Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
PaulMagnuson
December2014
Introduction
PersonalUseofDuolingo
SchoolandClassroomContext
Twomajorprojects
Theconnectionbetweenthetwoprojects
ProjectBasedLearning
Grading
StudentuseofDuolingo
Duringclass
Ashomework
Asaninstrumenttoteachselfmotivation
Asanadditiontoatraditionalcurriculum
Developingindependence,selfpacing.
Additionaltimeontask
Interestandmotivation
Teachermonitoring
Counterpoint
Progressinwrittenlanguage
Progressinspokenlanguage
Thingsthatstudentsdidthatsurprisedme
Thingsstudentsdidntdo(ordidntdomoreoften)thatsurprisedme
Astrangelysilentclassroom
PilotDesign
PilotResults
RecommendationsforDuolingoifpursuingclassroomuse
ProgressQuizzes
Measuringprogress
Summary
Thanks
Introduction
DuolingolaunchedinJune2012.Itisagamifiedplatformforlearningforeignlanguages.It
consistsoftwomajorcomponents:grammarandvocabularyexercisesandaninterfaceto
translatearticlesfromtheweb.ThefinishedDuolingotranslationsarethecombinedeffortof
TeachingwithDuolingo,PaulMagnuson,December2014
manyindividualstudents,whodothemforfree.Thecompanysrevenuecomesfromselling
someofthesetranslatedarticlestoclients.
Interestingly,thelessonsfornewlyintroducedlanguagesarenowcreatedbyvolunteers.
Thoughthecompanyundoubtedlyhasacoreofperhapsseveraldozenemployees,agreat
dealoftheworkisdonebyfreebytheusers,includingboththegrammarandvocabulary
exercisesaswellasthetranslations.
Duolingoisnotbuiltasalearningmanagementsystemforteachersofforeignlanguagesto
usewithstudents,butthereisobviousutilitytoforeignlanguageteacherswhenaproductis
free,gamified,setuptoallowoneusertofriendanother,andcomeswithadiscussionboard
forgrammarandvocabularyquestions.
InFall2014IbeganusingDuolingowithaclassofhighschoolstudents.Thisarticlerecords
myexperienceitwithDuolingduringthefirstsemesteraswellasrecommendingtoDuolingo
whatcouldbeaddressedbythefolksatDuolingoiftheywanttocreateabettertoolforthe
teacherinaclassroomcontext.
IcreatedaDuolingoaccountonJanuary10,2013,twoyearsago.
Ibeganwithlanguagesmostfamiliartome,German,French,andSpanish,butrelatively
quicklyaddedItalianandPortuguese.IdidntaddDutchuntilJuly2014,thenaddedDanish,
Irish,andSwedishduringthefirstsemesterIusedDuolingowithstudents,inFall2014.
Ihavereachedthemaximumlevel(25)inGerman,FrenchandSpanish,buttheprogram
doesntmakeonestop.Itisalwayspossibletoreviewgrammarandvocabularyandalways
anoptiontotranslatearticlesfromtheselanguagesintoEnglish.Ihavefinishedthegrammar
exercisesinDutch(15),Italian(19),Portuguese(23),andSwedish(13).Iwillfinishthe
grammarexercisesinDanish(11)inthenextseveralweeks.Irish(7)isawholenotherstory.
Gaeilge
isdifficult.
BynomeansdoIspeaktheselanguages,andonesthatIdospeaktosomedegreearenotin
generalduetoDuolingo.However,IhavefoundthatIcanenjoypostsonsocialmedia,
newspaperarticles,andexcerptsfromnovelsinthelanguagesforwhichIvefinishedthe
grammarandvocabularyexercisesofferedinDuolingo.
InmytopfiveDuolingolanguagesIvedoneafairamountoftranslating,reachingfromlevel6
tolevel8ineachofthem.Duolingograntsatranslatinglevelforevery100sentencesyou
havetranslatedwhichhavealsobeengiventhethumbsupbyanotherDuolingouserthat
otherusermusthaveclickedtheLooksgoodbuttonforyourtranslationtoearnapoint.
TeachingwithDuolingo,PaulMagnuson,December2014
Level6representsthan500599sentencesthatotherusersthoughtcorrect(butasentence
canbeasinglewordorshortphrase,forexampletheheaderofasectionofanarticle).
IvetakenthefinalprogressquizinalllanguagesforwhichIvefinishedthegrammarand
vocabularyexercises.TheyarenotbenchmarkedwithanyfamiliarlanguagetestasfarasI
know,buttherankorderofthequizresultsaccuratelyreflectshowIwouldselfreportmy
readingabilityineachofthelanguages.
Imcurrentlyonastreakofover400daysinarowofatleastsomelanguagelearningwith
Duolingodaily.
IworkataninternationalboardingschoolinSwitzerland.Thestudentbodyof330students
spanseighthtotwelfthgradeand40nativelanguages.Moststudentsspeaktwoormore
languages.MoststudentsarenonnativeEnglishspeakers.Theschedulefollowsaseven
periodday,classesmeetfourtimesweeklyduetoblockclassesontwodaysand,duringski
season,twoafternoonsoffeachweekforslidingdownthelocalmountain.
TheclassinwhichIintroducedDuolingoiscalledLinguistics&Languages.Itisanelective,
offeredforthefirsttimethisschoolyearaspartofourresearchschoolwithinaschool.Itisin
facthalfofourresearchcentershackschoolinitiative,inwhichwegivestudentsan
environmentofcoolstuff(theotherclassisroboticsandcoding)andtimetoexperimentand
findtheirownintrinsicmotivationandpersonalmethodstolearnbest.Weareintentionally
settingthestudentsuptohacktheirowneducation.1
Theclassbeganandendedthefallsemesterwith16students,6girlsand10boys,grades10
to12.NativelanguagesincludedChinese(4),English(3),Portuguese(2),Russian(2),Arabic
(1),French(1)Italian(1).Kazakh(1),Spanish(1).Adultsfromtheschoolwereinvitedto
attendaswell.Twoadultsattendedregularly,twoorthreeotherscamefromtimetotime.
