I came to Duolingo’s defense back in April, after many of you told us in a poll that you don’t think language learning apps work. Despite how they divide opinion, the majority of you in that survey did think they offered some benefit, and Duolingo is far from the only option on the market. Whichever you favor, we wanted to know more about your habits, so we polled you again on how often you actually engage with your language learning app of choice.
That question was prompted by Stephen Headrick’s recent article about trying Speak, a Duolingo alternative that takes a very different approach to language learning. Rather than leaning heavily on gamified drills and fill-in-the-blank exercises, Speak puts speaking front and center, using AI-powered conversations to push you to actually say things out loud. Stephen found that focus particularly useful for building his confidence to practice in the real world.
