its funny how strident people are about this topic. of course theres something silly about streaks–because motivation itself is silly; if we were rational animals we’d all do what we ought every day without the need to manipulate ourselves. I think the OP’s question was about why anyone would repair a streak–since that means you didnt actually maintain it, so then merely the cosmetic streak on the app really is meaningless.
but now i get that one day off over a 1,2,3 week stretches should not count as breaking your continuity; it makes sense to consider yourself still having maintained momentum if you are only missing one day a week. and the fact that it ‘costs’ a lot of coins means you should only be able to do that at a rate actually commensurate with whatever a reasonable break from continuous work would be, i.e. not more than one day at a time and not more than once a week or so.
I am not talking about needs as in desire, but capability. I was comparing something the app does for me that I could do myself - in the sense of beeing able to substitute it - with something that I cannot do myself. I can keep track of the days I’ve spent learning without interruption. But I cannot magically cause the text to be displayed in a way that makes it easier to work with. So it is a matter of capability, not of desire.
Now the devs can obviously work on both matters, those we can substitute and those we cannot. It just seems they focus on the first, so those they aren’t really needed for.
I hope you’ve read more then the one sentence you have quoted, because you clearly missed my point.
@BabyRuth I for one am not strident, just curious. You are right though that the original question was more aimed towards the repairing of the streak. The question was answered, though:
Another reason brought up in another thread is if people are moving into a different timezone.
The conclusion is the same as in many other issues brought up in the forum imho: It would really serve the quality of LingQ if the users would have more control over certain aspects of the app! Like in this case, being able to define how streaks are count. Wouldn’t it be a good addition for those who need the streak if they could specify the rules themselves? In addition, some people may want to have such a thing as an (additional) motivator, but don’t have the possibility to use the app on a daily base. Maybe they only have the weekends for studying. You don’t have to learn daily in order to acquire a skill. You just need some sort of continuity. The streak is artificially locked away from them though, for no particular reason.
My streak ended when I was crash tackled by all the Manchester United security guards simultaneously. At least the crowd enjoyed it.
A lawyer visited me in jail. He asked, “What can I do for you?”. I told him, “I need my streak repaired”. He just laughed at me.
I used to be one of those keen streak repairers.
In the last couple of days, I let them go. Life got hectic; I was feeling rundown; I needed to get to bed early to have a good sleep.
I see the value in maintaining a streak. It gives you a morale boost. It helps build a habit. It gives a metric for progress.
However, as you mentioned, it’s not essential and definitely not worth losing your mind over. Life can just life sometimes.
The best thing is to get back into study when you can and not worry about losing a streak.
Language study is wonderful, but if you need to take a break, just take a break.
JBelly
2d
[LeifGoodwin wrote]
[LingQ is a good tool, but it has severe limitations, specifically no output.]
JBelly responded: “Why is this a limitation? LingQ is a reading app and only a reading app. If the student wants to learn more than just reading they can do it elsewhere. I’m constantly baffled by why people want the app to be more than it is.”
JBelly, earlier this week you wrote LingQ is a reading app and only a reading app.
I’m constantly baffled by why people want the app to be more than it is.
As it happens, LingQ aspires to being far more than just a reading app
LingQ targets listening - by allowing you to listen as you read. Hence reading and listening are equally important. You cannot share lessons that contain one without the other.
LingQ targets writing - output - members can use the writing exchange function for free and committee members make corrections for free. Or if they wish, they can submit their writing to a tutor - a native speaker of their target language for for a fee.
LingQ targets speaking - and has been doing so for years - it has new initiatives and has been exploring ways to promote speaking in particular for the last two years - Members can find their own speaking partner in the community and if there’s a true match in priorities, have very successful language exchanges - or members can choose to pay for a conversation tutor.
I think LingQ would be dismayed to hear it was simply a reading app.
It is at the very least a reading and listening app
And don’t forget it allows you to LingQ.
LingQ targets LingQing which part of the experience people pay for. Not just reading with a dictionary but storing your LingQed words such that you can learn them so they become part of your own vocabulary.
You say: I’m constantly baffled by why people want the app to be more than it is.
LingQ wants the app to be more than it is. It certainly wants more than meets the eye. It’s just that LingQ doesn’t have the technical skills to get there.
I don’t think anyone is losing their mind over repairing a streak. I think most people’s attitude is “If it can be repaired, why not do it?”
For many of us, the loss of a streak (however short or long) is a huge disincentive, and an ongoing streak is a big incentive, so why not repair it whenever possible.
A more interesting question is why it bothers some people that others want to repair their streaks. I mean, who cares? As long as it’s not hurting anyone, let people do what they want.