Theirrolewastolearnlanguageindependentlyfortheirownenjoyment.Twoofthemused
Duolingo.AllofthemwerenativespeakersofEnglish.
ThestudentsinLinguistics&Languageswereaskedtotakepartintwomajoractivities.
AllstudentswererequiredtouseDuolingotobeginortocontinuelearningalanguage(or
morethanonelanguage)ontheirown.Theywereoftengiventimeinclass,particularlyinthe
firsthalfofthesemester.ForthoseforwhomDuolingowasntinteresting,Icreatedaprocess
1
Astudentinthecodingactivitysignedupbecausethenameledhimtobelievewewouldbeillegally
hackingintocomputers.Whenhefoundoutnoillegalactivitywasplanned,hisfaceregistereddeep
disappointment.
TeachingwithDuolingo,PaulMagnuson,December2014
toallowanystudenttoresearchadifferentonlinelanguagelearningtool,presentthetoolto
class,andthenusethenewtoolexclusivelyorinconjunctionwithDuolingo.Duringthefirst
semester,onlyonestudentmovedawayfromDuolingo.
ThesecondmajorproductisthecreationofabookcalledLanguageAwareness.Thebook
iscomposedoftwomajorsections.Onesectionisareviewofonlinelanguagelearningsites,
usingthesametemplatethatstudentscanusetomoveawayfromDuolingo.Thegoalisto
havetwelvegoodreviewsinthebook.
Theothersectionisacollectionofactivitiestoraiseawarenessaboutlanguage,servingasan
introductiontothestudyoflinguistics.StudentshelpfinishactivitiesIhavestartedforthem,
andwithtime,studentswillinitiateandcreateactivitiesfromthebeginning.Theyworkin
groupsoffourusingaspecializedapproachtoprojectbasedlearning(seebelow),pilotingthe
activityafterapproximatelythreeclassesofworktime.Thisbetatestingoccurseitherwithin
theLinguistics&Languagesclassorwithanotherlanguageclassoncampus.Thegoalisto
havetwelvetosixteenactivitiesinthebook.
Sampleactivities,andthelinguistictopictheyintroduce,areinTable1.
TABLE1:
Somesamplelanguageawarenessactivities
Activity...
servingasanintroductionto
Whatdoesthemean?
Translatability
IntroductiontoArabicwriting
Writingsystems
Thefirstword
Originsoflanguage
Basicwordorder
Syntax
FormalandinformalYou
Sociolinguistics
AsIworkonlanguageswithDuolingo,Inoticenowandagainsomethinginterestingabout
howaparticularlanguageworks.Thesenoticingsareonesourcefornewideasforthe
languageawarenessactivities.Anoverarchinggoalfortheclassisthatstudentsbeginto
noticewhattheyhaventnoticedbeforeaswell,perhapsleadingtoselfinitiatedideasfor
newlanguageawarenessactivities.IdliketothinkImprovidinganenvironmentinwhichthey
candevelopaninquisitivestancetowardlanguage,andtowardlearningingeneral.
TeachingwithDuolingo,PaulMagnuson,December2014
Acomplementarypieceofactionresearchthatwasnotpartoftheoriginalplanarosefromthe
needtostructurethegroupworkonthereviewsforonlinelanguagelearningandthe
languageawarenessactivities.WiththeadviceandhelpofcolleaguesfromourschoolsIT
officeandresearchcenter,IbeganusingideasfromeduScrum.2 TheDutchdevelopersof
eduScrumwouldnodoubtsayIhavefartogobeforeIcansayIm
doing
eduScrum.Forour
purposeshere,itsufficestosaythatImsupportingselfdrivenstudentgroupworkwithwhatI
understandatthemomentastheirprocess.Thishasbecomearesearchprojectinitselfand
acolleagueandIwilladdressitinthefuture.
Grading
Eachweekthestudentsreceivedapass(4.0)ornopass(0.0).Therewere12totalgraded
weeksinthefirstsemester.Thefinalgradewasanaverageofthepassesandnopasses.
Ididnotfixarequirednumberofearnedpointstoreachacertaingrade(moreonthisbelow),
butIdidrequireadequateprogressfromeachstudenteachweek.Ifrequentlycommunicated
withstudentsusingtheactivitystreaminDuolingoitself,givingencouragementand
commentingwhenIcouldinthelanguagesthestudentswerelearning.Ialsoemailed
reminderswhenIfeltastudentwasnotdoingenough,orifastudentwasmanipulating
Duolingoinamannertogetlotsofpointsbutsidesteppingseriouslearning(moreonthat
below,too).
Ididnotrequirethatstudentsstickwithaparticularlanguage.Theywerefreetoworkonany
language,orlanguagepair,sinceDuolingoisbasedontranslatingfromonelanguageto
another.Studentscouldworkfromtheirnativelanguagetoanotherlanguage,orfromEnglish
toanotherlanguage,eveniftheirnativelanguagewasathirdlanguage.Thus,aChinese
speakermightbelearningFrenchthroughEnglish,whilehercolleaguewaslearningFrench
throughEnglishasanativespeakerofEnglish.Thisdiscrepancyexplainsinpartmy
unwillingnesstofixacertainpointtotalforagradeanyonepointtotalcanrepresent
significantlydifferentamountsofeffortdependingonthestudent.
Iofferedtimetoworkindependentlyatleast50percentofclasstimeinthefirsthalfofthe
semester,andthenincreasinglylessoncethestudentswereworkinginteamsoneitherthe
SeeeduScrum.nl/en
TeachingwithDuolingo,PaulMagnuson,December2014
onlinelanguagereviewsorthelanguageawarenessactivities.Oncethoseprojectswere
underway,inclasstimeforDuolingowasgenerallylimitedto:
timeswhenteamsfinishedtheirworkearly
daysonwhichIevaluatedprojectswitheachofthefourteamsthethreeteamsnot
beingevaluatedhadtimeforDuolingo
aclassdayortwobetweenprojectsand
astheemergencyplanforasubstituteteacher,whichIdidntuse.
