Duolingo (duolingo) - this is a fairly new online project (launched in June 2012) for self-learning languages. The idea for its development came from a young American professor, Louis von Ahn. His previous successful projects Capture and Recupture are known to most Internet users.

DUOLINGO project developers

If someone is not familiar with the operation of these programs, then it can be briefly explained as follows: if you make some kind of request to a site that provides services (for example, you buy tickets), then the system must make sure that you are a person. To do this, you are sent a set of numbers or letters so that you reproduce them and thereby prove your human nature.

Second project recapture was developed for digitizing books. It was simply a brilliant idea to use the huge number of Internet users to digitize books. Probably not everyone realizes this, but regardless of whether you know it or not, you are also participating in the creation of a digital library if you are given two lines of characters to reproduce.

With one of them you again confirm that you are a person, and the second is symbols unrecognized by the computer. Of course, not only are they given to you, the same fragment from different people is compared, then all this is processed by the program. Now this project has already been bought from Louis von Ahn, and he and his team are working on a new grandiose project - Duolingo.

The essence of the project

Its essence is to give people the opportunity to learn foreign languages ​​for free, and in return, these people will translate texts from the Internet. The Internet is now 70% in English. Translation work is a huge undertaking. Probably, everyone has already experienced when they cannot find something they need in their native language, and not everyone understands English, and even for those who understand, it can be quite difficult, since a lot of special terminology is often used.
And if it’s some kind of matchmaker, then there’s no hope at all!

Available languages

At first, Duolingo was available in English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, French, but trial versions of other languages ​​have already been launched. Currently, Russian has already appeared - so you can learn English based on your native language. It’s very interesting, exciting and enjoyable, I advise everyone to try it, by the way, in Duolingo you can start from scratch.

Duolingo - site fragment

Currently, more than 5 million people use Duolingo every week and the audience is constantly growing. The site periodically changes its design, improvements are constantly being made. All your successes are counted, there is voice acting, which is very valuable, as it is worked out pronunciation, which is indispensable in learning a new language.

Efficiency of DUOLINGO

Louis von Ahn claims that using this free Duolingo course is very effective. It takes several hundred hours of work for a student with zero knowledge of a foreign language to reach an intermediate level and be able to already participate in the translation of texts. Translations from different students are compared, evaluated, processed - using special programs, it turns out quickly and not as expensive as the services of professional translators.

It turns out that the Duolingo project is mutually beneficial for students and founders. Students are given the opportunity to obtain free knowledge, and developers receive and use the results of this knowledge.
Here is a video from the TED conference, translated into Russian, in which Professor Louis von Ahn himself explains how Duolingo works

The official Duolingo website is located at

Knowledge of at least one foreign language has long been desirable. A specialist who additionally speaks one or more languages ​​is always given preference when hiring, not to mention the fact that such people feel comfortable and confident abroad, can read books in the original language... The list goes on and on. Progress does not stand still, and textbooks can be replaced by an excellent application called Duolingo. User reviews are clear - this is one of the best educational applications.

What is Duolingo?

Learn languages ​​for free! You need to install the program on your computer from the official website, and you can start studying. Scientists have long found out that a person perceives information very well if it is presented in a free playful form - it seems that this has remained with us since childhood. And if there is an alternative to simply memorizing or hiring a teacher, then why not take advantage of it? In addition, no material investments are required.

The Duolingo app is suitable even for those who are completely unfamiliar with English. By the way, in addition to it, there are also courses in German, Spanish and French.

How the training works

Simplicity combined with powerful functionality is what the user gets with Duolingo. Registration takes just a few minutes. After confirming the email, the virtual student gets access to tasks that can be completed both on the website and in the application installed on the computer.

The difficulty of the tasks increases as a person develops his skills. Each large topic is divided into many small tasks, so a person does not need to absorb tons of information, he can choose for himself what to learn today. Each topic ends with a special mini-lesson to consolidate knowledge.

