Is Duolingo useful for languages revision at GCSE?
There are lots of language learning apps, but if you’re studying a language at GCSE, which should you use? Duolingo, with its green owl and gamified lessons is by far the most popular one. But when it comes to revising for GCSEs, whether that be Spanish, French or German, is Duolingo truly your feathered friend or just a fun distraction?
TL;DR: Duolingo is excellent for building a foundational understanding of a language, especially in Year 10, but it falls short for exam revision in Year 11.
The early bird catches the worm
Duolingo's genius lies in its ability to make language learning accessible and engaging.
Gamified learning: The daily streaks in Duolingo is what makes it incredibly motivating. For students in Year 10, who are just getting to grips with the basics, this gamification can keep them consistent and build a positive habit. Building habits is how you’re going to make revision a part of your daily life, versus revision feeling like a chore. Even if Duolingo is not the best thing you can do with your time, you can easily swap it out with another activity later on, once it’s a part of your daily routine!
Introduction to basics: It does a decent job of introducing present tense conjugations, simple phrases and common nouns in a low pressure environment.
Listening practice: While sometimes a bit robotic, it provides valuable exposure to spoken language, helping students get used to hearing new words.
For these reasons, Duolingo serves as a superb starting point in Year 10 to establish early consistency and familiarity with the language.
Where Duolingo falls short
However, when it comes to the needs of GCSE exams, Duolingo's generalist approach becomes its biggest weakness:
Lack of specificity: GCSE exams adhere to strict vocabulary lists and grammar requirements set by specific exam boards. Duolingo's curriculum is generic and doesn't align directly with these specifications, meaning you'll learn many words you don't need and miss many you do.
Limited grammar explanations: Duolingo focuses on pattern recognition rather than explicit grammar rules. You'll learn that "je vais" means "I go," but you might not understand the intricacies of verb conjugation or why certain prepositions are used. GCSE exams often require a deeper understanding of grammar for writing and speaking tasks.
Repetitive and simplistic sentences: The exercises, while useful for basic recall, can become repetitive and don't often reflect the complexity or variety of sentences required in written & spoken exam questions.
Passive learning: While you're "doing" something, much of it involves multiple choice questions, which can feel like progress without truly forcing you to produce language independently. This doesn't prepare you for spontaneous speaking or extended writing.
Weak on production skills: Continuing from the point above, Duolingo doesn't adequately prepare you for constructing sentences from scratch or engaging in real time conversation, which are crucial for the speaking and writing components of the GCSE.
A stronger contender for vocabulary
When it comes to vocabulary acquisition for both Year 10 and Year 11, Memrise is a fan favourite for teachers and it often surpasses Duolingo. Its strength lies in its diverse learning methods and community courses:
User generated courses: Crucially, Memrise has a vast library of user generated courses, meaning you can often find decks specifically tailored to your GCSE or A-Level exam board's vocabulary list. This is a game changer for targeted revision.
Variety of exercises: Memrise offers more varied exercises for vocabulary retention, including typing, listening and multiple choice.
Mnemonics: The ability for users to create and share "mems" (memory aids) for difficult words can significantly boost recall.
Focus on active recall: Memrise generally pushes for more active recall than Duolingo, which is vital for effective memorisation.
The gold standard for vocabulary
If vocabulary retention is your primary goal, then Anki is in a league of its own. It's not as flashy or gamified as Duolingo or Memrise, but its power lies in its algorithm:
Spaced repetition: This is Anki's core strength. It uses an algorithm to show you flashcards just before you're about to forget them. This highly efficient method maximises retention with minimal time spent.
Customisation: Anki allows for lots of customisation. You can easily import massive vocabulary decks (like your entire GCSE or A-Level vocabulary list from our astarlanguages decks) and edit them further as per your needs.
Active recall: Anki rigorously enforces active recall, forcing your brain to retrieve information from memory. This process strengthens neural pathways, pushing vocabulary into your long term memory.
Have a watch through my instructional Anki video ⬇️
Quizlet also deserves a mention here. It's a highly versatile platform that allows you to create your own flashcard sets or find sets created by others. It offers various study modes, including traditional flashcards, matching games and a "learn" mode. Quizlet is excellent for quick practice sessions on specific topics or vocabulary sets and is often used by MFL teachers to share topic based decks. While it lacks the sophisticated spaced repetition system of Anki, it's a solid choice for supplementary practice and active recall drills, on your phone on the way to school for example.
The blended approach is what I recommend
For truly effective revision, a blended approach is best:
Anki: This should be your main tool for long term vocabulary learning.
Textbooks and teacher resources: Crucial for detailed grammar explanations, structured writing practice and specific exam strategies.
Past papers: Essential for understanding exam format, timing and question types.
Exam prep videos: Our videos on YouTube go through what you need to know and do to smash your final exams and any mocks along the way.
Real world exposure: Listening to native speakers, watching films in your target language, reading articles (even simple ones) to build comprehension and context. For this, I recommend Dreaming Spanish (for Spanish) on YouTube.
Duolingo is a fantastic gateway to language learning, keeping you motivated and building basic familiarity, especially in Year 10. But to truly excel at GCSE, you need to use a variety of resources to cover all aspects of the exams.
