Learning Danish on Duolingo was a very different experience from learning French so far… There was less in the way of cutesy stories and characters. It was much more straightforwardly like studying with flash cards and simple exercises.
And since there were so few Danish lessons, it felt like I needed to do each and every one very carefully to get the most out of it. In comparison, the French lessons just go on and on, so I can race through them without worrying that I’ll run out of support if I’m not careful.
Of course, it also makes it feel very different that my whole family is trying to learn French, whereas I was largely trying to learn Danish on my own. And oh my goodness, the sounds are so much easier for me to differentiate.
I didn’t get anywhere with Danish without watching a bunch of TV shows to try to acclimate my ear to the sounds and rhythm of the language.
I’m not sure exactly how much the semester of middle school French from nearly 30 years ago is helping, but it’s clearly helping some.