Most kids today are very much fascinated with people speaking other languages. As they spend most of their time watching YouTube or TikTok, they are amazed by hearing different dialects from diverse people. With that, they are more likely to wish that they know other languages apart from what they already know. There are a lot of available language apps that can help them learn other languages and one of these is Duolingo Kids. This app can be used by kids, as well as adults, who would like to learn a new language.
This review will tackle everything you need to know about Duolingo for Kids. Also, we will discuss its price, some of its features, and its competitors.
What is the Duolingo App for Kids?
Duolingo Kids is among the best free apps that teach a new language. It offers unique features and a user-friendly structure which makes learning new languages and sharpening skills both simple and fun for its users. With this app, you can start from scratch, or if you already have knowledge of a particular language, you can take a short test to know what part of the course best suits you. This will then help you get acquainted with the new language or enhance what you already know.
What makes this learning app unique is it really attracts not only language enthusiasts but also kids who want to learn a second language. It makes its users engaged in learning with all the activities that are full of fun. With that, you can enjoy learning new languages without being committed to spending so much of your time. The app will also teach you not only new languages but also sentences and phrases as well. Furthermore, there is the Duolingo Owl. It will motivate not only kids but also adults to learn and keep going with the activities. Learning will not be boring and difficult anymore, as Duolingo brings it in a really gleeful way.
If you’re looking for more programs similar to Duolingo Kids, here is our list of the best language apps today!
Sample Languages You can Learn with the Duolingo Kids App
Asia
- Arabic
- Bengali
- Chinese
- Hebrew
- Hindi
- Indonesian
- Japanese
- Korean
- Punjabi
- Tagalog
- Tamil
- Thai
- Turkish
- Vietnamese
Europe
- Czech
- Danish
- Dutch
- Esperanto
- French
- German
- Greek
- Italian
- Portuguese
- Russian
- Scottish Gaelic
- Spanish
- Swedish
- Ukrainian
- Welsh
North America
- Hawaiian
- Navajo
South America
- Latin
Africa
- Swahili
Others
- High Valyrian
- Klingon
- Telugu
How to Get The Duolingo Kids App?
The app is only for iOS devices. Also, you can access it from any browser as a website.
Duolingo Kids App Pricing
Duolingo is absolutely free. It only means that you can learn many languages at zero cost. However, if you want to enjoy its full features, you can subscribe to Duolingo Plus. The app costs $9.99 per month. You can also have it at $7.99 per month if you subscribe for six months, and $6.99 per month if you prefer to have a year of subscription.
With Duolingo Plus, you can enjoy the following benefits:
- Full access to lessons
- Offline access
- Tracking your progress
- Unlimited mistakes
- No advertisements
Duolingo for Kids Features
How Does the Duolingo Kids App Work?
After downloading the app on your device or accessing it on the website, you need to sign up. You’ll then have to register your email address or use your social media accounts to log-in. After signing up, you have to choose the language that you want to learn, and you can choose as many languages as you want.
Next, take a placement test or mark yourself as a beginner. When you pass the placement test, you can start to a higher level of learning of your chosen language. There will be different exercises that cover reading, listening, writing, and speaking. However, you have to keep in mind that there are prerequisites before you can access the next level. It means that you have to finish a lesson first before you can access the next one.
You will see on the home screen the strategic plan of what you are going to learn. With that, you can see what you will encounter as you progress. Also, you will know how much more you are going to learn in addition to what you already know. You can test your knowledge of the language by taking a test. However, you have to keep in mind that when you fail the test, you can’t move on to the next lesson. With that, you have to work hard to learn more to attain your goals.
After completing a course, you can review the lessons to make sure that you won’t forget a thing. There are visual reminders that will help you know your strength on a particular skill. With that, you can always practice the skill that you are not that good at. Also, you can take the exercises to practice then take the test to check your knowledge.
Duolingo Stories
This feature is ideal for intermediate and advanced learners. This feature allows you to read interactive mini-stories in the language that you are learning. After that, there will be a quiz about the story that you read. The quiz will let you know how much you learned. Also, you will get to see how dialogues are being constructed. Moreover, this quiz will test not only your reading comprehension but also your listening comprehension. Duolingo stories are the perfect way for you to practice what you have understood. You get to construct your own sentences and stories through some of the exercises.
This activity also gives out a lot of XP for faster leveling up.
For you to access the Duolingo Stories, you have to tap or click the Stories tab or the Book icon on the app or web. However, before accessing it, you have to reach the first checkpoint in your tree. Also, the stories are not available offline and are not entitled to XP Boost. But you can always repeat any stories that you finished. You can enjoy the stories in many different languages for English speakers. On the other hand, Portuguese, Spanish, and Chinese can enjoy them in English.
Motivational Learning
Kids and adults are being motivated because Duolingo includes gamification and Lingots in the learning process. Moreover, there are also the language-specific leagues, fluency meter, and the reward system. These elements make their users addicted to learning and keep them coming back. Moreover, they help to improve the user’s learning experience and make them want to learn more.
Gamification
Duolingo starts motivating its users through gamification. In the iOS app, there are Hearts that serve as your Health that you can earn when you get the right answer. Otherwise, you can lose it when you make mistakes. First, you need to finish your daily goals. You will be given five options from Basic which is equal to 1 XP per day up to Insane which is then equal to 50 XP per day. For you to not miss your daily goal, you will receive notifications. With your progress, you will get to be more motivated day by day. It is just enjoying a game and learning along the way. Furthermore, you get to gain friends, as you can connect with other users and even compete with them. More importantly, gamification will help you develop the essential skills in learning a language. These include listening, reading, speaking, and writing.
