Salut! Comment allez-vous aujourd’hui? Bienvenue à Battabox, la maison des questions Nigérianes d’origine… what? You don’t understand what language I’m speaking?
That’s why you need Duolingo.
It has never been easier to pick up another language. All you need to do is spend 20 minutes a day with a few virtual flashcards and you are well on your way. And while the reality is a lot more nuanced — and arguably more disappointing — than that, no one can deny that it is fun.
Especially when you use your limited knowledge to terrorize those with none, as I did just now.
Although one cannot help but find it ironic that we’re learning languages now after spurning the free lessons in primary and secondary school.
What Is Duolingo?
Duolingo is one of the most popular language-learning apps out there right now. And trust me when I say that the app enjoys a strong reputation for a reason.
You can access the app’s main features for free. This makes it a popular choice for language learners looking to test the waters or have a free way to strengthen their skills.
There is also an option to pay for a subscription and upgrade to Super Duolingo to access extra features.
Duolingo’s main focus is gamified learning that aims to develop multiple skills, including reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
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What Are the Key Features of Duolingo?
Organized, Progressive Lessons
Duolingo is formatted into organized, progressive lessons that provide a clear route toward improved language skills. New levels open up as your skills progress, turning from gray to fully colorized, ensuring you’re prepared to approach the new material. Additionally, lessons are broken down into small chunks, making it easier to work a few minutes of learning into even the busiest schedule.
Best of all, Duolingo constantly draws on old material, so previously learned words and grammar are used while learning new material.
Language Division Into Skills
The platform offers a step-by-step learning program for each language; the starting point is determined by how much of the language the user already knows. This is achieved by dividing the language into skills and checkpoints.
While a skill is made up of lessons that provide the learner with a specific aspect of the language (e.g “Plural,” “Pronouns,” “Shopping,” “Travel,” “Present Tense”), a checkpoint is a set of skills put together according to their level of complexity. This is a great tool to track one’s learning progress.
Learning at Your Own Pace
At the beginning of the language course, the user sets their learning goals, which could be as low as five minutes a day. This allows them to have realistic daily objectives that they can meet and/or exceed.
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Option to Strengthen Skills
While you can continue pressing forward to learn new vocabulary and skills, Duolingo also allows you to review what you’ve already learned to further strengthen your skills. Known as the practice option, it shows you material that Duolingo suspects you may need a refresher on so you can be tested on it.
However, it is only available for Super users who use the paid version of the app.
You also have the option to level up previously-studied skills so that you can work on the skills you need with material that will actually challenge you.
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Consistency Check
The app’s mascot, Duo acts like that friend of yours who motivates you throughout your weight-loss journey. Knowing fully well that you can easily get distracted by some other business during the day and forget your language-learning goals, Duolingo keeps track of how many days you return to the app to complete a lesson, creating a “streak.” Odds are, you won’t want to break your streak so you’ll keep coming back every day.
You can even wager “Lingots” (in-game currency) that you’ll keep your streak for a number of days, to get a bigger reward if you hit the mark.
And just like any friend, it can easily cross that invisible line between motivation and harassment. And I speak from experience because my Duo is a fully-fledged thug that harasses me every day.
Language Tips
Duolingo understands the difficulty that a learner may have in grasping the “science” behind a foreign language. Hence, why it gives them tips at the beginning of a lesson and sometimes in the middle of it.
For instance, for lessons where pronunciation may be tricky, it advises the user to put on headphones. To practice fluency, it tells them to repeat sentences in the lessons. Also, sometimes when the user gives an incorrect answer, it does not just provide them with the correct one but also gives them the rationale behind it.
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Diversity of Languages and Stories
Duolingo doesn’t skimp on the language options. In fact, it offers over 30 language options, including Arabic, Chinese, English, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.
It also offers some less widely-studied options, like Indonesian, Navajo and Welsh.
Because it offers such a large selection of languages, most language learners are likely to find that the language they’re studying is available on Duolingo.
Also, Duolingo has mini-fictions that aim at improving the user’s listening and reading comprehension. They are available for English speakers learning Portuguese, French, Spanish, or German.
Encouragement and Reward System
We all like our efforts to be acknowledged, and if possible, rewarded. Once you get 5 or 10 correct answers in a row, Duolingo tells them “Wow, impressive!” or “I’m proud of you!” to remind them that their learning efforts are not in vain.
Your consistency also earns you points and “gems” that can be used in acquiring other privileges (for instance, learning idiomatic expressions or love words in your language of interest).
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Can Duolingo Make You Fluent In a Language?
The simple answer to that question is no. Yes, Duolingo provides the user with the basics to learn a language; it is a solid foundation upon which the stones of further learning will be added to build the house of language fluency.
However, as a learner, you will need other resources —dictionaries, videos, exercises— and a lot of determination in practicing speaking and writing for you to become fluent in your chosen language. It is important to have this in mind before engaging in a course on the Duolingo platform.
Nevertheless, Duolingo’s friendly and innovative features make the learning process enjoyable and are definitely worth the user’s time!
Also, all the features mentioned above are free. Duolingo does have a paid version called Super Duolingo (formerly Duolingo Plus), but that is optional, as part of its mission is to make language learning accessible to all.
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