Duolingo
Free
Pros
- learn multiple languages at once
- Everything is free
- Easily Accessible
- Interactive
- Remind you to learn daily
Cons
- More useful for Kids and not Adults
- It will teach you some common vocabulary and phrases
- Feels more like a game
- Only for beginners, not for Advanced learners
- It features more English speakers
Duolingo App Review : We live in a world which is so diverse that it has 6000+ languages. Only in India there are about 121 languages. We hardly know more than three or four languages. Why? What is the need to know other languages? Knowing different languages can give a competitive edge in carrier choices.
It helps communicate with people from different places and sharing each others’ unique ideas. Some jobs depend upon your language too, in India too, which is not fair. Language removes the barrier of distrust and fear between the people from different places. Along with that, learning a different language enhances memory and listening skills.
So, now you know why languages are important, and if you want to learn a different language then I have an app for you which is the best in its category and, of-course free of cost. Today we are here with Duolingo App Review. This app can teach you English language along with 30 other languages free of cost, but it is a phrase from the app makers. Does it really effective? Can it really teach you a new language? We would know here in this review. Along with it, I will let you know its different features and why I recommend this app to you, sharing my own personal experience.
What is Duolingo?
Luis von Ahn is founder of Duolingo, he is the person who sold reCAPTCHA to Google in 2009 at an undisclosed price. After it he founded Duolingo and launched it on 30 November 2011. Duolingo is an American language learning platform that includes website and mobile app. It also features a digital language proficiency assessment exam. The company provides its services on freemium model; it means you can access apps and websites without paying any fee. Although premium services are not completely free.
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Duolingo is one of the most popular language-learning platform. It is the most downloaded education app globally, with over 300 million users. We can access the platform from any platform, such as smartphone and PC, just need internet connection. With this platform, the company is on a mission to make education free, fun, and accessible to everyone. As of June 2021, Duolingo is offering 106 different language courses in 40 languages.
The platform feels more like a game and not a hardcore learning app, although the method has been scientifically proven to be effective. Besides its core platform, the company also created the Duolingo English Test, which is an economical and convenient language certification option, and over 2,000 universities have accepted it.
Duolingo app Features
Before moving to Duolingo review directly, let’s take a look at the key features of Duolingo.
- Offering 106 different language courses in 40 languages.
- Easy and attractive UI and UX.
- Gamification: Very interactive approach.
- Makes learning new languages fun.
- Courses and lessens are well organised.
- Duolingo practice test / Duolingo test : For check progress.
- Goal and notifications for it: You can have “streaks”. So you have completed at least one lesson every day.
- Duolingo app : Available for iOS and Android devices.
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Duolingo App Review : How does it work?
You can learn languages like English, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, etc. It has different chapters, or whatever you gonna call it, each chapter contains 5 levels. Each level has around 10 questions ( Duolingo test ). You can set how much time you want to spend every day in order to learn the language you chose.
You can choose from what language do you want to learn the other language. It will remind you every day to take your lesson and maintain your streak. It also gives you a reward for completing missions which will be in the form of in game currency. Earlier the currency was called gems, but it has now changed to ‘LINGOTS’.
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The lessons start from the very basics, like learning the names of objects, places and things etc, then later it teaches how to use those words into sentences. It is very easy to use and looks very interesting and the UI is colorful, which attracts us even more. Some people find this addictive too, as it gives you reward and points as well as colorful badges whenever you unlock an achievement.
The User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) are quite likable and straightforward. The modern and creative design gives an effortless and knockout partnership.
Similar to other language apps, you can register for a free account. They have 3 easy steps to sign up: First, choose the language and reason to consider it. Then, you decide your daily goal between casual (5 minutes), regular (10 minutes), serious (15 minutes) and intense (20 minutes). Finally, register using Facebookor an email account.
After opening the app, the first thing you are gonna see is your progress in the lessons and your streak at the top along with the in app currency you have collected so far.
At the bottom, next to the home button, is the section where you can find stories or alphabets related to the language you are learning. Next to that is your profile showing your stats, achievements, and all the badges you have earned.
Next to that is the leaderboard where you can compete for the medals in each league, starting from bronze up to diamond league. This league mechanism, and giving medals to the top learners, makes it even more addictive and interesting. The lessons are really short and won’t take more than 5 minutes.