Yeah, but it’s nowhere near as good at teaching output as it is at teaching input. Also, listening is a kind of reading (that’s why deaf people read lips to “hear” what people are saying).
I don’t really care about LingQ’s view. In my view, the folks at LingQ have been wasting time on stuff their app does poorly for years, instead of making the stuff it does well even better. rather than having a clear vision for what the app should be, they seem to be focused on catering to the whims of people who are never going to be satisfied with the app, no matter how many tweaks LingQ makes to it. Often that leads to the app being made worse, as happened when they made the “chart progress” view less accessible.
In short, the folks at LingQ often spend time fixing stuff that ain’t broke, or actively breaking stuff that used to work fine. So I think they are far from a reliable authority on what the app should be.
I’ve used LingQ for 18 months and not heard about writing exchange. Where do I find out about this?
I’ve used LingQ for 18 months and not heard about speaking partners. Where do I find out about this?
Yes it is a reading and listening app. However, for one week it would not even run, for weeks it was impossible to import videos, currently video titles are nonsense, and I cannot use the video feature for my study. The iOS app does not let me copy the current line, the web app lets me listen, but it does not let me switch to the current line, so I can’t copy the text. Useability is appalling to the point where I am better to use YouTube directly and save £100 a year.
As regards my experience, I spent almost a year using it in line mode for German. For six months I did the exercises for each line, but progress was slow. So I dropped the exercises, progress was better but slow. Six months later I started studying the text, including grammar, which Steve Kauffman says not to do. My progress improved. Now I use childrens books outside LingQ, and my progress has improved markedly. So in summary, it took me over a year to figure out how to use LingQ for German from beginner level. And Steve Kaufmann’s method of LingQ’ing does not work for me. I am making more progress by ignoring his advice, and using a more traditional style, and that works far better. I am inclined to think that his advice is based on selling his product rather than providing a good learning strategy, but it might work for others. However, I have figured out over time that the Krashen theory that Steve Kaufmann actively promotes is total bollocks. Just look at how he actually learns, he pays a lot of money for tutors. LingQ lacks structure, it lacks guidance, it tries to be everything to everyone. Look at the fact that you told me about two features that I had not heard about before. And it has serious useability bugs.
In principle it is a very good tool, but the bugs are such that I am not sure if I want to pay for using it. And the fact that I have found Kaufmann’s advice to be in part nonsense - in my case - makes me rather sceptical. I am glad I have used LingQ, and I may continue with it.
I have paid to repair my streak 3-4 times over the last 1.5 years. Most or all of my day failures have been where I had thought I had done my practice for the day or that I could still do it (I once returned from a meal out hot into bed ready to do my learning not noticing the time had rolled over to 00:01).
I agree with this:
“When a streak gets broken, the break becomes a disincentive to keep practicing every day.”
My goal is not to streak or to use lingq or the other apps I use, it is to learn to speak a language.
Frankly I find LingQ so poorly programmed and buggy that I assumed that most people wanting to repair their streaks had fallen prey to a LingQ bug.
However, I’ve run my streak up to 570 days without a problem, so it seems likely that those who wish to repair streaks legitimately broke their streaks.
My question is why that seems so difficult that so many people have to start topics here to get it done.
When I first started LingQ streaks seemed silly and I ignored them. However, as I settled into regular practice with LingQ, my streak grew and this reinforced my practice in a beneficial way.
My streak is now important to me and it is a priority each day to fulfill it. I would miss that emotional hit when I see my streak counter increment.
However, life is uncertain and stuff happens. If I became seriously ill or a family member had an emergency, I might have to take some days off. I would like to repair my streak and I would appreciate the opportunity to do so.
Why not? I do not know that having the points or whatever we have to trade in is any different. I missed a day due to a hurricane and I got a pop up that I could fix my streak so I did, It is a nice to have that says you did it everyday.
OK. I think my original question has been answered:
It’s nice if there’s something that tells you that you’ve been studying every day although that’s not the case. It’s nice that you are told a lie and that you can deceive yourself in this way.
To each his own, but I personally find the “do you want to repair your streak?” pop-ups super annoying. I also find the “your activity has gone up/down” pop-ups equally annoying.
I would love to just ignore those, as others have suggested, but they always freeze my app for a few moments and I can’t just click out of them like one should be able to. I usually have to close out the app and start over. So every time those annoying pop-ups appear I end up fiddling around for a few minutes to get rid of them and get back to work.
Major buzz kill and a waste of time! So yea I wish they weren’t a thing LOL.
You are right though that the original question was more aimed towards the repairing of the streak. The question was answered, though:
