App of the Week 2 - Duolingo

This week’s App of the Week is DuolingoDuolingo is a website and app that uses a gamified approach to teaching foreign languages.  I’ve done a few lessons now and while my Spanish is still horrible, I can see how this approach could lead to some improvement.  Duolingo tracks your vocabulary and takes you through a skill tree as you learn.  You can also compete against friends to see who can complete the most lessons.  Duolingo claims that your chances of success increase by 200% when using this feature. 

So how much do you pay for all of this?  It’s free.  Apparently, Duolingo uses its lessons to power its actual translation service for people that pay with real money.  You can use Duolingo to learn Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, and English.  The website is www.Duolingo.com and the app is available through iTunes, and Google Play.

The Typical Dad