Parents' Guide to

Duolingo

By Erin Brereton, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Stellar game-based lessons make for solid language learning

Website https://www.duolingo.com/
Duolingo Poster Image

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age 10+

Based on 8 parent reviews

Taz R.
Taz R. Parent of 3, 5, 10, 11 and 12-year-old
April 23, 2023
age 7+

Es muy bueno!

4 of my children use this app. My 5yo uses it through me and I teach them the words. Bit hard for them o. Their own to use but my other 3; 10yo, 11yo and 12yo, all use it on their own devices. They have learnt more using Duolingo then they ever do from schools! I homeschool one of them and this is how we learn Spanish! Easy to see how much they have progressed and where they need help. It's fantastic! Worth the money for the family plan when there are plenty of us using it!! Definitely better to get the paid version. Having the option to go over mistakes and to use specific lessons such as listening/speaking exercise.

This title has:

Educational value
Great role models
Easy to play/use
1 person found this helpful.
gumballfanse
gumballfanse Parent
February 26, 2022
age 7+

Stunning

Why 13+ ? This has a good Privacy Policy and really helps in learning that is good for kids !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1 person found this helpful.
See all 8 parent reviews

What’s It About?

Duolingo is a game-based language-learning tool. Students first choose which language they want to learn. Beginners can start with "Basics 1" or more advanced learners can take a quick "Placement Test" to determine the appropriate starting point. Instructional practice activities cover all four skills (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) and require users to go back and forth between the target language and their self-identified native language. When students make an error, they see the correct answer and can open a user discussion related to the question for further feedback on the mistake. Users see their streak count (their number of days in a row spent using the tool) and their hearts (like lives remaining in a video game). Users earn experience points (XP) for their time in the app, and their user profile (visible when signed in) displays badges with their level and XP and flag icons representing the languages they're learning. Users can also switch to Immerson Mode to enter translations of key phrases and longer passages; this crowdsourced knowledge base plus an active message board make for a lively online community of language learners. English speakers can elect to learn Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Irish, Danish, Swedish, or Turkish; other languages have similar (if slightly more limited) options. Students can sign up on their own to use the Duolingo site or its corresponding app (which is how most users access the service); both are free. Most relevant to the classroom, students can also participate with a Duolingo for Schools account, which is also free and which lets teachers link to their students' accounts and track their progress. Teachers can sign up for a free account, add class sections, and share a link with their students to let them sign up to join a particular section. Once students enroll, teachers can monitor their progress (with an overall course view or a detailed list view) and assign homework targeted for individual students' needs.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (8):
Kids say (38):

Duolingo breaks the complex details of language-learning into manageable, meaningful chunks. Users don't just read about how the language works; they're guided step by step through exercises and they get instant, detailed feedback. The lessons use several methods to help kids understand vocabulary words, usage, verb conjugation, and other elements. They view photos to learn terms, translate sentences back and forth beween languages, and type in phrases that a narrator reads aloud. If they make a mistake, they’ll see the correct answer, and their responses help the system customize future lessons. Kids can also opt out of sections if they're familiar with the material, making this an especially engaging, helpfully differentiated experience.

The site's clear, comprehensive format serves users with a range of abilities and language experiences. The game-like features -- like experience points, hearts, and streaks -- all help make the tool rewarding and addicting in equal measures. The teacher dashboard takes this progress tracking a step further and turns those scores into something meaningful and actionable for a teacher. It's easy to use this data to get a detailed, realistic sense of your students' time on task and their growing abilities across skills. Overall, this is a rigorous, appealing tool for supporting language instruction at all levels.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about interacting online with strangers. Should you ever accept or send a friend request from someone you don't know?

  • Duolingo helps people learn a new language. What are the advantages of being able to speak more than one language? How can your kid use any new language skills?

  • Learning another language can help strengthen understanding of your primary language. Talk about what English grammar, sentence structure, and other elements your child has learned recently in school. Are there any similarities between English and what your kid is learning on Duolingo?

Website Details

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