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Guide

Does Duolingo work?

Yes, as a start. Duolingo builds a daily habit and teaches the basics, and its own research shows learners reaching beginner levels. On its own, it rarely gets anyone to real conversations or real books.

The short answer

Duolingo works for what it’s built for: a daily habit, the sounds and scripts of a language, and its first words and sentences. Following a film or chatting with native speakers takes much more: hours of real listening and reading, and many more words.

Good for

  • A daily habit
  • Sounds, scripts and first sentences
  • A free, gentle start

Not enough on its own for

  • Following shows and films
  • Real conversations
  • Reading books and the news

What the research says

Duolingo’s best-known study, published in Foreign Language Annals in 2021, tested adults in the US who started with little or no Spanish or French, used only Duolingo, and finished its beginning course.

  • 225adults in the US
  • 1app: Duolingo only
  • 2skills tested: reading and listening

ListeningNovice High

ReadingIntermediate Low

Where the learners landed on ACTFL’s proficiency scale.

Duolingo compares that to four semesters of university classes, reached in less than half the time. On ACTFL’s scale, both are early levels: short, simple texts and messages on familiar topics.

Two things to keep in mind. Duolingo’s own researchers ran the study, and it tested only reading and listening, not speaking or writing. And people who finish a course are the motivated ones, a point critics of these studies make.

What Duolingo does well

Where it stops

How to make Duolingo work

Keep it for the habit, and add what it leaves out. Misu does the first three.

  1. The most common words, with audio

    A few hundred words make up most of what you’ll hear. Learn them first, as flashcards, and everything else gets easier.

    In Misu The 1,500 most common words in ten languages

  2. Real listening and reading

    Shows, videos and podcasts you can mostly follow, then native content as it gets easier.

    In Misu Look words up on YouTube, Netflix and any page

  3. Review what you meet

    Save the words you meet in what you watch and read, and review them for a few minutes a day.

    In Misu Save words from a page, a video or a photo

  4. Conversation

    Half an hour a week with a tutor or an exchange partner shows you what you can’t say yet.

Free word lists and level tests

Every language Misu teaches has its 1,500 most common words online, each with audio, and a level test that finds where you are in about four minutes.

Learning Spanish? Here’s how to learn Spanish, step by step. Ready to move on from Duolingo? Here are the best Duolingo alternatives.

Is Duolingo free?

Yes. Every lesson is free; the paid plans change how you practise, not what you learn.

FAQ

Questions.

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Quick answers

Is Duolingo effective?

For the basics, yes. In Duolingo’s peer-reviewed study, adults who used only Duolingo and finished its beginning Spanish or French course reached beginner levels in reading and listening, which Duolingo compares to four semesters of university classes.

Can you become fluent with Duolingo?

Not with Duolingo alone. Nine of its courses now go up to B2, upper intermediate, but fluency takes far more listening, reading and conversation than any app gives. The US Foreign Service Institute’s students spend around 1,200 hours to reach a professional level in Spanish.

Is Duolingo good for Japanese?

It’s a gentle start for kana and simple sentences. Japanese is one of the hardest languages for English speakers, 88 weeks of full-time study by the Foreign Service Institute’s count, so you’ll need much more reading, listening and vocabulary than one app provides.

How long does it take to learn Spanish with Duolingo?

In Duolingo’s study, learners reached four semesters’ worth of reading and listening in less than half the time a university takes. A professional level takes around 1,200 hours of study by the Foreign Service Institute’s estimate, so use Duolingo alongside real Spanish.

How to learn Spanish

Is Misu a good Duolingo alternative?

Misu is a flashcard app for the words you need: the 1,500 most common in ten languages, each with audio and a picture, plus flashcards from anything you read or watch. Use it instead of Duolingo, or alongside it: Duolingo for lessons, Misu for words and real content.

The best Duolingo alternatives

Keep the streak. Add the words.

Misu’s courses are the 1,500 most common words in ten languages, each a ready-made flashcard with audio and a picture. Use them alongside Duolingo, or instead of it.

Get Misu