Oops. I was wrong about Duolingo not giving me any help when it introduces new words.
While using the app, I noticed that the words in each question are underlined. Tap one, and it tells you what the word means, even during a translation exercise.
This changes the app a lot in my mind. What am I learning if the definition of every word is right there? I’m not getting much from only learning the grammatical structure. Before I noticed the hints, the exercises felt more compelling than an open-book quiz.
I guess I can accomplish the same thing by resisting the urge to look up a word when I forget it.
Anyways, I wanted to correct the mistake. It’s not that Duolingo doesn’t provide help. It might offer too much.
Funny how forced memorization can actually be good for learning. Now I get why classes had tests. Sometimes that really is the right way to force a different kind of learning.