Personal Teacher · Nym and Duolingo Max
A Duolingo alternative for Spanish conversation
Three weeks before a trip, you want to order coffee and food in Spanish. You asked Iris, the Personal Teacher Nym, for a flashcard app to do exactly that. With Duolingo Max, you get a café Roleplay and a Video Call inside its course.
If your trip is in three weeks, pick Nym. You get 30 café and restaurant phrases to learn five minutes at a time, and the app remembers what you know. Pick Duolingo Max to practice speaking out loud.
Try the Spanish conversation practice, free
The same request to both
“I’m going to Spain in three weeks and my Spanish is basically hola and gracias. Could you make me a little practice app for ordering coffee and food, with flashcards I can flip and a way to mark which phrases I know? I’d like to spend five minutes on it when I have a spare moment.”
What you got from Iris
You got an app called Spain Trip Spanish. It has 30 phrases for the cafés and restaurants you’ll actually walk into, split between a Coffee deck and a Food deck.
Here’s what’s in it, from Iris’s own description:
| Part | What you get |
|---|---|
| Decks | Coffee and Food: 30 phrases for cafés and restaurants |
| Each card | Spanish on the front. Tap it for the English, a rough pronunciation guide and when to say it. |
| Marking | “I know this” or “Still learning” under every card |
| All phrases | The whole list with checkmarks, filters for Still learning and Known, and a progress bar |
You pick up where you left off, because your progress is saved. Iris’s plan for you: “Coffee today, Food tomorrow, then keep hitting the Still learning filter until it’s empty before you fly.”
| When | What you practice |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | The Coffee deck |
| Day 2 | The Food deck |
| Every day after | The Still learning filter, until it’s empty |
| Before you fly | Every card marked “I know this” |
What you’d get from Duolingo Max
You pay for Duolingo Max on top of the Duolingo course. Here’s what it adds, from its help page and launch post:
| Feature | What you get |
|---|---|
| Roleplay | Practice conversations, starting with “ordering a coffee with Lin”, with feedback on your answers |
| Video Call | Talk out loud with Lily, who replies in real time and remembers what you discussed last time |
| Where it runs | iPhone and Android; you can’t buy Max on the web |
| Price | Shown only inside the app |
Ordering coffee is right there as a scenario. What you don’t get is a deck sized to your trip, since the café scene unlocks wherever the course happens to put it, which could be weeks away.
What changes for you
The answer
Nym
Your own app, made for this trip, with the phrases you’ll use in a café or restaurant.
Duolingo Max
A course, with a café Roleplay and a video call inside it.
Your three weeks
Nym
You don’t get a calendar in the app. You get Iris’s plan instead: Coffee one day, Food the next, then the Still learning filter until it’s empty.
Duolingo Max
You follow a course with no end date. Streaks and daily goals keep you going, but nothing knows about your trip.
When you get stuck
Nym
Ask in the same chat: why it’s “un café con leche” and not “una”, or what “para llevar” means.
Duolingo Max
You get scores on your Roleplay answers, and on Video Call Lily replies in real time. For a grammar question, you go to a separate exercise.
Speaking out loud
Nym
You practice with the cards: read the phrase, flip it and check the pronunciation guide on the back. Nym has no speaking-practice mode and doesn’t score your pronunciation, though you can call your Nym and talk.
Duolingo Max
On Video Call you speak and Lily answers out loud, which is close to ordering at a counter.
The app
Nym
Spain Trip Spanish lives in your Nym as a private app, and what you mark stays saved between visits. Ask Iris for hotel phrases and you get them in the same app. You get two apps on Free, five on Plus.
Duolingo Max
You keep your progress in your Duolingo account, and after the trip you can carry on with the course.
Cost
Nym
Nym is in early access. Free costs nothing, with as many Nyms as you like and two personal apps. Plus is $20 a month, and Pro is $60.
Duolingo Max
You see Max’s price only inside the app. Neither its help page nor the web plans page lists one.
The two side by side
| Detail | Nym | Duolingo Max |
|---|---|---|
| Café practice | A private flashcard app for the trip: 30 phrases in Coffee and Food decks, saved between visits | Roleplay “ordering a coffee with Lin” inside the course; Video Call with Lily |
| Deadline | None in the app; the Still learning filter shows what’s left | None; the course sets the order |
| Speaking out loud | Cards with a pronunciation guide; you can call your Nym and talk | Spoken Video Call, in real time |
| Questions | Ask in the same chat, in English | Roleplay scores answers; questions are a separate exercise |
| Platforms | Web; desktop app (Mac, Windows, Linux); text or call from your phone | Max is iPhone and Android only; you can’t buy it on the web |
| Cost | Free $0; Plus $20 and Pro $60 a month | Max price is shown in the app only |
When to pick Duolingo Max instead
Pick Duolingo Max if speaking out loud matters more than the trip date. Lily answers you in real time, and Nym has no voice practice right now. Max also suits you if you’ll keep learning long after the trip.
By hand
| You say | What you will hear back | In English |
|---|---|---|
| ¿Me trae la carta, por favor? | Claro, aquí tiene. | Could you bring me the menu, please? Of course, here you go. |
| Para tomar aquí, por favor. | Vale. | To have here, please. OK. |
| Hola, buenos días. | Hola, ¿qué te pongo? | Good morning. They ask what you want. |
| Un café con leche pequeño, para llevar, por favor. | Vale. ¿Algo más? | A small coffee with milk to go, please. OK, anything else? |
| No, nada más. ¿Cuánto es? | Son dos con cincuenta. | No, that’s all. How much is it? Two fifty. |
| Aquí tiene. Gracias. | A ti. Que vaya bien. | Here you go, thanks. Thank you, have a good one. |
| Con leche de avena, si tiene. | Sí, claro. / No, lo siento. | With oat milk, if you have it. Yes, of course. / No, sorry. |
| ¿Qué me recomienda? | La tortilla está muy rica. | What do you recommend? The Spanish omelet is very good. |
| Para mí, la tortilla, por favor. | Muy bien. | For me, the omelet, please. Very good. |
| La cuenta, por favor. | Ahora mismo. | The check, please. Right away. |
Next step
Say the café lines above out loud tonight, then try the Spanish conversation practice here and see where you hesitate. If you want something that answers you out loud for free, Gliglish gives you 10 minutes a day, says its App Store listing.
Try the Spanish conversation practice · Explore Personal Teacher
Sources
- Duolingo: what is Duolingo Max (Roleplay, Video Call, platforms, family plan)
- Duolingo blog: introducing Duolingo Max (café Roleplay, feedback)
- Duolingo blog: Video Call with Lily
- Duolingo: plans page (Free, Super, Super Family)
- Gliglish on the App Store (free minutes, price, languages, scenarios)
Reviewed . Read Iris’s full answer on the Personal Teacher page and check Nym pricing.