As homework
WhetherornottherewastimetoworkonDuolingoinclass,adequateprogress(determined
bymesubjectively,byindividualstudent),wasrequiredweekly.Ihadthought,apparently
incorrectly,thatstudentswouldbemorereadilyintriguedbyDuolingothantheywere,and
becauseitissoeasytoaccessforshortbitsoflearning,thatstudentswouldregisteratleast
afewpointsmostdays.
Instead,whenIofferedtimeinclass,IsawlessattentiontoDuolingooutsideofclass,and
probablythereversewasalsotrue:ifastudentloggedpointsoutsideofclass,theeffective
timeontaskduringanyindependentclasstimewasprobablyless.
Bytheendofthesemester,ifavisitortoclasshadaskedthestudentswhattheprincipaland
secondarygoalsoftheclasswere,almostallstudentswouldhaveanswered:
(1) tolearntobeselfdirectedlearners,and(secondarily)
(2) tolearnsomethingaboutlanguagesandlinguistics.
IstartedthesemestermodelingmyowninterestinlearningwithDuolingobybeingatmy
laptop,atastudenttable,learning,whenthestudentsarrived.Withoutmyactivemonitoring,a
significantnumberofstudentsspentasignificantamountoftimeonlinebutnotontask.I
toleratedthisbehaviorfarlongerthanIwouldhaveifthegoaloftheclasswasanythingbut
learningtobeselfdirectedlearners,becausetheamountofwastedtimeatleast,timenot
spentonlearninglanguageviaDuolingooranyotheronlineplatformwaslarge.WhileIfelt
thatthestudentswouldneedtobefreetowasteacertainamountoftimeinordertolearn
howitfelttobeproductive,overthecourseofthesemesterIgrewlesspatientwaitingfor
intrinsicmotivationtokickin.
Perhapsthestudentswerehavingtimetolearnintrinsicmotivation,perhapstheyneeded
betterscaffoldingfromme.PerhapsIhadsetmyexpectationsforthemunrealisticallyhigh
ormoreprobablyIjusthavemuchstilltolearnabouttheblendedclassroomenvironmentIam
tryingtobuildwithDuolingoandonlinelanguagelearningingeneral.
TeachingwithDuolingo,PaulMagnuson,December2014
Indeed,thatisonereasontosharemysemesterwithyouandothersviathispaper.
StudentsintheLinguistics&Languagesclassrespondedtoquestionsfromtimetotimeina
personaljournal.Towardtheendofthesemester,Iaskediftheythoughtthatanonline
learningplatformshouldbeusedasacomplementinourtraditionallanguageclasses.
Fourteenof16studentsrespondedtotheprompt:11saidyes,twowerenoncommittal,one
saidno.
AbilingualstudentstudyingadvancedFrenchwrote:
Ithinkthiswayoflearningcouldsometimesbeevenbetterthanbeingtaughtbyateacherall
class.Itgivesthestudentindependenceandsomemaylearnmorebythemselvesthanin
classwithotherstudentsandateacher.
Abilingualfriendagreed:
Selflearningisimportantforselfgrowing,beingmoreindependently.Itisatrainingfor
them,preparingthemtocollege.
Andathirdnotesthatindependentworkallowsstudentstoworkattheirappropriatelevel:
Anotherpointisthattheentireclassmayallowthosewhocanadvanceeasiertogofurther
andlearnmore.
Selfpacingisrelatedtohavingadditionaltimetopractice.Inclass,nothavingtowaitforless
advancedstudentsmayerodetimeontaskforadvancedstudents.Outofclass,simply
havingaccesstoanotherwaytogetmorepracticeshouldhaveapositiveeffectonlearning.
Asanexampleletstakemyself.IlearnFrenchat[school]butIalsodoitonDL.Duolingo
somehowimprovesmyskills,maybebecauseIhavemorepractice.
Further,havingadditionalwaystoaccessmodernlanguagelearningsupportslearningby
providingnovelty,whichplaysintolearnerinterestandmotivation.Justthefactthatthe
learningisonlinemaybeenoughtopeaktheinterestofsomestudents:
TeachingwithDuolingo,PaulMagnuson,December2014
Andlikethewordonlineshouldbemoreinterestingtostudents.
Onestudentfeltthatonlinelearningwasmoreinteractivethanclassroominstruction,butnote
thecounterpointprovidedbytheonestudentwhothoughtaddingonlinelearningtoclasses
wasnotagoodidea(seeCounterpointbelow):
...onlinecurriculumcanhelpimprovethestudentswayoflearninginthatitwillmakeitmore
interactive,somethinglessdull.
Teacher monitoring
Finally,onestudentapproachedheranswerfromtheteacherviewpointaswell,notingthat:
...thisisawayfortheteachertomonitorprogressinaclass.
Andinthespiritofthecommentsaboutindependentlearning,wemightwanttoaddthatitisa
wayforstudentstomonitortheirownprogress.
Counterpoint
Onestudentwasnotinfavorofaddinganonlinecomponenttotraditionalclasses(thoughhe
mayhaveunderstoodthepromptdifferentlythantheotherstudents,answeringinstead
whetherornotitwasagoodideatoreplaceatraditionalcoursewithanonlinecourse,rather
thancomplementingatraditionalcoursewithanonlinecomponent).
NoIbelievethisbecausethebestpracticeiswhenyoupracticeintherealworldsoifyou
makeonlinecoursesrequiredthentherewillbelesstimeforrealworldpractice.
Itwouldbeinterestingtoteaseoutwhatrealworldpracticemeans,sinceonecouldargue
thatanyclassroomcontextisnottherealworld,butthatsomeclassroomactivitiesand
materialstryveryhardtoemulaterealworldsituations,whereonlinelearningmaynot.Onthe
otherhand,onlinelearningplatformsmayalsotrytoemulatetherealworld,dependingon
thedesignoftheprogram.
