BENGALURU: Duolingo, the online language-learning platform backed by Google, has seen a 13-fold increase in active users in India after introducing an option last year to learn English from Hindi. The pace of growth could set the stage for Duolingo, which is available as an app on Apple's App Store and Google Play , to generate revenue.
India, with 3.4 million registered users, was Duolingo's biggest emerging market in terms of growth, with the number of active users surging to over 5,00,000 in December from 37,000 in January 2016.
Seeing strong potential in the Indian market, the company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, plans to launch English-learning versions for Tamil, Bengali, Telugu, Punjabi and other Indian languages in 2017.The platform is also starting an interactive feature called Duolingo Language clubs for users to communicate with each other.
"One of the hardest things about le arning a language is staying motivated and we believe this new feature will draw friends and family together around a common goal to help our users hit their goals more quickly," said Luis von Ahn, cofounder of Duolingo.
Through the Duolingo clubs users will get a newsfeed that updates them about the progress of friends and members of their group. A leader board will indicate individual progress compared with the others.Users will be able to comment and react to each other's performance in languages ranging from Hindi and English to Polish, Thai and Romanian.
"India has definitely been a market where we have seen the largest growth this year," said Natalie Glan ce, engineer director at Duolingo. "One big difference we see with Indian users learning English is that a much larger fraction take the placement test to jump ahead than English learners in other countries who start from the basics (instead of going straight to the placement test).For that reason, we are working on an offline version of the placement test to further improve performance, which will launch in 2017."
The Duolingo English Test was introduced as an alternative to the International English Language Testing System and Test of English as a Foreign Language early last year and is accepted by 30 US universities. An offline version of Duolingo's English language test will be available for Indian users in 2017. Most users in India are from Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan and 60% of them are learning English.
"In terms of monetisation, it's too soon to have any expectations from developing markets like India, maybe ad-based revenue, but in-app purchases are unlikely," said Gina Gotthilf, VP of growth at Duolingo.
FAQs
India, with 3.4 million registered users, was Duolingo's biggest emerging market in terms of growth, with the number of active users surging to over 5,00,000 in December from 37,000 in January 2016.
Is Duolingo an Indian company? ›
Duolingo (/ˌdjuːoʊˈlɪŋɡoʊ/ DEW-oh-LING-goh) is an American educational technology company that produces learning apps and provides language certification.
Why is Duolingo the best language learning app? ›
Rather than rote memorization, Duolingo teaches by context
With the help of a language class or a native speaker, the things you learn in Duolingo will eventually come more naturally to you than they would if you learned them in isolation.
Does Duolingo have Indian languages? ›
The fourth most spoken language in India, Telugu, joins the roster of Indian languages available on the app, alongside English courses already available for Hindi and Bengali speakers.
What country uses Duolingo the most? ›
Which countries use Duolingo the most? - Quora. Duolingo is mostly used in the United States, with 144,152,500 users leaving in the U.S. amounting to 25.07% of the total Duolingo Users around the world.
Which country prefer Duolingo? ›
Top Countries Where Duolingo Scores are Accepted
Today, more than 3,000 universities around the world offer admission to students based on their Duolingo results. Some of the major countries where Duolingo scores are accepted are the UK, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and so on.
Is Duolingo better than Babbel? ›
Approach to learning
The biggest difference between Babbel and Duolingo is the approach to language learning. Babbel is a better option if you want traditional language instructions through modules and lessons. By contrast, Duolingo works great if you need a playful, gamified experience.
What are the disadvantages of Duolingo? ›
The app's gamification, accessibility, bite-sized lessons, variety of languages, and adaptive learning are all significant advantages. However, its limited speaking and listening practice, limited grammar explanation, overemphasis on vocabulary, lack of immersion, and limited feedback are potential drawbacks.
What Indian languages does Duolingo teach? ›
Learn Hindi for Free
Learn Hindi in just 5 minutes a day with our game-like lessons. Whether you're a beginner starting with the basics or looking to practice your reading, writing, and speaking, Duolingo is scientifically proven to work.
How big is language learning market India? ›
The latest report on the burgeoning language training market in India indicates an exponential growth trajectory, with anticipated gains reaching USD 7.55 billion over the 2023-2028 period.
Officially, just 12% of Indian people speak English, with many only speaking it as a second language. Nevertheless, the country has an extremely dense population, meaning that this 12% cross-section of society exceeds 100 million people.
Who is Duolingo owned by? ›
So in 2011, Luis von Ahn and Severin Hacker founded Duolingo: the free way to learn 30+ languages like Spanish, Chinese, and English. Now, Duolingo is the world's #1 way to learn a language, with more than 500 million learners worldwide.
Is Duolingo an American company? ›
We're headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Called the City of Bridges, it's where we're making language learning a bridge to opportunity for millions around the world.
Where is the owner of Duolingo from? ›
Meet Luis von Ahn, the Guatemalan immigrant behind the world's most popular language app Duolingo.
Is it safe to use Duolingo? ›
Yes, generally speaking, Duolingo is safe — to a point. Popular apps with a large user base are tempting targets for cybercriminals — the more users an app has, the more data is available for potential theft.
