24 The Linguist Vol/61 No/5
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FEATURES
At an event to mark a new collaboration between CIOL and Duolingo,
guests sat in on a conversation between the CEOs of the two organisations
CIOL's motto is 'universal understanding' and
Duolingo's mission is to make language
learning universally accessible, so working
together makes perfect sense. One practical
way of doing that is to share what we know
about language learning, assessment and the
value of languages and culture. So when the
chance to talk to Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn
came up, CIOL CEO John Worne reached out
to Baroness Coussins to make that a bigger
conversation, hosted at the House of Lords.
Once everyone had dodged the showers,
cleared security and assembled in one of the
Lords' largest function rooms, we settled down
to "listen in" on Luis's conversation with
John, spanning everything from the value of
intermediate-level language skills to why
Duolingo has an entire lesson on asparagus –
part of the cultural essentials for German!
Guests, including representatives from
universities, schools, educational initiatives,
government and public services, CIOL Council
members and senior stakeholders, heard how
Duolingo and CIOL have complementary
goals. These include a shared love of all things
languages, a commitment to multilingualism,
and the aim of building appreciation of other
countries and cultures through languages.
Duolingo is probably the most popular way
to learn a language in the world, offering over
40 languages to 500 million people. When
John asked how many people in the room
used the app, a sea of hands shot up. Millions
are currently on a 365+ day 'streak' for
uninterrupted days of learning, with John
sharing that he was just days away from
closing his own 1,000-day streak!
Luis explained what he and his company
have learnt from users. The app itself responds
to individual learners, giving them content
they need to practise while offering just over
an 80% chance of success (a 'sweet spot' to
keep them motivated). Questions from guests
were just as informative, with Charlotte Ryland
of the Stephen Spender Trust asking how
Duolingo engages schools (there is a schools
platform to support in-class teaching); and the
Goethe Institute's Katharina von Ruckteschell-
Katte asking if Luis would consider more
collaborations (yes, as long as learners are
the focus and costs to them remain low).
Luis's commitment to keeping a free version
to enable less affluent users to learn came
through passionately. "A lot of people say
education brings equality but I've always seen
it as the opposite – something that brings
inequality. People that have money can buy
A shared mission
AT THE HOUSE OF LORDS
(Clockwise from top left) Luis talks with CIOL's
Angie (l) and Alex; Luis and John; meeting John
Rolfe; Charlotte Ryland asks a question; and
the CIOL and Duolingo teams on the terrace
