Mini Review: Duolingo

Duolingo: app known for gamifying the language-learning process and helping you keep a consistent routine with fun challenges and rewards

• Slay: includes different type of lessons to address each language-learning need (reading, writing, listening, and speaking)

• Slay: features fun characters and animations to encourage and even tease you along the way

• Slay: helps you build up vocabulary by highlighting new words, obviously displaying their meanings, and incorporating them naturally into the current and future lessons to ensure you learn by repetition (also includes a separate section to keep track of and practice the words you've learned)

• Slay: helps you track your progress with a score that corresponds to CEFR levels, which gives you a good point of reference as to how you're progressing

• Slay: offers script lessons for its languages with non-Latin scripts, such as Korean, Japanese, and Hindi

• Slay: offers AI "video calls" with Lily, our favorite purple-haired emo girl, to help you practice a real conversation (with an upgraded plan)

• Nay: inauthentic pronunciation/cadence (based on the English lessons I've encountered)

• Nay: sometimes incorporates odd sentences you would likely never use in real life, particularly in the beginning lessons (I personally don't find this an issue as Duolingo seems to cater more toward vocabulary than natural conversation -- in fact, they are often hilarious -- but I've heard this brought up as an issue by other users/reviewers)

• Nay: While general use of the app is free, the free plan includes ads and limits your use based on how many mistakes you make, which can be quite frustrating and demotivating; upgraded plans Super and Max have relatively expensive yearly fees ($83.99/mo. and $119.99/mo., although choosing yearly options does save 50% on the Super plan, and if you have family members who also want to use Duolingo, you can get a Family plan with up to six users for the same price as the Max individual plan)

• Nay: The tales of the terrifying Duolingo Owl are real: The reminders, while overall helpful, can get a little much, and if you're not a fan of guilt trips, you might not appreciate them

Bonus: Duolingo now offers chess, math, and music lessons as well, so if you need a break from focusing on language, you could have fun building a different skill! I'm almost ashamed to admit how addicted I've gotten to playing chess matches with "Oscar," the quippy coach.

Tips & Tricks

• Recommendation: Duolingo is best used as a support; don't rely on it alone for your language-learning journey. Use it as a fun tool to build your vocabulary so other lesson types will come easier to you (when I started Pimsleur, it was exciting to find that I recognized most of the words I was hearing, even though I probably couldn't have regurgitated them if I tried).

• Recommendation: Repeat each sentence and phrase you hear or read aloud to help imprint them on your memory; you can get into a routine of wanting to "get through" a lesson too fast and not actually retain what the lesson was teaching.

• Recommendation: Don't let the streak ruin your life. Trust me--I have a 622-day streak going, and the thought of missing two days (they'll equip you with "streak freezes" for a day) genuinely gives me anxiety now, haha! As I said before, use it as a fun tool, not the end-all-be-all.