IhadanopportunitytointroduceDuolingoforafewweekswhenIfilledinasasubstitute
Spanishteacherfortwoweeks.Somestudentslikedit,otherslessso.Iparticularlyenjoyed
learningfromtheroommateofoneofthestudentsintheSpanishclass,thatthestudentwas
hookedonDuolingoforGerman.
Whileoneteacher(offive)inourmodernworldlanguagedepartmentencouragesDuolingo
currently,theotherfourdonot,andtwoofthemseemedquiteunconvincedofitsutility.One
teacherexpressedhesitationforusinganonlinetoolthatfeltlikeitmight,tosomeextent,
replacetheteacher.
TeachingwithDuolingo,PaulMagnuson,December2014
ProgressinDuolingo
Oneobvious,butunreliable,wayforateachertomeasurestudentprogressinDuolingoisby
accumulatedpointtotals.
Table3showsthetotalpointscoresover14weeksforthe16studentsenrolledintheclass.
Eliminatingthehighestandlowestscores(seethenotesunderthetableastowhy),the
averagepointtotalis4161,ofwhichsixscoresarehigherand9scoresarelower.Youcould
imaginethatascorenear4161mightbeneartheaveragelettergradeforourschool(aB),
withAsandCsperhapsoneitherside.
TABLE3:
Duolingopointtotalsfor16studentsinonesemester(14classweeks)
Student 1*
Total
8955
8115
7695
4901
4293
4166
3955
Student 9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16**
Total
2747
2075
1949
1844
1831
1828
457
15335
3896
*Studentoftendeletedaspecificlanguagecourseandretestedoutofmultipleskillsagainin
hisnativelanguageaddingartificiallytohispointtotal
**StudentswitchedtoFluenciaearlyinthesemester.
Thisturnsouttobetoosimplistic,however.Theamountofeffortexpended,andpresumably
theamountlearned,byStudent2forhis8,955pointscomparedtoStudent12withhis1,949
pointsisnotequivalent.Knowingjustalittleoftheirbackgroundsandalittleabouthow
Duolingoworkshighlightshowslipperythesepointtotalsare.
Student2isanativelikespeakerofEnglishandatleasttwoEuropeanlanguages.Student12
isanativeChinesespeakerandalowintermediateESLstudent.
InDuolingo,thereareoptionstolearnmanyEuropeanlanguagesasanEnglishspeaker.For
ChinesenativespeakerstheonlyoptionisEnglish.
Student2earnedpointsinSpanish,ItalianandFrench.Twooftheselanguagesarenativeor
nativelikeforhim,inthethirdheisatanadvancedlevel.Helikelytestedoutofseveral
languagelessons,earningmanypointsinone10to15minutesession.
TeachingwithDuolingo,PaulMagnuson,December2014
10
Student12earnedpointsinFrenchandEnglish.TolearnFrench,hehadtoworkwiththe
languagepairEnglishFrench.HeisapurebeginnerinFrench.Hehadnowaytotestoutof
lessonstoearnpointsquickly,andeachindividuallessonwasprobablyquitedifficult.
Attheendofthesemester,Student12sDuolingolevelswereSpanish(11),Italian(10),
French(9),Portuguese(6),Dutch(1),Irish(1).Students2sDuolingolevelswereFrench(6),
English(?)hehadperhapsdeletedEnglishfromhisrecord.
DuringthetwoweeksthatIsubstitutetaughttheintermediateSpanishclassesIaskedall
studentstospendsometimeonDuolingoeachday.BecauseDuolingokeepstrackofuseby
consecutivedaysinarow,IimaginedIcouldeasilyconverttheindividualstudentuserhistory
intoagrade.
Thisworkedwellattheendoftheweekforstudentswhohadscoredpointseachdayofthe
week.Theiruserstreakwasanunambiguousfiveormoredays.However,astudentwhohad
missedjustonedaythatweekmighthaveastreakonFridayofone,two,three,orfourdays,
dependingonwhatdaythestudentdidnotscoreanypoints.Icouldstillgradestudentuse,
butreallyonlywithayesorano,apassornopass,forgettingsomepointseverydayforfive
daysorfornotgettingsomepointseverydayforfivedays.
Further,itispossibletospendingtimedoingDuolingowithoutgettinganypoints.AtthetimeI
wassubbingtheSpanishclasses,Duolingostillusedathreestrikesandyoureoutsystemof
passingeachlesson.StudentswouldtellmetheyworkedonDuolingo,tryingonelesson
severaltimesbutfailingtopass,thusfailingtogetanypoints,thuslosingtheirstreakof
consecutivedays.Usingtherecordedstreakforgradingwasnoteffective.
Selfreporting
IaskedstudentstoselfreportiftheythoughtDuolingowashelpingthemprogress.
Nineof12students(fourstudentsdidntaddressthequestionatall,foratotalof16students
intheclass)reportedthattheywerehappywiththeirprogress,manyofthemliterallyusedthe
wordhappyasisevidentintheirquotesbelow.Twostudentsfeltthattheirprogresswasnt
fastenough.Onestudentfelthehadmadenoprogressandthathedoesnotknowthe
purposeofthisclassandhealreadyknowsthelanguagesthatIneed.Itmaybenosurprise
thatheexhibitedchallengingbehaviorsinclass,whichprobablyaroseinpartduetohisbelief
thathehasnothingtolearnfromtheclass.Hischallengingbehavioralsocontributedto
missingoutonopportunitiestolearn.Withouttellinghim,Iaskedtheacademicofficeifthere
wasanoptionforhimtoswitchtoanotherclass(theLinguistics&Languagesclassisa
nonrequiredelective),butasmayoftenbethecaseinasmallschool,therewasnotaclass
TeachingwithDuolingo,PaulMagnuson,December2014
11
atthesameperiodthatisagoodfitforhim.Illtakeitasapersonalchallengetoelicitamore
positiveselfreportnextsemester.
