Duolingo was the brainchild of Luis von Ahn, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, and his post-graduate student, Severin Hacker. The two formulated the idea behind the platform in 2009 based on a vision of breaking down language barriers by making language education accessible and engaging. Duolingo was established as an educational technology startup in 2011 and it became a public company in 2021. It runs and maintains the Duolingo platform, which is available on Android, iOS, and iPadOS operating systems, and has also introduced various spinoff digital products. This article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the Duolingo app.
Learning Language Via an App: The Advantages and Disadvantages of Duolingo
Pros: Duolingo Advantages
Duolingo has become the most popular language-learning app in the world with over 100 million users. This popularity stems from being a mobile-native application and its gamified approach to teaching languages to its users. The company behind the app has also expanded its service offerings to include mathematics courses and music lessons. The following are the notable advantages of using Duolingo:
1. Freemium Mobile App
Duolingo is a free mobile app available on Android smartphones and tablets, and iPhone and iPad devices. It is based on a freemium model that includes a free tier and subscription-based plans for more premium features and services. The free tier gives learners access to core learning features. The Super Duolingo tier is ad-free with level-skipping and progress quizzes and the Duolingo Max adds a generative artificial intelligence feature.
2. Short and Bit-Sized Lessons
The app does not intimidate nor overwhelm its learners. Learning is made more digestible. Each lesson or exercise is short and focused. For example, in teaching foreign languages to users, it breaks down language learning and lessons into small and manageable chunks that are easier to follow, understand, and complete. This is important both for keeping users engaged to increase their screen time and for promoting lesson appreciation.
3. Interactive and Adaptive
Another advantage of Duolingo is that learners can practice through various activities like translating, listening comprehension, speaking, and writing. It motivates learners by giving them points, badges, and virtual currency. Performance can also be tracked. The app adapts the difficulty of lessons based on the performance of the user. Remember that the gamification of learning has been the defining proposition of the platform.
4. Notable Effectiveness
Researchers J. R. Rachels and A. J. Rockinson-Szapkiw showed that the platform provides a similar increase in achievements and self-efficiency as learning done in classroom environments. Another study by X. Jiang et al. revealed that users who completed a course on the platform had similar reading and listening proficiency to university students after four semesters. These studies showed that Duolingo is effective for language learning.
Cons: Duolingo Disadvantages
The effectiveness of Duolingo has been a subject of research. Several studies have revealed its positive impacts and key limitations. Some language professionals have criticized these limitations and the gamified design. Gamification provides an incentive for users to cheat or hack the platform. Others have expressed concerns over the integrity of user data. The following are the disadvantages of using Duolingo:
1. Learning Limitations
One of the disadvantages of Duolingo centers on its key limitations. The platform has limited depth because it focuses on vocabulary and basic grammar and does not dwell on language structure and cultural context. There are also limited opportunities to practice speaking compared to other methods or learning modalities. The platform can also result in an imbalance in language skills development because of its overemphasis on vocabulary.
2. Key Free-Tier Drawbacks
Remember that this platform is free. Most users, especially younger learners, use the free tier version of the platform. The freemium model of Duolingo makes it accessible. The downside of using the free tier is that it exposes learners to distracting mobile advertisements. This same version also has limited features and services. The paid Super Duolingo and Duolingo Max tiers provide a more comprehensive language learning environment.
3. Frequent Platform Changes
Another disadvantage of Duolingo is its frequent updates that sometimes come with key changes. The format and content of lessons often undergo modifications. Some exercises are either removed or altered. The platform has also dropped support for other languages like Welsh because it wanted to focus on high-demand languages. These changes can disrupt learning routines because of their negative impact on user progress and learning pace.
4. Notable Alternatives
There are various alternatives to Duolingo. Babbel and Rosetta Stone provide more comprehensive language courses. Platforms like Memrise, Drops, and Lingvist also use a gamified design and are seen as the strongest competitors of Duolingo. Several generative AI applications based on large language models, including chatbots like ChatGPT from OpenAI and Gemini from Google can also be used for self-phased and user-moderated learning.
FURTHER READINGS AND REFERENCES
- Jiang, X., Rollinson, J., Plonsky, L., Gustafson, E., and Pajak, B. 2021. “Evaluating the Reading and Listening Outcomes of Beginning‐level Duolingo Courses.” Foreign Language Annals. 54(4): 974-1002. DOI: 1111/flan.12600
- Rachels, J. R. and Rockinson-Szapkiw, A. J. 2017. “The Effects of a Mobile Gamification App on Elementary Students’ Spanish Achievement and Self-efficacy. Computer Assisted Language Learning. 31(1-2): 72-89. DOI: 1080/09588221.2017.1382536