In doing so, Duolingo made its lessons even more engaging and relevant (users have described the program as addicting).ĭuolingo also actually works. As students advance, the program lets them practice through translating real life content from one language to another. One key feature is its translation feature. It is almost like the Candy Crush of language learning, except the only way to get lingots is through continued learning.

The lessons come in very small, easy-to-digest modules.Īs students progress, they collect Duolingo’s virtual currency (called Lingots), which enables students to purchase items such as skill level assessments. One can access Duolingo via its website or mobile app, making learning a portable experience. Value creation – For students (users)ĭuolingo is a convenient, gamified, engaging, and effective way to learn a language: A students creates an account, which keep tracks of his/her learning progress. I started the research thinking it’s just another language learning program. Although it’s not perfect, Duolingo is an accessible way for people to learn a new language.Īs Dickinson is a school that boasts foreign language education, it’s no surprise that they are awarding von Ahn for his efforts in making language acquisition more accessible.I have wanted to learn Spanish for a while now, and that was why I started looking into Duolingo. Some languages, such as Japanese or Norwegian are still a work in progress but future versions are working to fix the structure of the lessons. Von Ahn recounted the obstacles faced by the platform and how the company is working on improving along with the user base.

Furthermore, in 2007 von Ahn and his graduate student, Severin Hacker began working on a project with the goal of educating the public- which is now the company known today as Duolingo. in Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University, he worked on a thesis in Human Computation, which eventually became the system of CAPTCHA and then reCAPTCHA: a revolutionized way to optimize and secure online transactions (while aiding the digitalization of online literature!). Led by professor Arnedo, students had the opportunity to ask questions and share experiences regarding the Duolingo app (Nasdaq: DUOL).ĭuolingo, however, was not von Ahn’s first venture. Students in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese were invited to meet and chat with the co-founder and CEO of Duolingo, Luis von Ahn.

Student in spanish duolingo