If you're an intermediate or advanced learner looking for a new challenge, consider changing the language of your smartphone! Since you're probably already very familiar with the buttons, options, and wording in your favorite apps, you can use that familiarity to learn new vocabulary. Plus, connecting language learning with your regular habits is a great way to stay motivated, learn a little bit at a time, and squeeze in a few more minutes of "studying" every day. ? Here are some ways you can learn from your smartphone! Learn words about technology and social media You can probably already n ..read more

Every year, World Refugee Day celebrates and honors refugees from across the world. We built Duolingo to make education accessible to everyone on the planet, but we never expected how widely-used it would become among refugees. From our documentary “Something Like Home,” filmed in 2018, to global partnerships announced last year, we believe that supporting refugees is crucial to our mission of making sure everyone has access to quality education. This year, we wanted to take the opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to improving educational equity for refugees. Here is an update on those par ..read more

Last year on World Refugee Day, Duolingo announced a partnership with the United Nations’ High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) to create a new university advisor position at UNHCR focused on supporting refugees as they navigate the university admission and financial aid processes. In honor of this year’s World Refugee Day, we asked access advisor, Laura Kaub, how universities can best support refugee applicants. Here are five things they can do: Be flexible Refugee children are 30% less likely to complete primary education, 50% less likely to complete secondary education. Fewer than one out of ..read more

This is a big year at Duolingo HQ: Our beloved Duo the Owl is turning double digits! For his 10th birthday, all he wants is for learners around the world to do their daily lessons. As we planned his party, we took a look at global birthday traditions—from special foods, to special songs—to ensure we give him the worldly celebration he deserves! Are you curious about how birthdays are celebrated around the world? Check out these traditions, and bookmark them before planning your party: Birthday rituals around the world Cake is a common theme on birthdays, but the rituals around cake can vary ..read more

Welcome to another week of Dear Duolingo, an advice column just for language learners. Catch up on past installments here. Hi learners! This is a very special week for Duolingo: it's our 10th birthday!! So this week on Dear Duolingo, we're using this opportunity to celebrate the language learning that y'all have been doing with us for a decade – and in doing so will answer a question we hear from people studying a lot of different languages. Everyone here loves studying languages, but even so, it's common to wonder what you can really get out of the experience. Our question for the week: Dear ..read more

Duolingo was built with a singular goal: to bring high-quality education to everyone on the planet by harnessing the power of technology. And while we started with language learning, Duolingo has become so much more than that: we’ve developed an on-demand English proficiency test, we’ve produced award-winning podcasts, we’ve launched Duolingo ABC to help kids learn to read, and we’ve done all of this by creating content that’s both entertaining and effective. Since our launch 10 years ago, we’ve continued to test and evaluate our teaching and assessment methods to ensure our courses are free ..read more

Duo the owl has been an iconic figure in language learning for 10 years — and he’s gone through quite a few makeovers! The round, bouncy Duo we know and love today is the perfect companion for language learners all over the world. Our designers have so much fun drawing Duo (and all of our characters), and so do many of our learners who share their fan art creations! Want to get in on the fun? This easy 10-step guide is the perfect place to start. Materials needed: A pencil, eraser, and some notebook paper. We like paper that has lines or grid marks to help with spacing and sizing, but even a ..read more

As you learn a new language, it's natural to look for words or other patterns that feel familiar or have similarities to your first language! Sometimes they are harder to find, depending on the language you're learning, and for others the similarities will be unavoidable. Underneath the surface, there are lots of features shared by all human languages—and since all of Duolingo's 106 courses in 41 languages are totally free, it's easy to compare and contrast languages from around the world! Let’s look at 10 things that all languages have in common. 1. All languages have dialects and accents A ..read more

Have you noticed Duo’s makeover? If you’re a current Plus subscriber you might notice a new psychedelic look—and if you’ve always wanted to try the premium Duolingo experience, now is your moment! We’re excited to unveil Super Duolingo, a new look for the supercharged learning experience you know and love! Super Duolingo has all of the features you love from Duolingo Plus, but in a sleeker, more colorful package. Super Duo has been waiting to meet you, but we understand you might have a few questions before jumping into practice. Here’s everything you want to know—and more!—about the new look ..read more

At Duolingo, we pride ourselves on hiring individuals who are passionate about our mission and want to use their expertise to change the world for the better. To help give you a peek into what it’s like working for Duolingo, we’ve asked our team members to share more about their experience at the company! Today, meet Sammi: a Senior Software Engineer working on our upcoming math app. Sammi joined Duolingo in August 2018.   Why did you choose Duolingo? I discovered Duolingo when I was living in Copenhagen and trying (read: struggling) to learn Danish. After mistaking cottage cheese for yo ..read more