The Utilization of Duolingo to Improve the Speaking and Listening Skills of Junior High School Students in Pekanbaru

Abstract

This research aims to find out the effectiveness of using duolingo application to improve students' speaking and listening skills. The research was carried out at SMP IT Al-Hafit Pekanbaru involving 58 students in the 8 th Grade as the research sample. This study uses quantitative research methods with the ASSURE model (Analyze, State, Select, Utilize, Require, and Evaluate). The result obtained from the use of duolingo in class VIII.1 on speaking and listening skills of the "t" value with df 31 at the 0.05/5% level is 2,042, while the results obtained from using duolingo in class VIII.2 for speaking and listening skills of the "t" value with df 27 at the 0.05/5% level is 2,052. The results of each ability show that the students' speaking ability of class VIII.1 is 5.5> 2,042 and their listening ability is 4.48> 2,042. The students' speaking ability of class VIII.2 is 5.17> 2.052, while their listening ability is 5.10> 2,042 (the "t" table is each greater than the "t" value). This demonstrates that the use of duolinggo to improve speaking and listening skills in junior high school students is proven to be effective.

Effects of a Gamified MALL Application on Developing EFL Preparatory School Students’ Speaking and Enjoyment and Reducing Speaking Anxiety

“…The results of the independent samples t-test for the post-administration of the speaking test indicated that students who used Duolingo outperformed their counterparts who did not use Duolingo. These findings are corroborated by Niah and Pahmi (2019), whose findings showed that the students' speaking and listening improved after using Duolingo. Likewise, Loewen et al (2019) found that using Duolingo enhanced students' language achievement.…”

“…Learners can also attempt practice sessions to review the content they covered throughout the course. "Stories" are useful to provide discoursebased reading and listening (Niah & Pahmi, 2019). To motivate learners, Duolingo offers "Lingots" (Duolingo's awards) that learners get if they complete a node or keep studying for a streak of days.…”

“…It was found that participants perceived using Duolingo positively as it helped them manage the classwork and assessment. Similarly, Niah and Pahmi (2019) explored the effectiveness of using Duolingo on 58 EFL eighth-grade students' speaking and listening. The results showed that the students' speaking and listening skills improved after using Duolingo.…”