Introduction
How are you? cómo estás? Habari yako? These are just but some of the ways you can ask someone how they are doing in different languages. Trying to learn a new language or improve on the vocabulary of your language? Then consider using a language learning app. This can be very effective for students, whether they are beginners or are at an intermediate level.
An additional language is a key opportunity to interact with the world from an informed opinion and a different lens. However, learning a new language requires a lot of practice and dedication. That is why online language learning platforms like Duolingo have been gaining popularity over time.
Duolingo is a great platform because it can be seamlessly integrated into a classroom setting to teach native and foreign languages. The platform makes it easier to learn grammar and vocabulary and has an amazing feature that allows one to translate articles from the web.
In particular, Duolingo for schools is a great tool for teachers and students that makes learning fun and interactive with the different visual and audio cues.
As a teacher, here are some creative ways to use Duolingo in the classroom
Progress quizzes
Quizzes are a great way to measure progress in the particular language being taught. They are also efficient in evaluating different levels of understanding while maintaining students’ interest in learning the language. The Duolingo for schools’ platform has different quizzes in various languages that can be purchased by lingots, the Duolingo’s currency.
A teacher can create a quiz, for example, for the German language basics. This quiz could be retaken as many times as possible (or afford to buy with the lingots) depending on the students’ performance.
After taking the quiz, you can assess if and why the students passed or failed. For example, if you realize that many students answered greetings-related questions incorrectly, then you will have identified the gap and understood areas that need improvement or more resources.
Creating and sharing assignments
As a teacher, once you have created an account on the platform and added the students for your specific classroom, for example, the Spanish class, you can start engaging the students by creating short assignments that measure their understanding of the different language and grammar concepts.
You will be able to set the duration of the assignment with the progress being shown on the assignments dashboard how many students have completed it or not and if they completed it on time.
The Duolingo platform allows students to collect experience points (XP) as they navigate the different assignments. You can allocate how many points the students should collect for that particular assignment.
Assignments are a great way to use Duolingo in the classroom because they also help learners level up a certain skill. For example, an assignment could be about the basics of the Spanish language, and once the students pass this level, then they can move on to other levels like how to apply the language in travel or school setting.
Rewards
Students can be rewarded as they complete different levels of the language. Duolingo awards with lingots for completing a skill and bonus lingots for consistency.
As a teacher, you might decide, for example, to equate these lingots to tangible rewards to be given to students who excel in the different levels. This is just but a way to motivate the students so that they don’t feel like lingots are not important or are worthless.
You could also use the experience points(XP) instead of the lingots to award either individual students or teams.
Another good thing with Duolingo is that once one completes the grammar and vocabulary skills set, there is a certificate awarded. This is a great motivational tool that makes students look forward to completing the lessons hence learning in the process.
Measure Teacher efficiency and Progress
Wouldn’t you want to know as a teacher if the expected learning has actually taken place? While measuring progress, it would be important to know areas that need modification to best support your students’ learning process.
The overall students’ performance will give you an opportunity as a teacher to gauge your effectiveness in delivering the content. This could maybe force you to look at more efficient and fun ways to teach your class, like incorporating games and other fun activities.
Duolingo for schools has the Duolingo dashboard feature where a teacher can manage the overall progress of your class. For example, for the Spanish class, you will be able to get a clear picture of how many students are enrolled, how many levels are completed and the ones pending, the performance of the students, any assignments due, etc.
From the assessment of the progress, you might find out that some of the students need a personalized approach based on their progress.
Incorporate Remote Learning
Digital learning has made it easier and possible for students to continue learning from wherever they may be.
Students can continue learning Duolingo remotely to supplement the classroom lessons by logging into the classroom site on their individual devices. You can do this either by giving them more resources to continue learning at their own pace or in form of assignments that need to be submitted back.
Allowing students to continue learning on their own allows some of them to catch up with their peers if they are falling behind. It also allows learners to learn when they feel the environment is conducive, that is when their motivation and interest are at their peak.
Conclusion
Using Duolingo in the classroom is undoubtedly an effective and fun way to get students to learn new languages and improve their vocabulary in a fun and interactive way.
Ready to get started using Duolingo in the classroom? Then check out the resources with everything there is to know about creating your account as a teacher and inviting students to join your classroom.
“To learn a language is to have one more window from which to look at the world.”
– Chinese Proverb