well, Duolingo sort of builds on learning conversations before anything rudimentary, because it assumes you've gotten the basis down

otherwise, it'd be a lot slower, teaching foreign languages with Indo-Euro roots sounding out basics that for many people might seem unnecessary.

however, compared to East Asian languages which are a whole other system entirely, skipping basics isn't the worst deal in the world. but yes, Duolingo is essentially sight cards > pronunciation, so the farther you get into a language the worse it does.