Excerptsfromtheresponsesofalltwelvestudentswhoansweredthepromptfollow.They
wereaskedtoselfreporttheirprogressinWeek12ofclass.
Progress
IthinkIhavemadealotofprogress.IknowthatbecauseIvebeenpracticingmySpanish
withmyMexicanfriendsandtheysayIspeakverywell
Iamveryhappy.Ifeelveryproudofmyprogress.Lovethislanguagelearningstuff.
Myprogressmademefeelhappyandexcited.Iwanttolearnmoreandmore.IthingthatI
didprettygoodjob.
Myprogressmakemefeelhappy
MyprogressmakesmefeelconfidentwhenIgototalktootherpeopleusingaforeign
language.
Ifeltprettygoodofmyprograse.EspacialywhenIhaveareallyquizthenIpassedit.Butit
hardtousewhatIlearndindailylife.
MyprogressmakesmefeelhappyItmakesmefeelgreat.
Ifeelproudofmyself,howIcanwritewithfullsentences
MyprogressisstableandImhappywithit.
Notenoughprogress
IthinkthatIshouldimprovemore.BecausewhenIhearfriendsismucheasierbutwrittingit
istillveryhard.
Iknowmoreverbs,butthevocabularyisverydifficulttome,theyarecompletenewwordsto
me,butImhappyIdidsomeprogress,butIneedtodomuchmoreprogress.
Noprogress
IdontfeellikeIhavemadeanyprogress.
TeachingwithDuolingo,PaulMagnuson,December2014
12
Whiletheselfreportsarepositive,studentsaretoadegreewritingwhattheythinktheir
teacherwantstohear,andsincetheyknowImaDuolingoenthusiast,theymayhavebeen
curryingfavorabit.
Studentwritingsamples
OccasionallyduringthesemesterIalsoaskedstudentstowriteforfiveminutesinthe
languagetheyhadchosentostudy.Someofthestudentswrotewordlistsatthebeginningof
thesemesterandwithmyencouragementmovedtosentencesbytheendofthesemester,
manystudentsswitchbetweenlanguages.Whilethereisntamannertojudgeprogressdue
toDuolingo(manyofthestudentsalsohaveaFrenchorESLclassinadditiontothe
languageclasswithme),studentsmaybeabletoseetheirowngrowth,particularlyafter
anothersemester.
SampleA
ThisstudentspeaksEnglishandSpanish.ShebeganFrenchinWeek1ofthesemester.At
theendofthesemesterherDuolingolevelswerePortuguese(9),Spanish(9),French(8),
Danish(1),Swedish(1).ShewasalsoenrolledinthefirstsemesterofFrench.
Week5entry
Jaimemonchain.Jeparleespagnol,angle,etunpeupetitfrancais.
Legumes
Chien
Chat
enfants,avezvousenfants.
elle/il
es,est,sont.
Noussommes,vousavons.
viande,riz,rouge,noire,mangeunepomme.cafeaulait.:)
Week12
TowardtheendofthesemestershehadmadegoodfriendswithPortuguesespeakersand
addedPortuguese.
Oi.Bonjour,jem'appelle[name]mais.jenesaispa.Monclassedelanguecesttresfacil
:).Aujourdhuicestvendredivingthuitdenovembre.Jeporteuntshirtblanc,unejupenoire,
etbottesbeige.Lanoiteemuittolinda.essalinguagemmuitolindo.muitofcilparami
...massvezesachoquemuitodifcil.pronnciassoirritantes.Eusoumuitobomcoma
escrita.
TeachingwithDuolingo,PaulMagnuson,December2014
13
SampleB
ThisstudentspeaksRussianandoneadditionallanguagefromtheformerSovietbloc.Heis
inthemostadvancedESLlevel.
Week5
Hellomynameis[name],I'mfrom[country].I'mstudyingintheSwitzerland.
InthefutureIwanttobeabusinessman.Ireallyliketoplaytennis,myfavouriteplayeris
NovakDjokovic.I'msixteenyearsoldandIhaveabigfamily.
Ilovemyfamily
InthefutureIwanttomake[country]morebetterandfamous.Iwillbethemostrichest
personin[country]
Week12
HelloEveryoneIwilltellyouonemorestoryfrommylife.Mylifeisreallyinterestingand
exciting.YesterdayiwenttothetennismatchinFrance.Itwasreallyawesomematch,my
twofavouriteplayerswereplayingagainsteachother.Ineversawlikethisgamesinmy
wholelife.MyfatherandIlovetowatchtennismatchesontheTV,buttodaywewentwithto
therealmatch.Ididn'texpectthatitwillbesocool.Iwassoexcitedaboutmatch.Match
startedat10:00andendedat5:00thegamewasreallylong,myfatherandIsattherefor5
hours.Ididn'tknowtowhomIambecausemy2favouriteplayersareplaying.Myfathertold
mewewillgomoreandmoretothematcheslikethisinthefuture.
Again,itisdifficulttosayintheseandtherestofthestudentexamplestowhatdegreethere
isanyimprovement,andimpossibletosayifanyperceivedimprovementisduetoDuolingo,
sincethestudentsarelearninginotherclasses,throughthelinguafrancaoftheschoolinthe
caseofESLstudents,andbylivingwithspeakersofthelanguage,assumingtheyare
interactingatleastsometimesinthelanguagesoftheirfriends.
Afterselectingalanguagetostudyatthebeginningofthesemester,eachstudentmadea60
secondoralrecordingwiththeinstructionstosayasmuchastheycould.Thereweresome
writtenpromptsonthewhiteboardwheretheyrecorded.Oneofthestudentsactedasthe
recorded,savingtheiraudiofileusingQuicktime.
Ididnotmakerecordingsattheendofthesemester,butwillattheendofthenextsemester.
TeachingwithDuolingo,PaulMagnuson,December2014
14
Ididntexpectstudentstoswitchfromonelanguagetoanother,butIamgladthattheydid.
