 2022.
• Nothing new has been added in a good while.
• It appears no one with any power or authority to make improvements/corrections is reading these posts. My question about where to post concerns and reviews was never answered, so I am probably just spitting into the wind here...
• The new snake version hangs up on the speaking lessons on my iPhone and so the 1:30 minutes is used up waiting for Duolingo to respond.
• The snake takes WAY too long to scroll through to get to another section. (See the next bullet.)
• In the Personalized Practice I am stuck at 1-17 and can get no further along, though perhaps the crazy grouping mentioned below really means I am reviewing more than I think. But there is NO WAY for me to know.
• The way the sections are grouped and the descriptions are weird and make no sense to anyone except the linguists who created them. (Why is the weather grouped together with expressing feelings?? Or why is discussing food grouped with talking about people? REALLY?!)
• The check marks in each section are meaningless: they tell you NOTHING about what you are learning/repeating.
• Why are some discs labeled "HARD" when they appear to be the same lessons just rearranged as other discs?
• What do the dumbbells in some of the section discs mean anyway???
• In the speaking lessons, I get cut off before finishing speaking and then am congratulated on my pronunciation...when I KNOW I said it wrong.
• Some practice sentences are SO often repeated that I figure the algorithms are just OFF. If I have to translate "What happened to them afterwards?" ONE MORE TIME, I will scream.

To be fair, I have enjoyed learning with Duolingo (since 2013: French first and now Chinese!!!) but I find the changes they are making are problematic and make no sense to the average learner.
I am going to continue to use the free version of Duolingo while I move on to another paid platform and hope I can continue to learn. I have also registered for a fourth semester of Chinese at the University of Georgia and want to continue to learn...

Thanks to anyone who bothered to read my post.

User avatar
Corinnebelle

Re: How to use the new “snake”?

Post by Corinnebelle »

[mention]LindaBerna[/mention] There is a way to talk to the CEO of Duolingo via Reddit

Duome can't change Duolingo. You can however access your old tree if you're interested via several methods. You've done an amazing amount of XP in Chinese!

🇺🇸 L1 🇮🇱 Advanced beginner Duolingo levels

Languages without borders, languages bridging gaps, the Red Cross are my heroes.

LindaBerna
United States of America

Re: How to use the new “snake”?

Post by LindaBerna »

I understand that Duome can't change Duolingo, but how do you share problems/concerns/etc. so that they reach someone with the authority or power to correct/change things...?
Regarding using the old tree, I do not seem to be able to do that.

Another issue I have just come across tonight is that Duo on my Mac Book (OS Big Sur) does not synch with my iPhone anymore. That means my lingots on one platform are considerably less than on the other.
I tried refreshing (that used to update the computer) and will try restarting in case that makes a difference...

Corinnebelle, thank you for responding.

Linda

User avatar
Corinnebelle

Re: How to use the new “snake”?

Post by Corinnebelle »

[mention]LindaBerna[/mention] Does internal.duolingo.com not work for you either? If you click on the Duome circles they don't take you to lessons? For you I think you will need to do this.

I think the app has gems and the web has lingots which do not sync. Unless you were using the web on the Iphone?

The only way I know to express concerns to those in authority is via this link to Reddit. Of course we discuss strategies and concerns here. And Duolingo will probably look at their data and say that their metrics for their current layout is better than before and that is more important to them than your concerns. It is good to be able to put ones thoughts down, it gives one the ability to focus on what is important and also figure out new ways to do things. :)

🇺🇸 L1 🇮🇱 Advanced beginner Duolingo levels

Languages without borders, languages bridging gaps, the Red Cross are my heroes.

jademoonkitty
United States of America

Re: How to use the new “snake”?

Post by jademoonkitty »

Dana_Dany Danuta wrote: Mon Nov 07, 2022 9:24 am

Hi, @Kate50, my advice is to leave that snake 🐍 and go back to the old site with trees! 🌳🌳🌳

Here you have a link that will make you happy! :)

https://www-internal.duolingo.com/learn

... have a nice study .. 🙂

bless you for this link, friend. you're a lifesaver lol

native: 🇺🇸 learning: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 🇩🇪 🇷🇺

Deleted User 4833

Re: How to use the new “snake”?

Post by Deleted User 4833 »

Dana_Dany Danuta wrote: Mon Nov 07, 2022 9:24 am

Hi, @Kate50, my advice is to leave that snake 🐍 and go back to the old site with trees! 🌳🌳🌳

Here you have a link that will make you happy! :)

https://www-internal.duolingo.com/learn

... have a nice study .. 🙂

I love this. Ever since I found it (on a different thread, but thanks are due to you for posting it as well), I've been having a blast doing the old trees on my computer.

