The Case for Using Duolingo as Part of the Language Classroom Experience

Abstract

This article explores the idea of using an already existing language learning app, Duolingo, to complement traditional college level Spanish as second language courses. These types of apps use adaptive learning technologies, which are able to tailor the tasks to the level of each student. In the case of this study, Duolingo was used as part of the program of studies in two Spanish university courses, one a beginner's Spanish course (level A1) and the other an advanced intermediate course (B2). The students used the app online, either in its mobile version or in their web browser. I will describe how Duolingo operates, what kind of activities can be done, and how learning is achieved. Preliminary results suggest that Duolingo is an easy-to-use app that is useful and has potential, although its main lessons are not based on communicative competence. It is usually enjoyed by students because of several elements, such as the accessibility on a mobile device, its gamification aspect, and the variety of tasks. I will discuss possible ways to incorporate Duolingo into foreign language courses, always considering it as a complement to the curriculum, but considering its value to reinforce vocabulary and grammar acquisition through spaced repetition, interleaving of different skills and variety of activities.Keywords: MALL (Mobile Assisted Language Learning); didactic use of computer; foreign language learning; didactics. ResumenEste artículo explora la idea de utilizar una aplicación móvil (ya existente en el mercado para el aprendizaje de idiomas), Duolingo, para complementar las clases tradicionales de español como lengua extranjera a nivel universitario. Este tipo de aplicaciones hacen uso de la tecnología adaptiva para el aprendizaje, permitiendo así adaptar las tareas al nivel de cada estudiante. En el caso de esta investigación, Duolingo formó parte del programa de estudio de dos clases universitarias de español, una a nivel principiante (A1) y otra intermedio alto (B2). Los estudiantes accedieron a la aplicación de manera online, tanto en plataformas móviles como en su versión de escritorio. Este artículo describe el funcionamiento de Duolingo, el tipo de actividades que se pueden realizar con ella y de qué forma se adquieren conocimientos con esta aplicación. Los resultados preliminares de este estudio sugieren que Duolingo es

Learning Foreign Languages Using Mobile Applications

“…The Duolingo application is a free learning languages application, created by Luis von Ahn and Severin Hacker (von Ahn, 2013) in November 2011, and it has more than 30 million registered users (Munday, 2016). It offers several languages for English speakers as well as others for non-English speakers and has versions for desktop and mobile.…”

“…Questions for the three questionnaires (A, Before and After questionnaires), were taken (and translated to the local language), from validated questionnaires in previous research conducted by Yang (2012), Chen (2013), Munday (2016) and from the study of Viberg and Gronlund (2013 …”

“…Students that used computer games for learning were more alert, active, felt more involved and experienced the activity as more challenging than students who participated in traditional lectures. A study that examined students from two Spanish universities found that the students felt that Duolingo was easy to use, helpful in studying and enjoyable (Munday, 2016). It seemed that because of its convenience, the students liked it more than a regular book based homework.…”

Ideology of translation concept approach on determining a decision by the translator

“…Much research from an ideological perspective is interested in uncovering manipulations in the TT that may be indicative of the translator"s conscious ideology or produced by ideological elements of the translation environment, such as pressure from a commissioner, editor, or governmental circles. This is particularly the case in the translation and adaptation of news translation that holds political ideology (Munday, 2016). Martin (1987) argues that political ideology has been a controversial topic for social analysts, and those who attempted to eschew judgmental reductions of others" conceptions and develop nonpolemical political psychology found ideology behaving in ways that defeated their theories of political reasoning.…”

Examining student perceptions about smartphones to understand lack of acceptance of mobile-assisted language learning

“…Duolingo, a popular free language-learning application, was carefully introduced to the students. Often successfully adopted due to its accessibility via smartphone, gamified interface, and variety of activities available (Munday, 2016), it seemed ideal for these students. Duolingo has been criticized due to its lack of pragmatic content, but has been shown to be effective if used in addition to classroom learning for beginners (Ahmed, 2016).…”