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So you might ask “how can you make money giving away a learning app?” This past week DuoLingo answered that question with the commercial release of the DuoLingo

by mbesto 11y ago

So you might ask “how can you make money giving away a learning app?” This past week DuoLingo answered that question with the commercial release of the DuoLingo Test Center. The DuoLingo Test Center is currently free but it won’t be for long. Give it a try if you’d like to see how it works. Once the DuoLingo Test is accepted at schools and employers, the company plans to charge $20 to take its test. There’s an established incumbent (monopoly) in this market called TOEFL. If you’ve come to the US to study, you’ve probably taken this test. It’s a lot more expensive than $20 per test and DuoLingo is out to prove it can do this testing less expensively and better. [0] - http://avc.com/2014/07/freemium-in-education/ http://avc.com/2014/07/freemium-in-education/

mattmanser 11y ago
A non-profit with a cool $1 billion in turnover according to this dodgy looking site: http://www.guidestar.org/organizations/21-0634479/educational-testing-service.aspx http://www.guidestar.org/organizations/21-0634479/educationa...
rkrzr 11y ago
I hope they succeed in taking away some market share from TOEFL. The TOEFL test is ridiculously overpriced for what they provide and your results expire (no joke) after 2 years. Since clearly you will have forgotten everything you knew about that language in 2 years time... Go Duolingo!
- Grue3 11y ago
  >Since clearly you will have forgotten everything you knew about that language in 2 years time... They are not wrong. I passed Duolingo Spanish course (it might have been extended since then) and barely remember anything now. I was also studying German in school, and later French by myself to the point where I could even speak with native speakers a little. Hardly remember anything either. English is the only foreign language that I haven't forgot because I use it constantly. But if you're not using a foreign language, after passing the test you will completely forget it in 2 years.
  - rkrzr 11y ago
    "But if you're not using a foreign language, after passing the test you will completely forget it in 2 years" You usually take this test because you will have to speak this language, so the case where you take the test and then do nothing with it seems pretty unlikely. Also, I disagree with your assumption that you will completely forget another language in 2 years (even when not used). I cannot confirm this from my own experience.
  - raverbashing 11y ago
    This, to me, is very telling I spent a lot of time barely using certain foreign languages (+ than 2 years). Of course you get 'rusty', but far from forgetting everything. And it came up back quickly This tell me Duolingo doesn't make you learn it, but rather memorize their game.
    - Someone1234 11y ago
      And while that may be the case, it is ultimately a free Rosetta Stone. So if it fails to work you're only out just time, with Rosetta Stone you're out time and also hundreds of dollars. I'd love to see a independent study into its reliability/retention. But even if it is completely useless, it is still no more wasteful than any other mobile game people play daily.
      - bayesianhorse 11y ago
        There is one referenced on their homepage. On average, 34 hours of study in the Spanish course would be equivalent to a full semester of language education in college. For me that would be about a month of practice. I have seen the effects myself. After a month or so, even though I had learned some spanish before, native speakers suddenly slowed down (in my perception). An important clue: Use the "Strengthen your skills" button frequently to keep the tree golden. Duolingo itself doesn't nag you enough to do that, but it's essential for mastery of the language.
    - freehunter 11y ago
      There is no way to permanently learn a language if you're not using it. I have known coworkers who grew up in the US for the first 20-something years of their life and then moved to other countries and have begun the process of forgetting English. Their first language. The one they were taught as babies. Remember this: everyone is taught their perfect grammar and spelling and quizzed on it for years in school. How many people can say what a past participle is, or even what an adverb is? How many people who passed geometry can still do that level of math from the top of their heads? Of course you can't permanently learn something. You have to keep it in practice.
- S4M 11y ago
  When I took the TOEIC (it was mandatory to get my diploma), the people in charge of the exams said that the TOEIC score is only valid one or two years (can't remember which) and if we spend some time in an English speaking country it was advised to take a TOEIC again as our score would be likely to increase. I was thinking at the time (it was in 2005) that they were really out of touch with common sense, and right now I wonder if anybody outside academia gives some credibility to the TOEIC or the TOEFL.
Coding_Cat 11y ago
I don't know about the US, but internationally it's not a monopoly by TOEFL. When I was looking at foreign uinversities for my Master's several programs were accepted. For Sweden it's: TOEFL, IELTS, Cambridge Michigan Language Assessments, Pearson PTE Academic, University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations and possibly more (I got accepted with an old IB A2 degree).