Motivation

Someone will say that it is not necessary to go through such tricks, because you can learn English from a textbook. However, most people learn a language not because they “have to,” but because they “should,” so they lack will and perseverance: poring over a book quickly gets boring. Duolingo works like a teacher, issuing assignments in portions and grading them.

Vocabulary is also of great importance when working with a foreign language. Even if a person knows the rules perfectly, he will not be able to construct a sentence if he does not know any of the necessary words. Yes, you can often use synonyms, but, you see, it can be quite difficult to use them for a word such as, for example, fork. It's much easier to use word sets, which is what Duolingo allows you to do.

Levels already completed by the user are not put aside in the far corner - this is also a huge plus. Periodically, the program offers to repeat the material covered. Thus, through repeated repetition, a large number of words are easily memorized, which, in turn, are used in other tasks (for example, when it is necessary to compose a phrase).

Practice and more practice

"Daily Minimum" is another thing that helps users on Duolingo. Reviews about the project often contain mentions of how difficult it can be to force yourself to open a textbook after a hard day at work. The application offers a small number of tasks every day, and the volume can be increased or decreased depending on how busy you are; moreover, they can be completed one at a time during the day, when you have a few free minutes, or on the way to work.

Practice shows that daily classes of 20-30 minutes are more effective than one multi-hour lecture once a week. This rule should also be followed in Duolingo: complete several tasks every day.

In the application, you can set a so-called “goal” - this is the minimum task that must be completed during the day in Duolingo. The levels are: easy, medium, severe and crazy. It only takes a few minutes a day to complete the "easy goal" tasks, but if you have time, you can work overtime. The system automatically calculates how many days in a row you have been studying, and here it is important not to skip days. This is great motivation.

In addition to learning words and rules, the application includes tasks for constructing phrases. Here the developers have done their best: in addition to simple conversational sentences, there are sometimes quotes from books, idioms, aphorisms and simply funny turns of phrase. This diversifies the learning process.

The site has technical support, whose specialists are ready to help the user in case of difficulties; they can be reported about bugs. An important part is the forum, where you can communicate with colleagues, look for interlocutors and even organize competitions.

Duolingo can easily displace such time wasters as social networks from a person’s life. Learning is easy and interesting, it does not tire you, but it allows you to be distracted or relieve your head after intense mental work. All this is supported by positive emotions from the fact that time is not wasted, something useful is being done.

By level

If the user is no longer a beginner in the language, the system will quickly determine his level, and he will not have to monotonously perform many too simple tasks. If, for example, a person reads and writes well, but is not good enough in listening, then this problem is also easily solved. Lessons that the user already knows can be taken early.

The main thing in learning a language is to learn to communicate in it as quickly as possible, to overcome the “audio barrier”. To do this, the application functionality includes listening tasks, but to make the training as intense as possible, you can use voice input. Thus, if the answer to a question needs to be written (typed), the user simply speaks it out. The system may recognize words incorrectly, but this will be an incentive to practice pronunciation.

Polyglots

To fundamentally study the basics of the language, use two courses, for example, Russian-English and English-Russian at the same time. The peculiarity is that there are many times more materials for English speakers, and by choosing the reverse course, the user gains access to them.

For Russian-speaking users, only four languages ​​are available for study, but for the English-speaking audience the list is much larger. Therefore, as soon as English has been brought to an intermediate level, you can take, for example, an English-Spanish course and improve two languages ​​at the same time. In addition, this will open access to new interesting materials.

For children

An indispensable tool in teaching children a foreign language is Duolingo. German, French or English - it doesn’t matter, because not only an adult, but also a child will be interested in learning and monitoring their “pumping” in their profile, receiving lingot bonuses, which are the so-called game currency, and buying various additions to the functionality for them , for example, the ability to complete a task for a while.

However, do not forget that this is an educational game, and the child should be unobtrusively reminded of it.

