Quick Review
Summary:
Duolingo is a super popular free language-learning app. It’s available for desktop as well as mobile and offers over 90 different language courses in over 20 different languages — there are currently 35 languages with English instruction. The Duolingo approach is gamified and easy to use, but the bite-sized lessons don’t offer much in the way of in-depth practice. The Duolingo tag line is “Learn a language in just five minutes a day.”
Quality
It’s easy and fun to use, but some pronunciation and grammar instruction is of low quality, especially for Asian languages.
Thoroughness
The app works well for learning the basics, but there’s little speaking practice and grammar instruction is limited.
Value
It’s a lot of content for free, but you’ll need to use supplementary resources.
I Like…
The short lessons are ideal for quick, convenient practice
The game-like features make the exercises engaging and fun
The community aspect is motivating
I DON’T LIKE…
There’s no opportunity to create your own sentences
Grammar instruction isn’t part of the lessons
Text-to-speech audio is sometimes low quality
Languages: Duolingo offers 35 language courses with English instruction, three of which are constructed languages. Courses are available in most popular languages, including Spanish, French, German, etc.
Price
Duolingo is totally free. Duolingo Plus offers a few additional features and is available for:
$12.99/month (paid monthly)
$6.99/month (12-month subscription)