Duolingo is a language learning platform that offers 94 language learning courses in 23 different languages. The app follows a freemium model wherein most of the course line is free. The paid version offers no adds, offline access, and more gamification features. The primary product of Duolingo is gamified language learning. Other products include Language proficiency tests and Duolingo for Schools that helps the teachers to track the progress of the students.
Duolingo was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, United States. It aims to provide everyone with an exciting tutoring experience through technology. They also strive to make learning fun and universally accessible. The founder of Duolingo, Luis Von Ahn, 44 was already a computer genius accredited with the invention of CAPTCHA before he came up with this project to provide education globally.
Quick Stats (last updated April ’20)
- Money raised: $ 148.3 million till date
- Valuation: Between $1 billion and $10 billion
- Total users: ~300 million
- Active Users: ~30 million
- Total downloads(android): greater than100 million
- Alexa Rank (Global): 423
Major products and features
- Duolingo: This language learning app has hooked up people from Bill Gates to the Syrian Refugees. The gamification aspect of learning makes the app more engaging for continuous use. They are rightly capitalizing on the millennials with the drive to learn but finding little time to do that.
- Duolingo for schools: This is a program that teachers and governments recommend wherein learning by the students and tracking of the course by the teachers can take place seamlessly. The students get personalized feedback and instructions
- Language Proficiency Test: Duolingo offers a fast, convenient, and affordable way for their proficiency test. This test is accepted by multiple universities worldwide for admissions.
- Stories
- Podcast
- Dictionary: Language conversion with example sentences.
Future Product Design Suggestions
Duolingo has often been criticized for the lack of a proper structure. Gamification aspects help lure the people into learning but the tangibility of the information gathered is not well taken, according to academicians. Here are a few suggestions that we can expect Duolingo to come up with in the future.
- Immersive learning: Duolingo could offer a more in-depth learning experience, ie, users should learn the absolute basics and grammar before making further leaps in the course.
- Local influence: More conversational pedagogy should be used. Local language speakers can speak and we reply back to them on the basis of what we have learned. This would also involve good voice recognition technology.
- Tourist version: This could be a shorter course that one could have handy for making a minimal and most essential conversation. For example, if I am traveling to France on a trip, Duolingo would be my go-to app if it can teach me the essentials in 5-6 hours.
- More human essence: The app sounds like a machine and lacks a human touch. Additionally, more frequently used sentences could be taught for helping engage in basic conversation.
Bottom line for Duolingo
Overall, I would recommend Duolingo to all users who want a basic, uncomplicated, and gamified way to learn a new language. You’ll be partly successful but would need a lot of conscious efforts apart from the application itself in order to commandeer a language, lest just talk to locals in that country.
Duolingo is already making great waves and is here to stay and dominate the linguistics marketplace. With even more elaborated lessons and universally accepted proficiency tests, Duolingo could make great strides as the go-to language learning platform.