Duolingo is currently one of the leading apps for learning languages online. It is extremely well known with more than 25 million downloads and was chosen as Apple’s 2013 App of the Year. Surprisingly, Duolingo is a completely free app. What does Duolingo hold that can attracts that many users and receives such remarkable reviews?
Duolingo offers 10 language courses for English speakers, including French, Spanish , German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Irish, Swedish, Danish, Turkish and. In addition to that, there are also language-learning programs available for speakers of other languages. Now that’s is a pretty great list of popular languages to learn for a free app with no hidden fees or ads.
Duolingo offers 10 language courses for English speakers, including French, Spanish , German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Irish, Swedish, Danish, Turkish and. In addition to that, there are also language-learning programs available for speakers of other languages. Now that’s is a pretty great list of popular languages to learn for a free app with no hidden fees or ads.
After choosing your desired interface language, Duolingo sets you up with a Daily Goal which can always be changed later on. It has Basics courses for Beginners and if you are not one? No need to worry, there is a placement test where you can assess your current skill. I chose to learn English from my mother tongue, which is Vietnamese, for a complete beginner and tried out Lesson 1 of 4.
Each lesson in Duolingo consists of a range of activities, from translation, matching new vocabulary with pictures or one where you have to match the words to their foreign language equivalents. There are little speech bubbles that show the meaning once you tap on words that you don’t know of. There are also listening exercises where you have to type what you hear, or speaking ones where you repeat what you hear. As you progress, there appear more complex phrases and much later on, through many levels, additional verb tense are then introduced.
Each lesson in Duolingo consists of a range of activities, from translation, matching new vocabulary with pictures or one where you have to match the words to their foreign language equivalents. There are little speech bubbles that show the meaning once you tap on words that you don’t know of. There are also listening exercises where you have to type what you hear, or speaking ones where you repeat what you hear. As you progress, there appear more complex phrases and much later on, through many levels, additional verb tense are then introduced.
What sets Duolingo higher than other language apps I have tried (free ones that is) is this app helps me aware of my weakest words and strengthen my skills. Once I have finished a module, the bar underneath its icon shows a rating on how well I will remember and what I have learned so far. Naturally, it will decrease as days go by if you do not revise.
This is a highly motivating app with colourful design that is fairly similar to a quiz game app. It helps making sure that its users will come back and engage in more fun lessons. As I mentioned before, there is a Daily Goal for you to choose at first that depends on how serious you are and how fast you want to progress. Now this is where it is helpful. There is a virtual owl coach who reminds you everyday to whether or not you are on track of reaching your goal. Aside from that is the very beautiful interface. In the listening exercise, you even have the option to listen to the slow version (It’s a button of a cute little turtle, how cute is that!) or one with normal pace so that you can get used to the pace and practice your skill accordingly.
Another feature, which I was surprised when I saw it, is the use of simple sentences right from the first try. As an impatient learner, Duolingo provides me a chance to start creating simple sentences just after a few slides of vocabulary (a boy, the woman,…). Once you get the order or the missing word right, you will see the translation underneath and this helps you understand the whole sentence. In addition to that, I guess one very good point of Duolingo is the visual learning. There are pictures for vocabulary, which certainly does help you to know and guess the definition of new words you have yet heard of. From that, the next time you see the word, the picture will pop up in your mind and you will remember it better than the usual dictionary definition. If you are a visual learner, you will surely love this app.
While Duolingo has many great points that live up to its popularity, there do exist some drawbacks we should all bear in mind.