Minuses

Despite many positive qualities, Duolingo also has disadvantages. User reviews allow us to compile some statistics: the application does not cause any complaints only among beginners. For those who are fluent in the language and, for example, want to deepen their knowledge or prepare for any exam (IELTS, TOEFL), the application will be of little help. However, here we can mention a wonderful alternative - the LinguaLeo project. Its significant drawback is its narrow specialization: exclusively English, but there are significantly more materials than in Duolingo.

You can also learn English from scratch using this service. True, some functions will only be available when purchasing premium, but you can easily do without it if you know a few tricks. For example, using a mobile application along with the functionality of the site itself will expand the number of available workouts (for some reason, there is a significant difference in tasks on these platforms). In addition, many interesting and motivating videos with English subtitles are available without any premium. For beginners, such materials may seem complicated, but for those more advanced in the language, the videos will be very useful.

Tasks where you need to speak the answer can become a real problem if the Internet connection is unstable or non-existent. The same applies to listening.

There is one more small disadvantage to Duolingo. Reviews about the program are periodically updated with messages about bugs in some courses, but they are not critical and are quickly fixed by the site’s programmers.

Instead of a conclusion

No, Duolingo is not a program that will install a foreign language into a person's "operating system." Without effort there will be no effect. But for those who really want to learn a language, this app will really help. However, you need to study comprehensively; Duolingo alone is not enough. “Learn languages ​​for free” is the slogan of many speaking clubs.

Some of them are truly free, and some do not charge money only for those who already have a good command of the language. In any case, this will not only be an excellent addition to the main tasks, but also an opportunity to make interesting contacts. Often native speakers also come to the evenings of conversation clubs, and this is also an opportunity to get to know the culture of another country better.

Without leaving your home, you can use various chat services, where people from all over the planet are looking for interlocutors to talk in the language they are learning. There are many tools for self-learning, and most importantly, many of them are free (or almost free), you just need to know how to use them correctly.

We recommend downloading Duolingo to your computer for those who want to use an excellent program for learning foreign languages. You can learn English quickly and easily, spending just a few minutes a day. The program is absolutely free. Therefore, you don't have to worry about additional expenses.

By the way, more than 150 million people have already decided to download Duolingo on their computer. And every day this figure is increasing. It is by this that you can judge how functional and popular this program is, and whether it is worth downloading.

Application functionality

The Dowlingo program on PC will allow you to improve your knowledge of the English language. And not only that, because there are other foreigners of this group. Practice will include reading, speaking, comprehension and writing. All this will happen in a playful way. Interesting tasks will increase your vocabulary and improve your knowledge of grammatical speech. You will be able to hear, see, write and repeat whatever you see fit.

After downloading the application, you will start learning with the simplest verbs. Next, your attention will be revealed to phrases and sentences that will develop into texts. And you will learn new words every day.

You only need to spend 34 hours to start speaking English well. In terms of efficiency, this time can be compared to a semester at the university. This program will be an excellent addition to the course taught in schools and universities. Therefore, you can gain excellent knowledge without leaving your computer.

The program is completely free. It can be called the most accessible way to learn a foreign language. But, at the same time, you will not listen to boring lectures and answer awkward questions from the teacher. The game form of learning will be really effective and interesting. The effectiveness of the program lies in the fact that it is enough to complete simple, interesting tasks to consolidate the acquired knowledge.

By the way, you can learn not only English, but also Spanish, German, French and many other foreign languages. Soon you will be able to speak your chosen language fluently.

Pros and cons of the application

By downloading Duolingo in Russian for your computer, you will receive an excellent program with many advantages. For example:

• interesting colorful design. It is uncluttered and unpretentious. Therefore it is very convenient;
• complete absence of any financial expenses;
• quick way to learn. With just a few minutes a day, you can improve your skills in a matter of months;
• many language options;
• fast application operation;
• constant repetition of lessons that work to strengthen memory.

The program can be called quite interesting and effective. But there are still some disadvantages in it:

• slow response of moderators to requests and questions;
• several errors in spelling words and constructing sentences;
• Not quite correct work in voice recognition.

How to Run Duolingo on PC

The Duolingo app works on Android and iOS mobile devices. But few people know that you can also download it to your computer.

