If I had £10 every time someone walked into the Academy and, almost sheepishly, said: “You’re not going to like this… but I’ve been learning French/Spanish/Italian on Duolingo…”, I’d be a millionaire by now.
Scratch that—probably a multimillionaire!
It’s a conversation I have a lot.
Despite being old enough to have learned languages the old-school way (think grammar books, repetitive drills, and chanting verbs like spells), I’ve spent the last 23 years immersed in the language learning industry.
And because I’ve always been curious, I’ve kept a close eye on new technologies and how they can support learners—looking through the lens of learning psychology, personality types, and communicative styles. Now, of course, we’re in the age of AI, and that opens even more fascinating possibilities.
But back to today.
While scrolling on LinkedIn, I came across a post from a linguist I admire.
She was writing about her father, who has been using Duolingo to learn English for 1,790 days. That’s nearly five years of daily practice.
Naturally, the post sparked a lively conversation among linguists—and got me thinking (again) about this whole debate.
Let’s clear one thing up:
I have absolutely nothing against Duolingo.
I don’t see it as a competitor to what we do at the Academy. Not at all. In fact, I think it can be an excellent add-on when paired with real human-led training.
Why is something like Duolingo good?
Because if you can stick to it for nearly five years like this gentleman did—that’s impressive. It shows enormous discipline and commitment. And that’s something worth applauding.
We know that with language learning, little and often is key. Immersing your brain regularly—even for just five minutes a day—is like mental gymnastics.
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Want to use your coffee break for a quick vocab session? Brilliant.
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Want to turn your work commute into a learning opportunity? Fabulous.
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Want to stop doom-scrolling for 15 minutes and use a language app instead? Go you!
In that sense, these apps can support a healthy, smart learning routine.
But are you actually learning a language?
That’s where things get tricky. And, honestly, a little misleading.
Too often, people say to me: “I’ve been on Duolingo every day for a year… but I still can’t string a sentence together.”
And that’s because apps like Duolingo aren’t designed to make you fluent.
They’re not built to help you communicate.
They’re there to help you play with the language, get comfortable seeing and hearing it, maybe even pick up some vocabulary. But without human interaction, without real-life communication, you’ll never become a confident speaker. That’s just not what they do.
If you can’t practise real communication, if you never move beyond clicking pictures of “la pomme” or matching the word “chien” to a cartoon, then you’re just dabbling in a foreign language.
You’re not learning it.
Now, here’s something positive that came out of that LinkedIn post:
One brilliant point this linguist made is that apps like Duolingo have democratised language learning.
And I love that.
Language learning is no longer something reserved for the elite or the academically gifted. These apps have shown people that they can do it.
I’ve said this for years: your mother tongue was once a foreign language to your brain. You’ve already done it once—you can do it again.
The problem is that we’ve been conditioned to believe that learning a language is like school—you’re either clever or not, good at it or not. But that’s simply not true.
Everyone can learn a new language—with the right approach, tools, and support.
So no, I’m not going to tell you off when you come through the doors of the Academy and tell me you’ve been using Duolingo.
In fact, I’ll encourage you to keep using it—as part of a bigger, richer language journey.
But I will tell you this:
If you truly want to be confident in another language—whether your goal is to master the basics or become fluent—you’ll need to experience that language in different forms.
You’ll need to hear it, speak it, live it.
Apps are one tool.
But if all you do is play with food vocab, tap a few flashcards, and do a couple of matching games… well, don’t be surprised if you’re not quite ready for that conversation in a Parisian café just yet.
So next time you open Duolingo, by all means, enjoy it.
But maybe also book that trip, find a coach, talk to a native speaker, or—who knows—come see us.
Your future fluent self will thank you.
And I’ll put that £10 back in the bucket.
Nathalie D.