Lingots
Lingots, the red gems, are the valuable fictional currencies that you can get as a reward when you successfully perform tasks or complete sections, level up, or complete a 10-day streak. You can use your Lingots to buy some features like costumes for the app mascot, access bonus skills, and freeze your streak. Also, you can use them to access additional quizzes and extras. You are given different options which let you try something new out from ordinary ones. Also, there are two bonus skills namely idioms and flirting phrases that you can enjoy.
Language-Specific Leagues
This uses leaderboards to know who reached the most XP in a week. This motivates the user to keep on practicing, to beat the other competitors, and to reach the highest rank which is the Diamond League. You can be promoted if you belong to the top ten in the ranking. Otherwise, you can be demoted if you belong to the bottom ten. Leagues are a Facebook-integrated feature. Look for the Shield icon to access this feature.
Fluency Meter
This allows you to check your progress when it comes to language fluency.
Winning Streak
This feature is an ideal way to keep the users focused and keep coming back. They can keep their streak and build a connection with the Duolingo app.
Reward System
This is the feature that keeps its users motivated to reach their goals. They gain rewards for completing lessons. These rewards serve as their accomplishment for finishing the lessons. Also, the app will send you notifications to remind you to keep going on maintaining your streak.
Bot Conversations
This feature lets the app user review the learnings in the form of conversation. The topics that encompass the conversation are more about current events and something that are relevant to the user. Moreover, this feature makes things for the user more at ease for not focusing only on learning but rather on something interesting with a steady flow of conversation.
Goal-setting
This feature makes it your habit to develop consistency in studying and learning. Setting your goal will help you work hard to achieve better learning. Moreover, since your goals are recorded, it is a must that you do your best to achieve them as part of your learning accomplishments. You will then be rewarded with happy messages and game credits for every goal you achieve.
Modules
Every course is made up of modules, and they are grouped and ordered to which should come first. You can access the next module once you finish the previous one. With that, the progress will take place after completing the previous lesson.
Test Out
You can take one lesson before you move on with the next one. The next lesson will be more difficult compared to the previous one. You can opt to Test Out to check your skills. The Test Out is a quiz that consists of all lessons brought into one big test. If you pass this Test Out, you can take another lesson and leave out the others. With that, you can move to a more advanced lesson. This feature is beneficial to those who want to check their language skills and to those who are just starting to learn another language.
Duolingo Forum
This is the app’s message board. There are different exercises in this area. Moreover, here, you can chat and interact with other learners about Duolingo. Also, you can discuss and practice your language skills, ask questions, and share tips and ideas with other Duolingo users. To access this feature, you just have to tap or click on the Bubble icon that you can find at the lower right corner of the screen. You can do this after answering and submitting your answer to the question given.
Visual Reminders
There are visual reminders that you will see within the app. Here, you can revise particular words to make sure that you won’t forget them. The visual reminders make sure that you won’t forget when your next revision session.
Duolingo Podcast
This feature includes a sequence of stories about life which are presented half in English and half in your target language. They are detailed by a native speaker. This is to provide a somewhat interesting listening practice. Take note that this is only available for select languages.
Types of Exercises Offered by Duolingo App
- Conversation challenges – you have to answer to the Duolingo character
- Fill in the blanks – there is a blank, and you need to fill it with the right answer to complete the sentence
- Multiple choice – you need to choose the correct translation of the given sentence in another language from the given choices.
- Picture flashcard matching – there are different words with corresponding images in a particular language, and you have to choose which one matches the word in another language.
- Picture flashcard translation– there is a word in a particular language and you will translate it to another language using pictures.
- Transcription – there is a sentence presented with the audio, and you need to type what you hear.
- Translation – you have to translate the word or phrase that you see and hear into another language.
Duolingo for Kids App Pros and Cons
Pros
- Straightforward and easy to use interface
- Personalized learning
- Rewards to keep you motivated
- Offers supplemental materials
- Organized lessons
- Wide range of languages
- The app targets multiple skills.
- Fun and effective app
- You can track your progress.
- App and website options
Cons
- It doesn’t teach the fundamentals of the language.
- No live tutorials.
- Not accurate pronunciation
- Too many repetitions
- Limited practice for speaking
Duolingo Kids App Alternatives Vs. Other Language Apps
Rosetta Stone Kids Lingo Letter Sounds
Rosetta Stone is one of the most trusted language learning platforms available. It helps kids to practice reading English language skills and Spanish. Kids will learn about letters, their sounds, and the upper and lower cases. Moreover, they will get to learn Spanish vocabulary and pronunciation.
This learning tool is less gamified compared to Duolingo, but the learning tools that it presents are of big help to accelerate the learning process. It offers a more traditional way of teaching, but the features are too limited.
Memrise
This study app can be a valuable app for those who are just beginning to learn basic vocabulary. It presents short videos showing native speakers using different words and phrases in conversation and demonstrates them. Moreover, there are pre-built flashcard collections for easy learning. Not only that, but the app can also aid in studying Math, science, economics, and many others.
Just like Duolingo, this app introduces new words and phrases to its users. Both offer explanatory cards, but what Memrise offers are more helpful in introducing complex topics. While Duolingo is more of a general language, Memrise, on the other hand, is mostly a vocabulary and a flashcard app.
Is Duolingo for Kids App Worth A Download?
There are a lot of kids who want to learn new languages. With that, they tend to try learning languages that are popular. There are different language learning apps available, and one that should be considered is the Duolingo for Kids App. This app offers a lot of amazing features and tools that are useful to accelerate learning.
Moreover, it offers a gamified way of learning and a reward system that keeps the users motivated to learn daily. With that, it will be easier for users to gain knowledge of their preferred language. They can also add different languages if they want. Overall, we highly recommend that parents use Duolingo for Kids App when teaching their beloved children new languages in a very novel approach.