by mbesto 11y ago

mattmanser 11y ago

A non-profit with a cool $1 billion in turnover according to this dodgy looking site: http://www.guidestar.org/organizations/21-0634479/educational-testing-service.aspx http://www.guidestar.org/organizations/21-0634479/educationa...

rkrzr 11y ago

I hope they succeed in taking away some market share from TOEFL. The TOEFL test is ridiculously overpriced for what they provide and your results expire (no joke) after 2 years. Since clearly you will have forgotten everything you knew about that language in 2 years time... Go Duolingo!

Grue3 11y ago
>Since clearly you will have forgotten everything you knew about that language in 2 years time... They are not wrong. I passed Duolingo Spanish course (it might have been extended since then) and barely remember anything now. I was also studying German in school, and later French by myself to the point where I could even speak with native speakers a little. Hardly remember anything either. English is the only foreign language that I haven't forgot because I use it constantly. But if you're not using a foreign language, after passing the test you will completely forget it in 2 years.
- rkrzr 11y ago
  "But if you're not using a foreign language, after passing the test you will completely forget it in 2 years" You usually take this test because you will have to speak this language, so the case where you take the test and then do nothing with it seems pretty unlikely. Also, I disagree with your assumption that you will completely forget another language in 2 years (even when not used). I cannot confirm this from my own experience.
- raverbashing 11y ago
  This, to me, is very telling I spent a lot of time barely using certain foreign languages (+ than 2 years). Of course you get 'rusty', but far from forgetting everything. And it came up back quickly This tell me Duolingo doesn't make you learn it, but rather memorize their game.
  - Someone1234 11y ago
    And while that may be the case, it is ultimately a free Rosetta Stone. So if it fails to work you're only out just time, with Rosetta Stone you're out time and also hundreds of dollars. I'd love to see a independent study into its reliability/retention. But even if it is completely useless, it is still no more wasteful than any other mobile game people play daily.
    - bayesianhorse 11y ago
      There is one referenced on their homepage. On average, 34 hours of study in the Spanish course would be equivalent to a full semester of language education in college. For me that would be about a month of practice. I have seen the effects myself. After a month or so, even though I had learned some spanish before, native speakers suddenly slowed down (in my perception). An important clue: Use the "Strengthen your skills" button frequently to keep the tree golden. Duolingo itself doesn't nag you enough to do that, but it's essential for mastery of the language.
  - freehunter 11y ago
    There is no way to permanently learn a language if you're not using it. I have known coworkers who grew up in the US for the first 20-something years of their life and then moved to other countries and have begun the process of forgetting English. Their first language. The one they were taught as babies. Remember this: everyone is taught their perfect grammar and spelling and quizzed on it for years in school. How many people can say what a past participle is, or even what an adverb is? How many people who passed geometry can still do that level of math from the top of their heads? Of course you can't permanently learn something. You have to keep it in practice.
S4M 11y ago
When I took the TOEIC (it was mandatory to get my diploma), the people in charge of the exams said that the TOEIC score is only valid one or two years (can't remember which) and if we spend some time in an English speaking country it was advised to take a TOEIC again as our score would be likely to increase. I was thinking at the time (it was in 2005) that they were really out of touch with common sense, and right now I wonder if anybody outside academia gives some credibility to the TOEIC or the TOEFL.

Coding_Cat 11y ago

I don't know about the US, but internationally it's not a monopoly by TOEFL. When I was looking at foreign uinversities for my Master's several programs were accepted. For Sweden it's: TOEFL, IELTS, Cambridge Michigan Language Assessments, Pearson PTE Academic, University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations and possibly more (I got accepted with an old IB A2 degree).