Making Duolingo Blog

Personalized education.

Everyone learns in different ways. For the first time in history, we can analyze how millions of people learn at once to create the most effective educational system possible and tailor it to each student.

Our ultimate goal is to give everyone access to a private tutor experience through technology.

Making learning fun.

It's hard to stay motivated when learning online, so we made Duolingo so fun that people would prefer picking up new skills over playing a game.

Universally accessible.

There are over 1.2 billion people learning a language and the majority are doing so to gain access to better opportunities. Unfortunately, learning a language is expensive and inaccessible to most.

We created Duolingo so that everyone could have a chance. Free language education – no hidden fees, no premium content, just free.

Duolingo is used by the richest man in the world and many Hollywood stars, and at the same time by public schools students in developing countries. We believe true equality is when spending more can't buy you a better education.

Millions of students from all over the world, each with their own unique story, learn at their own pace on Khan Academy every single day. Our resources are being translated into more than 36 languages in addition to the Spanish, French, and Brazilian Portuguese versions of our site.

Our teaching approach

We believe that anyone can learn a language with Duolingo. Our free, bite-size lessons feel more like a game than a textbook, and that's by design: Learning is easier when you're having fun.

But Duolingo isn't just a game. It's based on a methodology proven to foster long-term retention, and a curriculum aligned to an international standard. Let's explore how language learning happens with Duolingo!

A balanced approach

Duolingo allows learners to discover patterns on their own without needing to focus on language rules — the same way you learned your first language as a child. This approach, called "implicit learning," is ideal for developing a strong foundational knowledge of a language and its rules.

But explicit instruction is useful for some concepts. So Duolingo offers both! In addition to lessons, learners can access Tips for explanations on grammar, pronunciation, and helpful phrases.

Continuous improvement

At Duolingo, we're committed to improvement. Test questions are embedded throughout our courses to measure how learners are progressing — and to show where Duolingo can improve.

We use the results to develop new and better courses, expand our universe of language-learning tools, update our materials as languages evolve, and ensure we're continuing to offer the best language education in the world. Like language, we never stand still.

E-Learning