Resource Review: Duolingo

Hello, dear students!

Many of you may already know about the app duolingo, but in case you don't, I wanted to give you a review to help you decide if it's a tool you're interested in using!

Duolingo can be used on your computer or as an app on your iphone or android phone.  It's absolutely free!  You can access English lessons without signing up, but to track your progress, you'll need to make an account.

I can recommend this app personally, as I use it to study Portuguese!  But let me show you some of the great features!

1)  You can access the English lessons with the page language in Spanish.   This is useful when reading the corrections or notes that the app offers you throughout your lessons.

2)      You'll need to choose a lesson.  The app will start you at lesson 1.  For all of my students, this level is too basic.  However, the lessons are very short.  You have the option to pass through it anyway, or Duolingo will give you the option to take a test and prove your current knowledge.  After taking the test, you will be taken to a lesson that is at your level.

3)  When you begin a lesson, you will move through a series of slides.  Each slide has one of various types of activities.  Some of them are translation activities, like this one.  When you get an answer correct, you're friendly owl guide will give you praise and tips.  If you get an answer incorrect, you will recieve feedback and advice, plus the correct answer.

4)  Other types of activities may include a matching element, such as the one below.  Only a few new words and grammar points are introduces in each new lesson, to allow you time to master that small set.  From there, you will continue to review your accumulated words in future lessons, and you'll have the chance to go back and review whenever you feel like it.

5) There's also a tab called ''inmersión'' that will offer you listening practice and other interesting activities.  You'll be able to  see the difficulty of your selected activity and track your progress as you complete different activities.

Overall, I think Duolingo is a great language learning tool.  It can't replace English classes but it is a wonderful study tool that you can use to keep your brain sharp.  The app can send you reminder e-mails and will even allow you to compete against friends with your progress.  The design is clean and easy to use.  I love studying Portuguese with Duolingo, and although I'm very busy, I find plenty of time to work through the lessons thanks to having the app on my phone.  I am able to complete a lesson or review older material every day on the metro or in line at the store (you know, the lines at Jumbo around 7:00 p.m.), and with the app on my tablet, too, I can easily blow through a lesson in Starbucks or during commercials while I'm watching a show.

It's a great free resource and I think all of my students can benefit from using this tool!