Manystudentslookedabitatlanguagesnewtothem,orclimbedthroughseventotenlevels
inatleasttwolanguages.
NordidIexpectstudentstoworkintheirownnativelanguage,butthiswasfairlycommon.
Sometimesitwascuriosityorpride,sometimesitwastoearnpointsquickly.
BecauseIworkonDuolingoalongsidethestudents,forafewweeksIwasincompetitionwith
onestudenttohavethemostpoints.WhenhegotaheadofmeIincreasedmypointtotal,
usuallytojustwithinreachofhis.Whenwesaweachotherwejokedaboutwhowasgoingto
win.IfeltlikeIwasbeingverytrickybycontinuallycatchinguptohimandpushinghim
forward,but
ThestudentwasdeletinghisprogressinFrench,andthenretakingtheplacementtest,which
awardslotsofpointsforallthelevelspassed,allatonce.Itturnsoutthestudentwaspushing
metogetmorepracticemorethanIwaspushinghim,becausehecouldearnafewthousand
pointsintentofifteenminutes,itprobablytookmeafewhoursoftranslatingarticlestocatch
uptohim.Evenworse,hislimitedpracticewasinFrenchwhichwashisnativelanguage.
Whilenotquiteasurprise,thereweretimeswhenstudentspassedoutoflevelsinalanguage
thatIamfairlysuretheycouldnothaveaccomplishedontheirown.Inotherwords,therewas
somecheatingfromtimetotime.Itisvirtuallyimpossibletoverify,butthereareofcourse
indicatorstoateacherwhoknowsastudentsabilityfairlywellandissuddenlyconfronted
withresultsthatfarexceedwhatseemspossible.
Finally,IdidexpectatleastsomepercentageofstudentstogethookedondoingDuolingo,
whichdoesntseemtobethecaseforanyofthem.IrememberwhenStephenKrashenwas
oncampusafewyearsagoandsomeoneaskedhimwhathethoughtofDuolingo.His
answeramountedtodoubtthatlearnerswouldstickwithit.WhileIveencounteredplentyof
usersonDuolingowhoaredefinitelystickingwithit,fromthepoolofmillionsIsuspectthe
majoritydonot.Anecdotally,severalstaffmembersherethatwereinitiallyveryinterested
havesloweddownorstoppedusingDuolingo.Atthispoint,Idontexpectthestudentsto
havemuchstayingpowereither.
ImadeitclearanumberoftimesthatstudentscouldswitchawayfromDuolingo,yetonlyone
didovertheentiresemester.Unfortunately,thisisdueinmyestimationmoretoalackof
selfmotivationthantoaloveforDuolingo.Movingtoanothersystemwouldrequiresome
intrinsicdrive,abitofwork.Itiseasiertojustslogalongwithwhatisgivenyoubytheteacher.
Ialsomadeitclearthatanysortoflanguagelearningwasokay,butinthefirstsemesterIonly
sawonestudentwatchingcartoons,forexample,inFrench(thestudentwasanativeRussian
TeachingwithDuolingo,PaulMagnuson,December2014
15
speaker).Hereisaclassinwhichtheteacherissayingtothestudentstositdownandwatch
moviesinalanguagetheyarestudying,buttheydont,oratleastrarelydid.
Ittookawhileforstudentstolookupfromtheircomputerandaskanativespeakerintheclass
forhelp.TherearetwonativeFrenchspeakersintheclass,andmoststudentswerelearning
French.Butfewaskedthenativespeakersforhelp.
Nostudentaskedanotherstudenttosetupsomesortofconversationalexchange,even
thoughmanywerelearninglanguagesthatothersspeakasnativespeakers.
Nostudentbroughtabooktoclass,oramagazine,newspaper,printedarticle,etc.Oneofthe
adultsmodeledbookreadinginthefirstfewweeksofclass.Imnotsureanyofthestudents
wouldevenrememberthathewasthereorwhathewasdoing.
Theheadofthemodernlanguagedepartmentvisitedclassoneafternoon.Aftersheobserved
forawhile,sheremarked,ThisisthequietestlanguageclassIveeverseen.Ilookedaround
atthestudents,spreadaroundourlargeroom,mostofthemwearingearbuds,workingwith
laptopsorsmartphones,theonlysoundtheshortburstsoftaptaptaponakeyboard.Itwas
veryquiet.
Whichledmetoask:whereisthenoiseofaregularmodernlanguageclasscomingfrom?
Becauseifitsmostlyfromtheteacher,thatsamenoiseorbettersaid,languageinputis
comingfromDuolingo.Werethesilentstudentsofthisclassradicallydifferentfromstudents
inothermodernlanguageclasses?
Idesignedandpilotedawaytoobservethelanguageproductionofstudentsinmodern
languageclasses.
Pilot Design
Asthedatacollector,Iarrivedatthelanguageclass(IobservedoneFrenchandoneSpanish
class,beginnersandintermediatestudents,grades1012)aheadofthestudentsandkept
trackoftheorderinwhichstudentsarrivedinordertohaveaquasirandomsample.Forthe
restofthe50minuteclassperiod,Iobservedstudents2,5,and8(inarrivalorder).Eachtime
thestudentproducedlanguage(thenoiseIwasinterestedin),Iestimatedthelengthofthe
studentsproductionasbestIcould.Whileinexact,Ifelttheresultswouldgiveareliable
estimateoftheamountoftimeanyparticularstudentproduceslanguageduringaregular
TeachingwithDuolingo,PaulMagnuson,December2014
16
class,withwhichIcouldthenmakecomparisontomyclassoflearnersusingDuolingo,
whoselanguageproductiontimewasclosetozero.3
Pilot Results
ThedatafromthetwoclassesinwhichIpilotedthestudymayseemsurprising.Ofthesix
studentsIobserved,therangeinspokenlanguageproductionwas4to110seconds,meanof
51seconds.Forthesesixstudents,themeanlanguageproductiontimewaslessthana
minute.
