Anderson Charles.J

Kemp Nicholas

アンダーソン C.J.ヤルマール

ケンプ ニコラス

Kyushu International University Repository / 九州国際大学学術成果リポジトリ

DUOLINGO as a supplementary learningresource:A Pilot Study著者 ケンプ ニコラス, アンダーソン C.J.ヤルマールjournal orpublication titleStudies of Liberal Artsvolume 27number 2page range 17-22year 2020-12-21URL http://id.nii.ac.jp/1265/00000744/DUOLINGO as a supplementary learning resource:A Pilot StudyNicholas Kemp and Charles J. AndersonI IntroductionThe worldwide COVID-19 pandemic forced many academic institutions,both in Japan and overseas, to temporarily abandon classroom-based lessonswherein direct face-to-face interaction could promote the transmission andspreading of the virus. The majority of institutions, the authors’ included,opted instead to provide lessons and educational support online. This shiftpresented both challenges and opportunities. In a very short space of time, itwas necessary for the authors and the other English teaching staff at theirinstitution to redesign the syllabus and content of the compulsory Englishclass for first year students. An ‘on-demand’ approach was selected wherebygrammar and reading-focused content was available as narrated Power-Point slideshows and listening and communication-based content was sup-plied in video format. On-demand lessons were selected in preference to real-time lessons via online conferencing software because of data restrictionssome students were subject to when using the internet. Furthermore, lessoncontent had to be designed to accommodate a not inconsiderable 30 percentof students who did not own a personal computer and only had access to asmartphone device1. In order to supplement this content, the language learn-ing application Duolingo was selected. After explaining how this applicationis designed to work and why it was chosen by the authors, this paper willpresent a reflection of its efficacy over a semester-long trial period.－17－II MALL (Mobile-assisted language learning)Currently in Japan more than 85 percent of the population uses a smart-phone and for the age group 10~29 that number is closer to 90 percent3. Cer-tainly, it is almost unheard of to encounter a university student without asmartphone these days. Mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) refers toall applications and activities that help promote the acquisition of languagevia the use of such mobile devices (Kukulska-Hulme, 2009). Kukulska-Hulme(2018) asserts that MALL is not simply a subtype of CALL (computer-assisted language learning). The mobile and portable nature of the technol-ogy enables very different usage habits and unique ways to interact with,not only the technology, but also the surrounding physical environment. As5G technology improves internet connectivity and coverage, it seems certainthat MALL will become even more important from hereon.III What is Duolingo?Duolingo is a language learning application available on both a proprietarywebsite and mobile platforms. At current, the service claims to have in ex-cess of 300 million users. The service is available free of charge to both learn-ers and educators, although a subscription-based premium version is alsoavailable. As of October 2020, Duolingo offered 98 different language coursesin 38 languages2. The application primarily trains users to translate vocabu-lary and grammatically correct sentences backwards and forwards betweentheir mother tongue and the target language. Users are able to see the lan-guage in text form and hear model pronunciation examples. Learning mod-ules are divided according to common themes such as animals or shopping,and grammatical structures such as simple past tense or conditional sen-tences. After having memorized the target language through drilling exer-cises, users take a final test. Passing the final test ‘unlocks’ the next levelwhich progresses in difficulty. The application awards points for the success-ful completion of tasks, and users are able to compare their performancewith other language learners on a league table. In this way, Duolingo hasDUOLINGOasa supplementary learning resource:APilot Study－18－managed to take conventional language learning tasks and gamify them in away that appeals to its users.Duolingo has attracted some criticism for being based on conscious learning.Krashen (2014) argues that true language competence arises, almost exclu-sively, from subconscious learning encounters. Schmidt (1990), however, con-tests that conscious processing facilitates learning. Discussion of the role ofconsciousness in learning is best saved for another paper but there is agrowing body of research e.g. Munday (2016), Bennani & Mosbah (2017),Loewen, Isbell & Sporn (2020) which suggests that Duolingo and other suchapplications are of real and measurable pedagogical value.IV Why Duolingo?As mentioned in the introduction, Duolingo was selected as a supplementarylearning resource for first year students enrolled in the university’s compul-sory English class. Such an approach was not without precedent (Lord, 2016)and the conditions for it, however unfortunate, seemed ideal. Duolingo issomething that need only be done in short bursts (five to ten minutes perday is sufficient). The application itself is both free to download and use. It isavailable in multiple languages and therefore could be used by Japanese andoverseas students alike. The teacher account enabled the creation of a cur-riculum and the monitoring of student progress.In the first lesson of the semester, students were given a short tutorial onhow to use Duolingo and were sent a link to join the institution’s Duolingoclass. It was explained that progress on the application would count for up toten percent of their final grade in the English class. A week or two later, areminder was sent out in an attempt to maximize participation. About 70percent of students registered and created user accounts. Throughout thesemester, regular reminders were given to encourage students to continueusing the application.