Learning italian with duolingo?

Hi, I started learning italian with the duolingo app for iPhone. It's going pretty well but I have a couple questions.

Are there better ways to learn online?
Is there anything else I should be doing to improve my skills?
How good is the italian they teach?

Duolingo usually will allow you to develop an advanced beginner level in a language.

Once you have completed around half of Duolingo, I would listen to Italian movies or opera with English subtitles. If possible, find a transcript of the original Italian (most operas would have this, and maybe some movies if you look hard). Also, listen to and translate Italian music. Italian covers of songs you are familiar with, such as Disney music, is helpful.

If you can, I would find someone who you can talk to on skype or something similar in Italian. Or find a friend in real life to speak with.

One thing I heard about that is quite good for developing vocabulary is to go around your house and randomly select objects. If you don't know the word for the object in Italian, then look it up and memorize it. Keep repeating this over and over.

Once you finish your Duolingo course, I would go looking for a course or book that can teach you more advanced grammar.

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