First of all, do not impress your native friends with all sentences you studied from Duolingo. This is something very amusing to me. After seeing a variety of unnatural sentences that you would not normally use in daily speech (“The knife is in the boot” or “I have our cow”…. Wait what??). Of course it can be forgivable (or ignored) as it does illustrate language concepts and these simple sentences actually help you guess the basic grammar point correctly. Yes, guess, because I have yet seen clear explanation why I should you this or that, le or la. Even though most of the time I get the answer right, for a beginner, I would prefer there is an explanation for grammar points, instead of guessing and blindly using it. Well, I think you will be fine if you don’t deliberately apply these lessons in real life without adjustment and research. ;)
Something that is very commonly seen in many language learning apps that unfortunately Duolingo also has is the lack of human interaction. You can see this in your speaking practices. Talking about “speaking”, what you really do here is “to repeat” the sentence shown in written form. Essentially, you are repeating after the app. Some may argue that well, the app does assist you in pronunciation practice, however, I have to say that even when you repeat after the app, it is noticeable that the voice used in Duolingo’s listening exercise is computer-generated. That is not how the language (or any other languages) really sounds. It has no rhythm, dry and it will not help you much if you rely on it too much in real life situations. Sure the bus driver you talk to will not speak that slowly and clearly just like the app does. So I suggest, along with Duolingo exercises, you should find video clips of native speakers so you can practice your listening and pronunciation skill.
This is a highly motivating app with colourful design that is fairly similar to a quiz game app. It helps making sure that its users will come back and engage in more fun lessons. As I mentioned before, there is a Daily Goal for you to choose at first that depends on how serious you are and how fast you want to progress. Now this is where it is helpful. There is a virtual owl coach who reminds you everyday to whether or not you are on track of reaching your goal. Aside from that is the very beautiful interface. In the listening exercise, you even have the option to listen to the slow version (It’s a button of a cute little turtle, how cute is that!) or one with normal pace so that you can get used to the pace and practice your skill accordingly.
Another feature, which I was surprised when I saw it, is the use of simple sentences right from the first try. As an impatient learner, Duolingo provides me a chance to start creating simple sentences just after a few slides of vocabulary (a boy, the woman,…). Once you get the order or the missing word right, you will see the translation underneath and this helps you understand the whole sentence. In addition to that, I guess one very good point of Duolingo is the visual learning. There are pictures for vocabulary, which certainly does help you to know and guess the definition of new words you have yet heard of. From that, the next time you see the word, the picture will pop up in your mind and you will remember it better than the usual dictionary definition. If you are a visual learner, you will surely love this app.
While Duolingo has many great points that live up to its popularity, there do exist some drawbacks we should all bear in mind.
First of all, do not impress your native friends with all sentences you studied from Duolingo. This is something very amusing to me. After seeing a variety of unnatural sentences that you would not normally use in daily speech (“The knife is in the boot” or “I have our cow”…. Wait what??). Of course it can be forgivable (or ignored) as it does illustrate language concepts and these simple sentences actually help you guess the basic grammar point correctly. Yes, guess, because I have yet seen clear explanation why I should you this or that, le or la. Even though most of the time I get the answer right, for a beginner, I would prefer there is an explanation for grammar points, instead of guessing and blindly using it. Well, I think you will be fine if you don’t deliberately apply these lessons in real life without adjustment and research. ;)
Something that is very commonly seen in many language learning apps that unfortunately Duolingo also has is the lack of human interaction. You can see this in your speaking practices. Talking about “speaking”, what you really do here is “to repeat” the sentence shown in written form. Essentially, you are repeating after the app. Some may argue that well, the app does assist you in pronunciation practice, however, I have to say that even when you repeat after the app, it is noticeable that the voice used in Duolingo’s listening exercise is computer-generated. That is not how the language (or any other languages) really sounds. It has no rhythm, dry and it will not help you much if you rely on it too much in real life situations. Sure the bus driver you talk to will not speak that slowly and clearly just like the app does. So I suggest, along with Duolingo exercises, you should find video clips of native speakers so you can practice your listening and pronunciation skill.
To wrap everything up, I have to say that like most other apps, Duolingo does have its good and bad sides. I like how easy it is to use and how addictive the app can be (seriously I had tons of fun using it). Despite of the downsides I have talked about, I can probably say Duolingo does great for a free app. For me this is not “You get what you pay for”, because certainly, $0 can hardly ever (if not never) gets you such a fun and helpful language-learning tool. Duolingo is not an app that you can rely on completely, however there is a Duolingo forum online which helps you communicate with other leaners. Together, you can ask and solve questions, discuss different topics and share experiences. I believe Duolingo will be a great companion on your journey of mastering your desired language, of course, with helps from real life practice.