Learn a New Language With Duolingo!

Image Source: Holly Marquardt

Language is how humans communicate to one another. But not all humans speak the same language. Different countries have different native languages. Here in Canada our most spoken languages are English in French. However, Canada is a rather diverse country, home to many people who can speak many other languages.

Image Source: Holly Marquardt

Knowing how to speak more than one language can be a very useful skill. It allows you to communicate with more people. People who speak the same language feel more connected.

Duolingo is “the best way to learn a new language”. Duolingo teaches you a new language for free (unless you choose to pay for the add free version)! It's available for desktop, Android, iOS, and Windows Phone.

Growing up I had learned some German from my Oma and Opa (German grandparents). I slowly learned words from my Oma and Opa, but I easily forgot words, as I did not see them often enough.

Image Source: Peter Marquardt

And now, I remember even less.

I thought it would be nice to relearn some of my heritage so I downloaded the Duolingo app onto my phone. I selected the language I wanted to learn, I choose German, and away I went.

First the app gave me the option to do a “Placement Test”, since I already knew a little bit of German.

Source: Screen shot of Duolingo app from Holly Marquardt's phone

Turns out I knew even less German than I thought I did. So I had to start from the basics.

Source: Screen shot of Duolingo app from Holly Marquardt's phone

The app teaches you the new language in a variety of ways. It starts off nice and easy by matching images.

Source: Screen shot of Duolingo app from Holly Marquardt's phone

Then moves on to more challenging things such... as selecting the correct translation...

Source: Screen shot of Duolingo app from Holly Marquardt's phone

...piecing together sentence translations....

Source: Screen shot of Duolingo app from Holly Marquardt's phone

.... trying to speak the language...

Source: Screen shot of Duolingo app from Holly Marquardt's phone

....and coming up with the translation completely on your own.

Source: Screen shot of Duolingo app from Holly Marquardt's phone

And if you mess up it will move on to a different question and come back to it again shortly later so you can try again.

Source: Screen shot of Duolingo app from Holly Marquardt's phone

The app gives words that are kind and encouraging and tracks your progress.

Source: Screen shot of Duolingo app from Holly Marquardt's phone

As you progress throughout the app, you can earn streaks, crowns, badges and linglots. Which is great motivation to keep using the app, especially for the younger users.

Source: Screen shot of Duolingo app from Holly Marquardt's phone

It also allows you to create an individual profile and you can add friends to compete with.

My thoughts after using Duolingo? It is an easy to use app, and makes learning fun! And I’m not just saying that! I actually really enjoyed using the app, it was quite fun and at the same time I felt like I was doing something useful with my time

I wish this app existed before, when both my grandparents were still around. It would have made me learn German a lot quicker and retain the information.

Overall, I was very pleased with this app. However, my only complaint was that Duolingo does not offer every language. I was a little disappointed that they did not yet offer the other language I wanted to learn, which was Urdu. My significant other and his family all speak fluent Urdu and it would have been nice to learn their native language to connect better with them. Here’s hoping Duolingo will add Urdu in the future.

Duolingo is easy to use, fun, educational and practical all in one. It’s flexible too, you can choose how much time you want to dedicate to using the app, and since it’s available as an app, you can take it with you anywhere. It truly is an app that can be valuable to anyone. I will for sure continue to use Duolingo!