Hello! I've recently picked up learning Spanish because I work with a ton of dudes from Mexico. How much can I reasonably expect to learn from this app? I looked at their "curriculum" and it seems pretty short compared to what I think I'll need. What are some resources beyond "talk to your coworkers", that will put me on the right track?
I would not even use Duolingo for basics. I really want to give this advice. Please find the .mp3 files for Latin American Spanish from Pimsleur. The entire course will take 30 minutes per day for about 5 months. If you need an app to supplement, I'd listen to whoever pointed out Busuu.
If you need listening practice, use Dreaming Spanish videos on Youtube, starting from Superbeginner and Beginner.
If you need to find new words, find and/or translate entire sentences or phrases instead of singular words.
laastly, in some Spanish-speaking areas they use the verb "coger". I don't really use it, never really heard it, and I just wouldn't advise using it at all.
you can call a jacket a chamarra, don't listen to Spanish classes that tell you "chaqueta"
This method may be too slow for you. If so, use Pimsleur's lessons and find a good textbook as a supplement. Go online to find Anki and use that website to grind the new vocabulary you learn (again, using the words within the context of real sentences and real phrases - not Google Translate, but those found from native speakers).
I don't mean to knock the method of Duolingo, but the method I am talking about will help if you are ever interested in achieving fluency or conversational level in any future languages, including Spanish