On our website you have this opportunity. The main thing is to learn how to use the emulator. There is nothing complicated about this. Download it from our website, install it following the instructions and register with Google mail. It won't take you much time. And if you already have an existing account, it will be completely simple.

Next, you have two options - download the application from our website or from the Google store. But, the first option will be more effective and also free. You download the archive and install it in BlueStacks. That's it, Duolingo on your computer.

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Summarize

Those who decide to download Duolingo to their computer will immediately discover the functional world of a foreign language. It can be not only English, but also many others. If desired, you can combine them with each other. The program is absolutely free. Therefore, you don't have to worry about being billed for additional expenses.

You can increase your vocabulary in a matter of hours. Especially if you have only basic training or no training at all. We recommend that you start learning several languages ​​of the same group at once. This way you can become bilingual in a few months.

After learning the words, you can move on to composing simple phrases. Then you will be asked to start studying sentence structure. Be sure to remember the forms of irregular verbs. This will help you speak beautifully and correctly in the future. Well, if word order is not so important for our language, for foreign languages ​​it is significant.

We really recommend that you download this application. It's effective and interesting.

Click “Home” to get to your skill tree. The skill tree is where you'll do most of your training. It is divided into separate units, and each unit contains several lessons. The more you progress in learning the language, the more units will be available to you.

Take what you already know ahead of schedule (optional). If you already have the basic knowledge, you can complete part of the skill tree early. Click on the golden keyhole at the end of each section to take the test. You will have three attempts.

Click on the first skill block. It will probably be called "Basics 1"

Click on the lesson. Within each skill block there are several lessons. Click on the first one to get started. You start with four hearts (which will later turn into three as you progress in learning the language). Every time you answer a question incorrectly, you will lose a heart. The goal is to complete the lesson with your hearts intact. Here are the different types of questions that may appear in lessons:

• Vocabulary: You will be shown a picture of an object and asked to name it.
• Translation: You will be asked to translate a word or phrase from your language to the target language, or vice versa.
• Listen: You will hear an audio playback of a word or phrase and be asked to enter it (note that these questions do not assume translation - for example, if you hear a phrase in Spanish, enter it in Spanish, not English.) For slower playback clip, click the smaller turtle icon under the large speaker button.
• Spoken Language (optional): You will be asked to repeat or translate sentences using the microphone on your computer or mobile device.
  • If you don't want to do oral questions, click the drop-down list in the top right corner, select “Settings” and turn off the microphone option.

swipe over words for help. If you are unsure of the meaning of a word, hover your cursor over it. Duolingo will provide the translation or give you several options.

• Please note that as your sentences become more complex as you progress in your studies, this tool will not be as useful. Beware!
• Duolingo will mark you as a spy. However, you will not lose any points from this.

Use keyboard commands. Navigating Duolingo lessons using your keyboard is much faster and easier than using your mouse (this also comes in handy when you're doing a timed test). Here's what you need to do:

• Enter: enters the answer
• 1, 2 or 3: Select answers to a multiple choice question
• Up and Down Arrows: Scroll through options in a drop-down menu
• Ctrl + Space: replay audio recording
• Ctrl + Space + Shift: Replay audio more slowly.
• Click the drop-down list in the upper right corner and select “Keyboard Shortcuts” to see a visual table of keyboard commands.

Train! The key to remembering a new language is repeating what you learn. Every few lessons, stop and do a few practice rounds. Or if you only have 5 minutes to work on a language today, spend it testing yourself. Duolingo offers several different ways to test your skills:

• Practice knowledge in general: Go to the skill tree and click the blue "Practice all skills" button on the right. You will be randomly asked questions about the topics you have studied up to this point.
• Practice individual skills: To update the skill block, click on the blue “Practice Skill” menu on the right side of the page below the lessons. This will help practice what you learned in that particular unit.
• Practice weak words: Click “Dictionary” on the navigation bar at the top. Then click the blue "Practice weak words" menu on the right. Duolingo will run you through words you've learned recently or seen less often.