Self-Study Tool Review: Duolingo - Language learning app

#selfstudy

#languagelearning

#Duolingo

TL;DR:

Product: Duolingo - Language Learning App

Language Learning Approach: Grammar Translation, Behaviorism, Gamification

Pros: wide range of learning exercises, use gamification and roadmap learning, has learning track system that promotes learning consistently, has mistake tracks, can add friends to study in groups

Cons: annoying notifications, only teaches very short listening, speaking, reading, and sentence writing, translation does not work for all students; some audio features may not be useful for certain languages.

Price: free to use, can pay £4.99 per month for no ads and more practice exercises

Image credit: Duoling meme on X

Does this photo give you a PTSD? If not, congrats! You haven't discovered Duolingo.

Having an owl threatening you to study every day isn't very cute. But for millions of users around the world, Duolingo continues to be a fun way to study. So is Duolingo's notorious method effective for language learning? This review will spill all the tea (I am only using this joke because I'm in the UK).

What is Duolingo?

Duolingo is a learning app for many subjects, such as languages, math, and even hypothetical language! Duolingo’s approach to language learning is based on Gamification—meaning it turns the whole process into a game. Instead of boring grammar drills, learners complete bite-sized lessons, earn points, unlock levels, and keep up their daily streak. The app follows the principle of Behaviourism, which means it brings back words and phrases learners have just learned and uses drills and repetitions to help learners practice. Plus, it uses Grammar Translation approach with a mix of translation, listening, and speaking exercises to help reinforce what they learn. 

It’s basically language learning disguised as a mobile game.

Why language learning apps?

A puzzle for many EFL teachers is to get students to frequently practice English outside of the classroom when many EFL students do not get many opportunities to use English in their daily lives. However, as many learners nowadays own (and are even glued to) personal mobile phones and tablets, taking advantage of technology for language learning could be effective. Moreover, learners are only required to do at least one 5-minute lesson daily, which is not time-consuming. 

Some prominent features + benefits

It took me nearly 3 weeks of constant practice with English and Korean to give a comprehensive review, and here are some promising points:

• Learner needs analysis: The app starts by asking for information about learning needs, interests, and levels to provide a suitable roadmap
• Fun roadmap layout and motivation system: Exercises are organised into a roadmap (like Candy Crush) with visible goals (5 major lessons equal one milestone). This would be a good motivation booster for students. 

There is also a league board where you can compete with other users around the world. There is also a "treasure chest", "lives", and "quests" just like games to keep learners engaged and motivated.

• Scaffolding the lesson: It starts from the easiest level to the hardest. My Korean lessons start from sound recognition to simple phrases

• MANY REMINDERS for studying: It would send several notifications (and even emails) to remind you to do your lessons. When you open your phone, there is also a widget showing its annoying faces to remind you

• It's risk-free just like a video game: Different from traditional learning in which there is pressure of exams, Duolingo allows learners to fail and redo the questions that they get wrong, and celebrate their hard work. Maybe this is its unique selling point for learning: it's risk-free so learners can use it anytime.

Some constraints

• It's so annoying that it's funny: Dua Lipa charms you with her vocals, whereas Duolingo stresses you out with its reminders. There are days when I get so annoyed with its constant reminders that I want to delete the app :D but this is also its unique selling point as well: Duolingo is annoying caring about your learning
• Translation methods do not always work: For some languages whose grammar system is drastically different from English, using grammar translation to practice writing and speaking could be confusing, especially for word order
• Some features may negatively affect writing ability: For some languages that use logograms like Korean, Chinese, and Japanese, learners have to remember how the letters are written and what sounds they represent. However, whenever I do a Duolingo task and click on the words, it tells me the sound right away to choose the correct answer. As a result, I haven't been able to remember any Korean letters so far :D
• Not really in-depth learning: it just helps learners practice how to listen, recognise and say short phrases and sentences, but not for long text reading or listening comprehension

In general, Duolingo could be good as an independent language game, but should not be the only source of language learning. For teachers, please consider your students' needs, the features mentioned above, and the pricing before recommending Duolingo to students.

If you know more platforms for independent language learning, please let me know in the comments below.

UPDATE 13/4/2025: It's already 68 days since I started using Duolingo. I would say my listening and speaking skills are developing, but I still can't read letters yet :D