九州国際大学 教養研究 第27巻 第2号（2020・12）－19－V ResultsThe overall participation rate was somewhat disappointing considering thatthe application was free and only required a minimal investment of time.Lack of intrinsic motivation may have been an issue with students whofailed to engage with the application on a regular basis. Four students regis-tered but never used the application and 50 students registered and onlyused it once. Garcia Botero et al (2019) also observed a high incidence of such“try-and-quit” users. This could perhaps have been tackled by rewardingparticipation with more points towards the class’ final grade. Timely moni-toring of student participation was impeded by having only one Duolingoclass for the entire year group of students. Creating multiple Duolingoclasses would have enabled closer teacher supervision and more effectivefeedback and encouragement.Another possible explanation for students abandoning the application mayhave been online fatigue. With all classes taking place online, students andteachers found themselves spending far more time in front of a digitalscreen than they had previously been accustomed to. Students may have de-cided that time away from their screens was worth more than the potentialten percent towards their final grades by studying with Duolingo. For thisreason, it may be the case that using Duolingo as a supplementary learningtool may work best in conjunction with regular classroom-based lessons.Nevertheless, 66 students completed over 90 lessons representing an aver-age of one lesson for every day of the semester. Most impressively, it wasdiscovered that 10 students were still using Duolingo two months after thesemester had finished.Somewhat disappointingly, length and frequency of engagement with the ap-plication did not appear to have a significantly positive influence on students’performance in the final exam of the class. Pre-tests, progress tests, and post-tests that evaluate examinees’ knowledge and comprehension of the vo-cabulary and grammar structures taught by Duolingo, such as those admin-istered by Bennani and Mosbah (2017), should be implemented to assess theapplication’s true efficacy in future studies.DUOLINGOasa supplementary learning resource:APilot Study－20－VI ConclusionThis paper has briefly described the adoption of Duolingo as a supplemen-tary learning tool for first year university students studying remotely via on-line. For the numerous reasons outlined in this paper, the trial wasn’t as suc-cessful as might have been hoped. However, it is the belief of the authorsthat Duolingo does indeed have potential as a supplementary learning re-source. Regardless of how the current pandemic may affect future lessons, itis the intention of the authors to take the lessons learned from this trial anduse them to more effectively utilize Duolingo in the future and report thoseresults in a subsequent study.Notes1 According to results of ネット環境アンケート（internet environment survey）con-ducted by the Kyushu International University, Department of Academic Affairs, 24April 2020.2 According to Duolingo’s official website https://www.duolingo.com/courses/all Ac-cessed 1 November 2020.3 2019年のスマホ普及率を年代・地域・年代別に大公開，Marketing Research Camphttps://marketing-rc.com/article/20160731.html Accessed 1 November 2020.ReferencesBennani, W., & Mosbah, R. (2017). Investigating the Effectiveness of the Duolingo Platformin Developing Learners’ Vocabulary and Grammar Acquisition Case of CEIL AdultBeginner EFL Learners. TRANS Internet Journal for Cultural Studies, 22Garcia Botero, G., Questier, F., & Zhu, C. (2019). Self-directed language learning in a mobile-assisted, out-of-class context: do students walk the talk? Computer Assisted LanguageLearning, 32(1-2), 71-97Krashen, S. (2014). Does Duolingo “Trump” University-Level Language Learning? The In-ternational Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 13-15Kukulska-Hulme, A. (2009). Will mobile learning change language learning? ReCALL, 21(2),157-165Kukulska-Hulme, A. (2018). Mobile-assisted language learning [Revised and updated ver-sion]. In: Chappelle, C.A. ed. The Concise Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics. Wiley九州国際大学 教養研究 第27巻 第2号（2020・12）－21－Loewen, S., Isbell, D.R., Sporn, Z. (2020). The effectiveness of app-based language instruc-tion for developing receptive linguistic knowledge and oral communicative ability.Foreign Language Annals. 53, 209-233Lord, G. (2016). Rosetta Stone for Language Learning: An Exploratory Study. IALT Jour-nal of Language Learning Technologies, 46(1), 1-35Munday, P. (2016). The case for using DUOLINGO as part of the language classroom expe-rience. RIED [Revista Iberoamericana de Educacion a Distancia] , 19(1), 83-101Schmidt, R.W. (1990). The Role of Consciousness in Second Language Learning. AppliedLinguistics, 11(2), 129-158DUOLINGOasa supplementary learning resource:APilot Study－22－

DUOLINGO as a supplementary learning resource:A Pilot Study

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DUOLINGO as a supplementary learning resource:A Pilot Study

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