Duolingo is a language app that has so far been exceptionally successful in getting more native English speakers to take up a second language. It is simple, effective and best of all, free.

The result of a project by Carnegie Mellon University in the US, Duolingo began life as the brainchild of Luis von Ahn, a professor of computer science at the university. His vision was to enable thousands of South Americans to learn English to help them get better jobs and have a better life. That’s a laudable goal that has given us what is the most popular language app in the world right now.

Duolingo uses gamification to spur learning. All you need to do is join up, choose your language and start learning. The lessons involve speaking, listening and reading text. Grades are instantaneous so you always know how well or how badly you’re doing.

The gamification part uses rewards and achievements to keep you hooked. Duolingo has a roadmap that has progressively more advanced lessons that are unlocked as you complete the preceding one. You have to level up to get to the next tier just like in a game.

The main lesson types are similar to those of other language learning tools

The main lesson types are similar to those of other language learning tools. Duolingo will introduce a word and then use it in a sentence. That same word might appear in a later lesson to reinforce what you learn. There are also missing word type lessons, written passages to translate, listen and repeat, and word recognition. All are used to help learn a variety of words and phrases in your chosen language.

Lessons have been carefully crafted to be initially very easy and then slowly get more advanced as you move on. The idea is to provide plenty of easy wins in the early stages to build confidence and ability and then move on to more challenging tasks once you’re hooked.

The app also offers a streak count that increases for every day you log in and do some learning. It also uses game-like lives that decrease when you answer a question incorrectly. It is a simple but surprisingly effective system.

Currently, Duolingo teaches Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Irish, Danish, Swedish, Esperanto, Turkish, Norwegian and Ukrainian.

Duolingo is free. However, to help Duolingo pay for itself, the app provides translation services for business. Once you’re at a certain stage with your chosen language, you will be invited to help translate pages for the community. You get to select the pages you work on through virtual cards.

Each page is at a similar level to the lesson you just completed and is designed to be an achievable challenge. The really cool bit about Duolingo is that by helping out, you reinforce what you’re learning while also making a bit of money for Duolingo. This cash helps keep the site free. It’s a win-win.

Jesmond Darmanin is a technology enthusiast who has his own blog at www.itnewsblog.com.

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