Duolingo: Language Lessons

38 of 100 · reviews
4.7of 5 · store
5,273,821ratings on the App Store
500reviews read

An editorial reading of the saved reviews

An outstanding tool for sustaining interest at the start, but not for real speech. It teaches word recognition in exercises rather than live speaking. Long-term users write directly: thousands of words collected and still cannot hold a conversation.

Screenshots

What people use it for

Complete beginners who want a fun, low-friction way to start a language and build the habit, paired with a substantive course for real progress.

What reviews praise

Wide language selection including rare ones (Hawaiian).
The game format keeps beginners engaged.
Several users report saying short Spanish phrases after two weeks.

What reviews complain about

Grammar explanations have been removed.
Free speaking is not practiced.
The hearts and streaks mechanic optimizes for daily engagement rather than actual learning.
Progress stalls at basic phrases.

What users experience

2 excerpts from the breakdown. These are individual cases, not a verdict on all users.

The app does a good job of gamifying language learning, but at a certain point the game elements start to get in the way of actually studying. For example, I learned more in two semesters of Japanese than what Duolingo seems to offer.

The newest version says vocabulary review. Their timed. I say the correct word and it takes five or six seconds to recognize. It just sits there and waste my time.