I have found it helpful, even as the central foundation for learning languages, but you have to remember at the end of the day it is *you* who is learning the language and you absolutely must mentally engage yourself, it can definitely lure you into a path of scoring points without making real progress.

I will pause my lesson and jump over to Google or ChatGPT, and usually end a session with a pen and paper writing out any phrases I was less familiar with. You also need to make sure you’re being challenged, with some languages I get into a phase where it is really easy for a long time, when that happens, you need to skip ahead because just scoring points is meaningless. I still think the gamification is useful and unique and can help keep your overall learning efforts progressing. Also I always supplement with Pimsleur, an audio-only program that is great for listening while you’re at the gym or biking or otherwise unable to read or interact with a screen.