Learn A New Language For Free With Gamified Duolingo

If you’ve ever wanted to learn a new language or bone up on an old one you haven’t spoken since high school, free,  addictive, “gamified” Duolingo will see that you get the job done.

FREE & ADDICTIVE | Last fall my husband and I took a group of enthusiasts to tour private gardens in the south of France. He was the landscape expert in charge, and I, along with a local tour guide/translator, was responsible for everything else.

I once lived for a year in Paris and spoke only French on a daily basis so I knew I would be able to get by linguistically on our trip, but I wanted to do more than that—I wanted my proficiency back.

A few months before our departure date, I joined a conversational-French meetup group in my town and began improving my vocab, grammar and tenses using Duolingo, a free language learning website and app that is the most fun and addictive way to learn a foreign language of any I’ve tried.

According to the Duolingo website, an independent study by two American universities found that 34 hours of Duolingo practice was the equivalent of one university semester of language instruction.

I don’t know about that, but it is really easy to rack up 34 hours of instruction because Duolingo is “gamified.” It uses techniques and devices similar those employed by World of Warcraft to hook and reel you in. Plus, it’s hard to quit playing when you’re earning virtual currency that can be spent on items that will help you along your language learning way. —Carolann Rule

CLICK HERE  to check out Duolingo.