TABLE2:
Studentproductiontimeintwomodernlanguageclasses
Class1
(11
students)
Class2
(12
students)
Student2
Student5
Student8
Student2
Student5
Student8
Timein
seconds
51
66
52
23
110
Whileatfirstglosssurprising,aclasstaughtinatraditionalmanner,inwhichtheteacher
initiatesaninteraction,getsananswerfromonestudent,andthencommentsonthat
studentsanswer4 ,theresultislesssurprising.Letslookatthemathinahighlysimplified
example.
Ina50minuteclass,whenthecommunicationpatternisTeacher,Student,Teacher,the
teacherspeakstwothirdsofthetime,or33minutes.Thereare50minus33minutesleftfor
thestudents,or17totalstudentminutes.However,therearemultiplestudents.Intheclasses
Iobserved,therewere11and12students.Therearethan17minutesdividedby11or12
studentsforeachindividualstudent,or,or1.4to1.55minutesperstudent,whichis
approximately90secondsperstudent.
Thisapproachtoobservinglanguageclassesislikelyanothergoodactionresearchproject,
particularlyforsomeoneinthemodernlanguagedepartment.Iflanguageproductionisvalued
inlearninglanguage(andIthinkwewouldfindplentyofsupportforthisintheliterature!),then
theteachingmethodneedstoprovidespaceforstudentproductionofthelanguage.
Anecdotally,atapproximatelythesametimeasthesecondpilotobservationIobserveda
3
Duolingoexercisescanincludespeakingexercises.Theuserhastheoptiontoturnonoroffspeakingand
listeningboth.Moststudentsinmyclass,however,didinsignificantamountsofspeakingwhileusing
Duolingo.
4
ThisistheInitiationResponseFeedback(IRF)modelprevalentinclassroomsettings.
TeachingwithDuolingo,PaulMagnuson,December2014
17
classthatwassetupspecificallytoemphasizestudentsproducingorallanguageandthe
numbersherewouldbemuchdifferentifIhadpilotedthesamestudyinthatclass.
However,besidesstumblingonaniceactionresearchprojectforamodernlanguageteacher,
themainpointhereisthatassumingthestrangequietnessoftheDuolingoclassisvastly
differentfromanoisiertraditionallanguageclassmaybemisguided,atleastifthemeasureis
theamountoftimeagivenstudentisproducingorallanguage.
Anotherinterestingcomparisonforafuturestudyislanguageinput.ForDuolingo,assuming
thestudentisactivelyworking,thereisinstantinput(completewithadjustablevolumeand
twoavailablespeeds).InthelanguageclassroomsIvisited,thereareoftentimeswhenthe
teacherisworkingwithonestudentorwithonegroupofstudentsduringwhichtherestofthe
studentsmaynotbereceivinganyinput,astheyeitherwaitfortheteacher,discussthe
groupworkinEnglish,orareotherwiseofftask.Ofcourse,thisisnttosaythatstudentsusing
Duolingodontstrugglewithbeingofftaskaswell.
Thereareadaptivequizzesavailableineachlanguagewhichtheusercanpurchasefor25
lingots,Duolingosgamifiedcurrency.AteacherusingDuolingowithaclasscouldhaveall
studentsusethebuiltinquizfeature(whichproducesascorefrom0to5andcanberetaken
asmanytimesastheuserbuysthequiz).However,thecurrentlingotpricemeansnotall
studentshaveaccessnorwanttospendtheirlingotsinthisway.
Also,itwouldbeinterestingtoknowwhattheprogressquizresultsmeanbeyondDuolingo.
Perhapsfutureprogressquizzescanbebenchmarkedwithanestablishedtestofwritten
languageproficiency.
Rewards
Duolingoawardstheuserbyshowingprogresstowardcompletionofaparticularskillandtwo
lingotsforcompletingaskill,aswellasbonuslingotsforcompletingstreaks,measuredby
daysinarow.Thereisalsoacertificateawardedwhentheusercompletestheentiresetof
grammarandvocabularyskills(theskilltree).Allofthesearemotivationalforsomestudents.
Additionally,itispossibletogiveonesownlingotstootherotherusers,usuallyasthanksfor
agoodanswerorsuggestionintheDiscussionfeature.Designers,ifdevelopingDuolingofor
classroomuse,mightliketoconsiderhowateachercanuselingotstosignalgoodstudent
work,andhowstudentsmighttradelingotswitheachother.
TeachingwithDuolingo,PaulMagnuson,December2014
18
Measuring progress
IranintodifficultieswhenadaptingDuolingofortrackingstudentprogressand,evenwithmy
veryrelaxedgradingstructure(passornopassfortheweekforshowingsubjective,
individualizedprogress),itwashardtotranslateDuolingouseintoadequateorlessthan
adequateprogressanditwouldbeevenharderwhereanAFgradingsystemwererequired.
Forthepurposeofthisstudy,Ikepttrackofeachstudentsweeklytotal.Itwasnecessaryto
transferthetotalweeklypoints(whichDuolingoreports)onSundayeveningbeforethenew
weekstarted,becauseoncetheweekisoverthepastweeklytotaldisappears,leavingas
historyonlythemonthlyandlifetimetotals.
Thereisalsonowaytoseehowmuchtimeastudentactuallyspenttryingtoearnpoints.
Rather,thereissimplythereportofhowmanypointsearned.Thisistrickyforateacherforat
leasttworeasons.First,somestudentstryhardtocompletealessonbutsimplydontfor
whichtheyreceivenopoints,forwhichthereisthennoindicationthattheytried.Second,
studentslearnedtotrickthesystembydeletingtheirentireprogressandthenusingthe
placementtestfeaturetoearnlotsofpointsallatonce(butwithoutthebenefitofactually
learning).Thiscouldbefixedbynotallowingstudentstodeletetheirprogress.
