Have you ever wanted to gain a skill or two by learning a new language? Learning a new language has become one of the most convenient things ever. With the help of language learning apps like Duolingo, grasping the basics of a language has become easier than you thought. Don’t know what is Duolingo or how it works? Fret not, as in this article, we are going to discuss how Duolingo works and how to use Duolingo levels.
What is Duolingo and How Duolingo Works?
To understand how Duolingo works, we first need to know what is Duolingo and how to use Duolingo levels. Keep reading to find out more about it.
What is Duolingo?
Founded in the year 2011 as a game-style language learning tool that is based online, Duolingo is one of the most popular language learning apps. It offers a digital way to learn new languages for people of all ages. Choose any language you want to try out from the given options and learn the courses step by step.
It is simple to use allowing you to use the app for an effective learning session. With the mission to develop the best education in the world and make it universally available, Duolingo offers 30+ languages.
Understanding How Duolingo Works
Duolingo was first founded as an academic project at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh by professor Luis Von Ahn and his Ph.D. student Severin Hacker. Because the demand for language learning was quite high, the creators of Duolingo decided to go for language studies. Let us know how Duolingo works.
Duolingo is a free app and you can sign up for free to get started. Go to your App store or Google Play, or use their official website to download the app. Once you create an account or log in to your existing account, you are free to choose the language you speak and then choose the language you want to learn.
For beginners, there are basic lessons, and for people who already have an understanding of the language, a test will be taken to determine your right starting point. You get to create your own avatar characters and navigate the learning games to earn rewards. How fun is it! How Duolingo works is what affects the learning session.
If you are a competitive person, then this might be the cherry on the cake situation, because Duolingo has a streak count for most days in the learning game to earn rewards. You can earn XP points and these XP points will turn into Badges that will be displayed on the avatar profile. Your earned Badges will be ranked on a daily basis.
How Many Languages are Available on Duolingo?
Almost everyone has heard of Duolingo when talking about effective language learning. If you are a beginner, choosing Duolingo is perhaps the best decision you will ever make. It provides over 100 courses, so, let us have a look at what languages it has to offer.
- English
- Korean
- Japanese
- German
- Spanish
- French
- Italian
- Hindi
- Chinese
- Russian
- Turkish
- Arabic
- Portuguesese
- Vietnamese
- Dutch
- Latin
- Swedish
- Irish
- Polish
- Ukrainian
- Irish
- Norwegian
- Indonesian
- Danish
- Finnish
- Hawaiian
- Romanian
- Hebrew
- Czech
- High Valyrian
- Welsh
- Scottish Gaelic
- Swahili
- Hungarian (beta)
- Klingon (beta)
- Haiti Creole (beta)
- Yiddish (beta)
- Navajo (beta)
- Zulu (beta)
- Esperanto
Also Read: Is Babbel or Duolingo Better for Learning a Language?
Does Duolingo Actually Work?
There are many apps that provide you with language courses, but why choose Duolingo? Does Duolingo actually work? Well, when learning a language, you need to prioritize listening and speaking to have a clearer idea of sentence formation and pronunciation. You will never be able to master any language unless you practice outside the app. What Duolingo does is, it helps you remember the basic grammar to make a strong base and then the recorded audio helps you listen to the native speakers pronounce the words or phrases. But at the end of the day, it is you who can improve your skill by using it in your day-to-day conversations.
So, if you are practicing outside the app diligently, yes Duolingo actually works. The app gives you tons of vocabulary that you can converse in.
How to Use Duolingo Effectively
Your brain is made to learn languages, as human beings have the ability to be bilingual, trilingual, and polylingual. Have you been using language learning apps for a while but can’t get results? Worry not, we will tell you how to use Duolingo effectively.
Duolingo is based on a methodology that is proven to foster long-term memory of the lessons. We have listed out some tips that will enable you how to use Duolingo effectively and give you an idea of how Duolingo works. Keep reading to find out.
- Set hourly goals or short-term goals.
- Open the app and study a little bit each day.
- Write down the alphabet in a notebook.
- Practice speaking.
- Try to add vocabulary to your day-to-day conversations.
- Study in a small group, as the app is game-like to have fun while learning. This will boost memory.
- Follow the Guidebook in each unit.
- Outside the app, listen to the language you are learning.
How to Use Duolingo Levels
Duolingo has levels that are measured by how much XP you have completed. The highest you can reach in each level is level 25 which is equal to 30,000 XP. The more the success rate in completing your levels, the more XP you get.
Initially, it used to show levels in the app but later took this ability away and replaced it with just a display of your total gained XP.
A competitive user will get motivated to earn more XP by learning the course when he/she is aware of his/her levels or XP
Hence, this is how to use Duolingo levels.
How Long Does it Take to Learn a Language on Duolingo
To calculate how long it takes to learn a language, first, let us discuss how long it takes to finish one lesson. We timed how long it took to complete 20 lessons, and on average, it took almost 2 minutes to finish one lesson. So, at two minutes per lesson, and if your chosen course has about 80 lessons per module, then it would take you 160 minutes or 2.6 hours per module.
Personally, it took me 14 days to learn Korean but if you diligently complete the lessons every day, it would take you about two weeks or even less to master a language.
Can You Become Fluent in a Language with Duolingo?
No, though it is an effective way to learn languages, at the end of the day no app, book, or course can make you fluent in a language until you do a daily practice of speaking. If you find yourself comfortably conversing with a native of the language you were learning, then you can claim that you have gotten fluent in the language.
What is the Success Rate of Duolingo?
Millions of people have used Duolingo and many loved it which is why it is one of the most popular apps. Studies show that on average, participants gained 8 points per hour of study with Duolingo. The success rate is quite high as the overall average improvement in language abilities was 91.4 points and the improvement was statistically notable.
The motivation of the participants was another factor for higher effectiveness. Most of the participants were people studying for travel, which resulted in gaining the most people studying for personal interest.
Is Duolingo Good for Beginners?
Yes, in fact, Duolingo is a great app for beginners. A beginner gets daily practice and gets familiar with the script. The units provided for beginners are very basic and easy to understand. If you are new to this and want to learn a new language with fun, know how Duolingo works as it will be the best choice for you.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1. Is Duolingo free forever?
Ans. Yes, it is completely free to use. Learn more than 30 languages all for free.
Q2. Is LingoDeer better than Duolingo?
Ans. Both Duolingo and LingoDeer are one of the most popular language-learning apps. But between the two, LingoDeer is definitely better than Duolingo thou it offers far more language courses than LingoDeer. Each of Lingdeer courses is developed individually for each language and teaches you the vocabulary. This is what makes LingoDeer a better alternative of Duolingo as Duolingo gives you a very basic introduction to a new language which can be great for beginners but not for advanced or intermediate participants.
Q3. Can you master a language in 6 months?
Ans. Yes, definitely you can if you are an adult. Within the course of six months, you can easily adapt to a new language if practiced regularly.
Q4. What age group uses Duolingo the most?
Ans. A study shows that approximately 60% of US participants that mostly uses this app are under the age of 30.
Recommended:
We really hope that you now understand how Duolingo works and how to use Duolingo levels effectively. The app can be extremely beneficial for new language learners as it strengthens the base of grammar which is one of the core points when learning any language. Feel free to ask your doubts and don’t forget to add your suggestions in the comment section below. We would love to hear from you.
