One of the timeless jokes from the iconic British comedy troupe Monty Python is a clever play on grammar in their 1979 film Life of Brian. In the scene, the protagonist Brian is caught by a Roman centurion while vandalizing Pontius Pilate’s palace. Surprisingly, his offense is not the act of vandalism itself, but rather his incorrect translation of the Latin phrase “Romans go home.” As punishment, Brian is required to write the correct sentence 100 times before sunrise. This joke is amusing for its transition from totalitarian fear to a lighthearted critique of traditional language teaching, as well as its relatable depiction of Britons struggling with foreign languages while on vacation.
Interestingly, this skit continues to resonate decades later. The idea of rote learning and punishment by writing lines has been suggested as a solution for educational challenges, and there has been a decline in language proficiency at the school level due to tougher exams, resource limitations, and a post-Brexit reluctance among some students and parents to invest in the languages of Europe.
If we follow the money, we’ll find the language app. In 2009, Luis von Ahn, a German-Guatemalan university professor and entrepreneur, along with his postgraduate student Severin Hacker, launched Duolingo. This free app, known for its playful mascot, a green owl, has surpassed its competitors due to its gamified approach. Duolingo now offers instruction in over 40 languages to more than 70 million users, with 54% of them falling between the ages of 18 and 34. The app also offers a paid version for an ad-free experience. Despite not yet being profitable, Duolingo was recognized by Forbes Magazine as one of the next billion-dollar startups. In February of this year alone, it recorded over 13 million new downloads.
Duolingo is at the forefront of utilizing advanced artificial intelligence, with its integration of the GPT-4 model. While the app offers unconventional courses like Star Trek’s Klingon and Game of Thrones’ High Valyrian, it also supports minority languages such as Xhosa and Navajo. Curiously, three Slavonic languages – Croatian, Slovak, and Slovene – are not included. The completion time for a course varies, but mastering the 216 units in the popular Spanish course could take several years with just 15 minutes of daily practice.
Despite the fact that few learners actually complete a course, Duolingo and its competitors demonstrate the desire to become multilingual, even in the English-speaking world where foreign language learning is often neglected. Numerous academic studies have explored the benefits of these apps, with some highlighting their usefulness as classroom tools, while others acknowledge their limitations in facilitating complex conversations or achieving high levels of fluency according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
Both perspectives have validity. Language learning is fundamentally about facilitating communication between individuals, and apps can serve as a valuable supplement to interpersonal interaction and cultural immersion. The success of Duolingo should serve as a reminder that foreign languages have a crucial role to play in any well-rounded education system, offering personal enrichment and career advantages in our interconnected world.
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