Popular language learning tool Duolingo is one of the latest apps to venture into AI with two new features.
They were announced earlier this week at the company’s Duocon conference.
The first of Duolingo’s announcements is a new video call function in the app. Principal product manager Zan Gilani introduced it by sharing his own experience of learning a language and struggling to make that step to conversate with native speakers.
He compared it to riding a bike: “It doesn’t matter how many TikToks you watch about excellent bicycle technique, eventually you just have to get into the saddle.”
That’s where Duolingo’s video call comes in. Users can now chat with deadpan character Lily spontaneously and in real time. She also has a memory so can remember past conversations and focus on learners’ interests.
The difficulty of the conversation can be tailored individually and feedback is a bit more lenient than traditional Duolingo lessons. Language learners often get caught up in obsessing over grammar and mistakes according to Gilani. Whether if Lily can understand what the user is saying, that’s all that matters – just like if you were talking to a real person.
Video call is now available for iOS Max subscribers learning English, Spanish and French.
The other AI feature announced at Duocon is Adventures. Learning designer Kate Barker described it as “really like nothing you’ve seen on Duolingo before”.
Users can now play as one of the app’s characters, interacting with different environments and characters. Learners can visit a cafe, movie theatre, airport, putting their learning into real world contexts.
Similar to video call, the AI characters will not be as harsh on correcting users’ mistakes. Instead they might ask “are you sure?” or “what do you mean?” just like a real person might?
Adventures is available for all English users learning French and Spanish speakers learning English. Duolingo promises more languages will be coming soon.
Feature image credit: Duolingo
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