Still using the app on my phone for some things, but the hearts and other nonsense were driving me a bit batty. :lol:

David680268
Germany

Re: How to use the new “snake”?

Post by David680268 »

Does the 'snake' mean that the concept of completing several levels successively is gone? I used to do all my courses on level 1, then on level 2 etc. This was highly effective because it meant that I had to review stuff over time. Now it seems that a lesson appears golden as soon as it has been completed once? This reduces the total lessons in a course greatly, or am I wrong here?

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FurbyZeKat
Switzerland

Re: How to use the new “snake”?

Post by FurbyZeKat »

David680268 wrote: Mon Jan 30, 2023 10:00 pm

Does the 'snake' mean that the concept of completing several levels successively is gone?

Yes.
The Snake enforces a waterfall progression, up to level 3 in the first phase, then I guess up to level 5. Eventually it will direct you to the legendary level, even though you can do them earlier.

N French C1 English B2 German B1 Esperanto L Turkish

User avatar
SweNedGuy
Belgium

Re: How to use the new “snake”?

Post by SweNedGuy »

'Spaced repetition' or 'completing several levels successively' has been the corner stone of Duolingo.
Now it is buried as are the trees.
I ran a short experiment once on Portuguese from French using the snake. When making a placement test, DL now assigns three crowns (as observed in DuoMe) for every skill tested out of. Have a look at the specific post on Placement tests.
Since skills are diffused into 'units', DL places you somewhere along the path.
Due to the single pass system, you can only make short repeat exercises on the units tested out of. There is no going back to increment your knowledge with 2-5 crowns before turning it to legendary. Legendary is also quite a leap ahead (jumping from 'level 3' to 'level 6' without any step in between).

Speaking :netherlands: :fr: :uk: :es: Learning :de:(B2-) :it:(B1) Image :sweden: :portugal: Image (A)

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PtolemysXX
Uganda

Re: How to use the new “snake”?

Post by PtolemysXX »

SweNedGuy wrote: Tue Jan 31, 2023 10:55 am

Legendary is also quite a leap ahead (jumping from 'level 3' to 'level 6' without any step in between).

Add to it that the new legendary is more difficult than the old one as it comprises sentences from several old skills, the gap between level 3 and new level 6 gets even wider.

User avatar
FurbyZeKat
Switzerland

Re: How to use the new “snake”?

Post by FurbyZeKat »

SweNedGuy wrote: Tue Jan 31, 2023 10:55 am

Due to the single pass system, you can only make short repeat exercises on the units tested out of. There is no going back to increment your knowledge with 2-5 crowns before turning it to legendary.

Are you sure of this?

I'm learning Turkish and :

  • I was progressing "à la waterfall to level 5" on the tree, my first 14 skills are on level 5, then I switched to path and I'm now at skill 33.
  • According to duome I'm on skill 33/67, lesson 106/200, lexeme 750/1466, that is 50%
  • In the snake I'm at unit 17 of 43, that is 39%
  • Duome tells me that I have 128/402 crowns, that is 32%
  • I have already done legendary units 1-9

If I'm at unit 17 (50%), what will happen at unit 34?

Unit 34 is the last unit with guidebook! It's theme is "Communicate with Turks", the last tree lesson is "Turkey"...

Unit 35 and following bring no new themes, my guess is that they will bring all skills from level 3 to level 5. My second guess is that legendary levels should be prefereably done at the end of the course.

The logic I see for the progression is:

  • first pass to raise all skills to level 3
  • second pass to raise all skills to level 5
  • third pass to test all skills to get legendary level

This is nothing new, the famous French Assimil method has this exact two passes learning since it began because you're supposed to passively assimilate the language that way (thus its name).

I cannot test that theory against another course because they are either at earlier stage or complete.

N French C1 English B2 German B1 Esperanto L Turkish

User avatar
SweNedGuy
Belgium

Re: How to use the new “snake”?

Post by SweNedGuy »

The problem with observations currently is that crown levels have been converted from the tree. So you may still have skills at levels 1, 2, 4 or 5 which were their value before converting to the snake/path. There can be some loss of crowns, especially for those users who improve every skill to legendary before proceeding to the next.

When doing my FR =>PT placement test all skills (51) tested out of were red (3) except for the last 2 . The path colored yellow for the first 37 'units'. The only possible 'second pass' is making the units legendary.