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The app also notifies you to have a lesson at the same time you took a lesson the day before. It will remind you of maintaining your streak. So, the next to the leaderboard thing is the shop. In the shop you can buy power-ups and outfits with in game currency you earned by learning every day.
The power-ups include streak freeze and the other is more like a challenge. They call it ‘double or nothing’. Here you will bet that you will complete a seven-day streak. If you do so, your wager will be doubled. If not, you will get nothing and will lose your currency.
After sharing my observation in this Duolingo app review, I would like to share my personal experience with the app. I was learning Spanish, and I learnt quite a lot during a small period. The developers say that taking 34 hours of lesson on Duolingo is equal to a semester of university level education. So, is it worth it? Of course, learning languages in Duolingo is totally worth it. It really teaches from the basics and takes it higher level as you progress. Talking of my own experience, instead of spending 5-10 minutes, I sometimes spent an hour on this app. And that was not a waste of time, as I learnt a lot in a very fun way. If you are also interested in other languages or you need to learn English or you need to enhance your English-speaking skills, you can totally rely on Duolingo.
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Things that need improvement
The first problem i observed is that the app is primarily focused on English speakers who want to learn another language as compared to speakers of other languages who want to study something other than English. So, the platform don’t have an option if you want to learn Mandarin as a Hindi or Gujarati speaker or want to learn French as a Japanese native?
The other problem that needs improvement is that the app is only good for learning a new language from level zero (beginner). So with this, you will learn some basic phrases and sentences. But it is not for advanced level learning or mastering a language completely.
Continuing with the second problem, you can’t learn a language just by practicing a few words and phrases through a few games. Duolingo explains things like informal and formal greetings and commonly used sentences. It also includes frequently used nouns, verbs, tenses, adjectives, adverbs, and prepositions in further exercises. However, there are no appropriate grammatical explanations and rules for sentence structure. Everyone knows varieties can be productive but are inadequate on Duolingo.
The next problem with its UI, it is targeting kids and not adults by adding cartoon characters and animations. Neither does it explain basic grammar, nor will it help strengthen your listening & speaking skills. There’s also no natural-sounding conversation, and it’s more like the sound of a robot. So, you can’t understand how people actually speak it.
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Some Basic FAQs
Is duolingo completely free?
Learning a language on Duolingo costs nothing, but you can remove the ads and progress faster with Plus. Plus, or Premium services are not completely free. However, you can try it free for 14 days!
Are duolingo courses good?
All the courses are well organized and easy to understand, easy to learn. If you are a beginner, then you will find these courses good, but if you already have basic knowledge of a language, then it is not worthy.
Is Duolingo app Safe?
I used it for a few months and to me nothing in it looks harmful or unsafe. To answer this question, I also search duolingo review quora and duolingo review reddit but nothing found suspicious till now. So duolingo app is safe.
Is Babbel better than Duolingo?
Babel is best for mastering a language completely, while Duolingo is better for sporadic learners who want to have just the same basic knowledge of a language.
Is Duolingo helpful in learning a new language?
Duolingo is good for start learning a new language, It makes learning fun and easy. So with it, you will learn some basic phrases and sentences. But it is not for advance level learning.
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Duolingo App Review Conclusion
The user base of this app was 300 million before the 2020 pandemic broke out. But due to COVID-19, the numbers have raised Duolingo’s fortunes. With the rise of online education, many people started using this addictive app. The app lets you learn languages in a fun way. It is almost like playing games. Many online and offline sources recommend the App, even me too, but it doesn’t mean that Duolingo is the most perfect app to learn a new language. It is good for beginners but it is not meant for advanced learners.
You can start with it easily without paying anything but later you will have to other platform or way of learning. There is some good stuff in it and then come some limitations and bad stuff. So, if you are beginners and want to learn a new language from ground level, you can use it but don’t expect much. That’s it from my side in this Duolingo App Review, hope you like it, and if you did, please do share this post with your friends and family. Thank You for your time, stay safe and have a great day.
User Interface
4.5
Effectiveness
3.5
Completeness
1.5
Value of Money
2
Varieties of courses
4.5
Features
5
It is fine app, I tried it many time and found some good stuff.