The use of the Duolingo mobile application in the process of teaching and learning German as a foreign language in the context of university teaching

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the use of mobile application Duolingo in the process of teaching and learning German as a foreign language (FL) in the context of classroom learning at university. The current empirical research starts from the hypothesis that being a free, interactive, gamified resource that allows unlimited access to content, the Duolingo mobile application can contribute to a regular contact with the target language and consequently expand learners' vocabulary. Therefore, the data were collected in a didactic intervention that was made in one German class, and by using Duolingo App for Schools a control group was established to test the App tools. Thus, data were collected through automatic activities reports, which allow the analysis of learners’ performance and persistence. It was concluded that Duolingo App is a possible tool to complement the activities in a German classroom, as it helps the vocabulary learning process. This research contributes to elucidating the questions about mobile Apps such as Duolingo in FL learning. What is more, this research shows the importance of mobile Apps in the German learning process, evidences learners massive interest in using Apps as a complementary resource to classroom teaching.

Keywords:
App Duolingo; learning German with App Duolingo; App Duolingo as a complement for German classroom activities