The main problem is that skills are blended into different units. So there is some inherent repetition along the path, but there is no second pass of the path (other than turning units legendary). After finishing a course (without legendary second pass) all skills completed while on the path turn red.

On my Esperanto course, which was started over 6 months ago in the tree, all skills were at least at level 2 and the latter ones (finished using the path) are at level 3. There are about 10 skills mid-stream which are left in green. DL shut off the tree before I could improve those to red. Near the start of the tree, some skills are still orange and gold while only few are legendary.

Since skills are blended into units, making a unit legendary doesn't immediately make the skills legendary. That only changes after making all units legendary where that skill has been tested. This may take a while but as soon as it gets going they should cascade to legendary.

Last edited by SweNedGuy on Wed Feb 01, 2023 9:41 am, edited 1 time in total.

Speaking :netherlands: :fr: :uk: :es: Learning :de:(B2-) :it:(B1) Image :sweden: :portugal: Image (A)

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PtolemysXX
Uganda

Re: How to use the new “snake”?

Post by PtolemysXX »

FurbyZeKat wrote: Tue Jan 31, 2023 5:12 pm

(...)

Unit 35 and following bring no new themes, my guess is that they will bring all skills from level 3 to level 5.

(...)

Interesting... Maybe you are right. Please share your experience once you get to those units.

David680268
Germany

Re: How to use the new “snake”?

Post by David680268 »

FurbyZeKat wrote: Mon Jan 30, 2023 11:59 pm
David680268 wrote: Mon Jan 30, 2023 10:00 pm

Does the 'snake' mean that the concept of completing several levels successively is gone?

Yes.
The Snake enforces a waterfall progression, up to level 3 in the first phase, then I guess up to level 5. Eventually it will direct you to the legendary level, even though you can do them earlier.

Thank you for your explanation. I find the new system disappointing. I was doing the Polish tree on the second level when the snake system was introduced. Now I feel like I am basically stuck on the second level and there is not much after that. I could, of course, redo the entire tree.

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FurbyZeKat
Switzerland

Re: How to use the new “snake”?

Post by FurbyZeKat »

David680268 wrote: Wed Feb 01, 2023 9:01 am

I was doing the Polish tree on the second level when the snake system was introduced. Now I feel like I am basically stuck on the second level and there is not much after that. I could, of course, redo the entire tree.

Yes, I can see on duome that you did all level 1 and part of level 2. That was not the recommended progression and I wonder what was your starting skill on the path. Between 1 and 3 ? If yes, I suggest you just continue on the path, you'll raise your skill to level 3 and this should unlock steps on the path.

N French C1 English B2 German B1 Esperanto L Turkish

User avatar
SweNedGuy
Belgium

Re: How to use the new “snake”?

Post by SweNedGuy »

As [mention]PtolemysXX[/mention] has written above: making a unit legendary is more difficult than completing legendary lessons for an individual skill. Since multple skills are being tested in a unit, there is more variation in possible questions and sentences.

Of course the same applies to completing a unit in the first pass, which turns out to be more difficult than upgrading the corresponding skills to red. If you previously had a course on level 3 using the tree, the path is incomplete after conversion. So there still is some work left. That doesn't earn any crowns, but it brings your trophy back. This is how I found my German course from Dutch.

Speaking :netherlands: :fr: :uk: :es: Learning :de:(B2-) :it:(B1) Image :sweden: :portugal: Image (A)

David680268
Germany

Re: How to use the new “snake”?

Post by David680268 »

FurbyZeKat wrote: Wed Feb 01, 2023 10:15 am
David680268 wrote: Wed Feb 01, 2023 9:01 am

I was doing the Polish tree on the second level when the snake system was introduced. Now I feel like I am basically stuck on the second level and there is not much after that. I could, of course, redo the entire tree.

Yes, I can see on duome that you did all level 1 and part of level 2. That was not the recommended progression and I wonder what was your starting skill on the path. Between 1 and 3 ? If yes, I suggest you just continue on the path, you'll raise your skill to level 3 and this should unlock steps on the path.

I did the entire course on level 1, starting from the first lesson (no testing out). Then I began to do the second level, this time with the keyboard (instead of the word bank). After that, I would have done all of level 3, and so on. This is probably the most effective method as one gets to repeat each topic five times (once for every level). It is a pity that they have destroyed the tree structure.
The Duome page also does not work yet with the new system, which is of course understandable. I have done all of the Chinese tree now, but on Duome I am still only on level 1.

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