Keepingtrackofstreaksistrickyaswell.IfthestudentscorespointsinDuolingofivedaysina
row,Duolingoreportsastreakoffive,whichisusefulinformationfortheteacher.However,if
thestudentscorespointsfouroutof5schooldays,notscoringanypointsonWednesday,
thenthestreakonFridayistwo,withnoindicationthatthestudentdidscorepointson
MondayandTuesday.
Thereisanactivityreportthatshowsactivityforalltheusersoneisfollowing.Ifollowedmy
students,andrequiredthemtofollowme,whichisconvenienttoseewhattheyaredoing.
Thisfeaturecouldbeadjustedabitforclassroomuse,taggingactivitywithadayanddate
insteadofthenumberofhoursago,orthenumberofdaysago,ifoneislookingtoseeifa
studentscoredpointswithDuolingoonagivenday.Realistically,designerswouldhaveto
lookintohowastudentreportmightbegeneratedthatincludedallstudentsinaclass.
Otherwise,theteacherhastogointoeachindividualstudentsactivityfeed.
ForawhiletherewasagamefeatureavailableonthemobileversionofDuolingothatallowed
oneplayertocompetedirectlywithanotherplayer.Thisfeaturewasapparentlydisableby
DuolingobeforeIcoulduseitintheclassroomcontext.Thereturnofthatfeatureorsimilar
onesthatpitonestudentagainstanotherforfun,whileearningpointswouldhavesome
practicalapplicationsinaclassroomcontext.
TeachingwithDuolingo,PaulMagnuson,December2014
19
Summary
TheLinguistics&LanguagesclassdescribedhereisnotonlyaboutDuolingo,butDuolingo
hasservedandwillcontinuetoserveasthebasisforonlinelearning.
Therecertainlyareelementsoftheclassthatcreateauniquelanguagelearningclass.Tolist
afew:
studentschoosewhatlanguageorlanguagestheydliketolearn
studentsbeginwithDuolingobutcanchoosetheirownpathwithtime(accordingto
justafewparameters)
adultsjoinstudentsasstudentsduringclasstime
theteacherlearnsalongwithstudents
thestudentsandteachercoauthorabookoverthecourseoftheyear
studentsuseanITworkflowprocesstostructuretheirgroupwork
gradesarepass/nopassbyweek
thestudentschoosetheirownpreferreddevice(laptop,tablet,smartphone)
Ontheotherhand,themethodologyandlearningprocessesseemmuchlessuniqueifone
simplyshiftsthecontextawayfromahighschoolmodernlanguageclass.
ImagineaStarbucksonanygivenSaturday.Severalcustomersareworkingindividuallyon
theirlaptop(ortabletorsmartphone),whiteearbudcordsandall,afewfolksaretalkingwith
eachother,andatonetableagroupofpeoplehavepaperandbooksspreadoutinfrontof
them,laptopsbalancedontheirknees,writingandtalking.Now,pretendthatthesecustomers
areallontheirwaytothevocationalforeignlanguageschoolnextdoor,wheretheyare
studyingvariouslanguages.TheyhaveallstoppedatStarbucksforanhourofstudybefore
goingtoclasstolearnvariouslanguagesatvariouslevelsofability.
Howdotheystudy?Someareworkingindividuallyonline,leveragingthelargenumberof
languagelearningplatforms,experimentingwiththisoneorthatone,settlingononeortwo
theylikeandfeelarebeneficialtothem.Atonetableagroupishavingaconversationabout
theirweekend,inthelanguagetheyarestudying,forpractice.Atanothertableagroupis
quizzingeachotheronvocabularyand,betweenperiodsoflaughteranddistraction,
discussingwhenaverbhastobeinthesubjunctive.Thegroupwiththepileofpapersand
booksispreparingapresentationthattheywillgivetotheentireclassnextweek.
SimplybytransposingtheenvironmentfromthehighschoolclassroomtoStarbucks,the
methodologyoftheLinguistics&Languagesclassseemsnormal,maybeevenalittleblandin
itsdescription,becauseweseeitataStarbucksanytimewedropinforalatte.
TeachingwithDuolingo,PaulMagnuson,December2014
20
Themainpurposeoftheclassisforthestudentstolearntobeselfdirectedlearners.Weare
aimingtopreparethemforatimeafterhighschoolwhentheywilllearnmuchlikethescenein
Starbucks.Infact,theywillstructuretheirstudytimeexactlylikethesceneinStarbucks,
muchofthetime.Whenarewepreparingthemforthat?
Duolingosroleinallthisisasatool,alongsidemanyothertools.Duolingohappenstobemy
favoritetool,andperhapsmyenthusiasmwillhelpmakeitoranothersuitableonline
platformthefavoritetoolofstudentswhocanstartbecomingstrongerselfregulated
learners.
IfDuolingoisconsideringthecreationofanaddontomaketheappabetterfitforclassroom
use,perhapsthedescriptionhere,andotherslikeit,willproveworthwhile.Inthemeantime,
though,itsbacktotheIrishgrammarandvocabularyexercises.
Beannachtmaithdoanois!
Thanks
Abigthankstoallofyouwhohelpout!
BethSkeltonforencouragingandproddingmethispastsemester.Letswriteaboutthe
languageawarenessactivitiessideoftheclass,andgetthebookdonewhilewereatit!
BillTihenforkeepingmeinformedandinterestedinagileandeduScrum.Imlookingforward
toexperimentingtogethermorewithclassroomapplicationofITprocesses.
GordonandMollyBrownforcomingtoclassnearlyeverydayofthepastsemesterandfor
themanyconversationsafterclassandonSundaymorningsat
LaLorraine
.
NicBourneforsharinghisalternativevisionofeducation.
MydaughterEmmaforbeinganoccasionalSpanishlearnerwithDuolingo,andnowCat
Spanish.WillyoureviewCatSpanishforourbook?
AndmywifeChrisfornotgettingonmycaseforplayingwithDuolingosomuch.
TeachingwithDuolingo,PaulMagnuson,December2014