Whenever I hear that someone new is starting language learning, I get excited.

But then, they mention Duolingo and I know how this is going to go.

I’ve spent years teaching, learning, and experimenting with language tools, and the little app with the Duolingo owl has always felt like a toy version of what language learners really need.

Using the app feels like language learning. You’ll pick up a few phrases. Cartoons cheer you on.

But deep down, it’s cosplay. Why?

What’s Good About Duolingo

This app felt like a revolution when it first came out. Here’s why:

• Free-ish, easy access to language learning from your smartphone. Nice.
• Lovely design with lots of fun illustrations
• Gamified learning keeps you coming back!
• It gets you from zero to somewhere in language learning, and officially works for getting people to do well on tests. (research sponsored by Duolingo itself though 👀)

The Downsides of Duolingo

You probably know about a lot of these issues by now, but let’s recap:

• You have to learn endless nonsense sentences.
• No flexibility about how you express yourself in your new language, so you’re not learning how to communicate.
• The feedback is too easy to ignore.
• Of course it’s not really free. Duolingo is now an ad-packed freemium app, and their business model has always cost teachers and learners. (Want the back story? Listen to this podcast about the hidden cost of cheap & easy language learning.)
• Zero nuance, extremely limited explanations, no cultural context.

Language learning should make people curious, but Duolingo doesn’t do that.

You don’t become a communicator. You become a really good Duolingo user.

What I Wanted to See Instead (So I Built it)

As a language teacher, AI has blown my mind. This endless resource of natural languages is easy to access, like a rich practice playground.

From the start, I wanted to build a community-driven, AI-powered space that actually helps people make progress:

• Fresh, exciting ideas developed for real learners
• Tools that help you learn with freedom, explore and have fun
• Real-time personalised feedback, not just error messages
• Content rooted in culture, context, and actual conversation
• And most importantly: a support system. Other humans. (Plus AI that doesn’t sound like it’s dying inside.)

So I opened AI Language Club, where we create and experiment with fresh, interesting language learning ideas in ChatGPT, Gemini, and other AI tools.

If you are just getting started with a new language, don’t sleep on the big possibilities of AI, because it can do so much more than Duolingo!