It is usually enjoyed by students because of several elements, such as the accessibility on a mobile device, its gamification aspect, and the variety of tasks. Preliminary results suggest that Duolingo is an easy-to-use app that is useful and has potential, although its main lessons are not based on communicative competence. I will describe how Duolingo operates, what kind of activities can be done, and how learning is achieved. The students used the app online, either in its mobile version or in their web browser. In the case of this study, Duolingo was used as part of the program of studies in two Spanish university courses, one a beginner’s Spanish course (level A1) and the other an advanced intermediate course (B2).

These types of apps use adaptive learning technologies, which are able to tailor the tasks to the level of each student. This article explores the idea of using an already existing language learning app, Duolingo, to complement traditional college level Spanish as second language courses.

Duolingo classroom