PITTSBURGH, April 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Duolingo (NASDAQ: DUOL), the world’s leading mobile learning platform, today announced the launch of 148 new language courses, more than doubling its current offering and marking the largest expansion of content in the company’s history. This launch makes Duolingo’s seven most popular non-English languages – Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Mandarin – available to all 28 supported user interface (UI) languages, dramatically expanding learning options for over a billion potential learners worldwide.
“Developing our first 100 courses took about 12 years, and now, in about a year, we’re able to create and launch nearly 150 new courses. This is a great example of how generative AI can directly benefit our learners,” said Luis von Ahn, CEO and co-founder of Duolingo. “This launch reflects the incredible impact of our AI and automation investments, which have allowed us to scale at unprecedented speed and quality.”
Historically, building a single new course on Duolingo could take years. However, through advances in generative AI, shared content systems, and internal tooling, the company created and launched this suite of 148 courses in less than a year. Duolingo’s new approach, known internally as “shared content,” enables the team to create a high-quality base course and quickly customize it for dozens of different languages.
“It used to take a small team years to build a single new course from scratch,” said Jessie Becker, Senior Director of Learning Design at Duolingo. “Now, by using generative AI to create and validate content, we’re able to focus our expertise where it’s most impactful, ensuring every course meets Duolingo’s rigorous quality standards.”
These new courses primarily support beginner levels (CEFR A1 – A2) and include immersive features such as Stories, to develop reading comprehension, and DuoRadio, to develop listening comprehension. More advanced content will roll out in coming months. This expansion allows Duolingo to better serve global learners and meet the growing demand for learning popular Asian languages, like Japanese, Korean, and Mandarin.
New course availability includes:
- Latin America: Spanish and Portuguese speakers can now learn Japanese, Korean, and Mandarin.
- Europe: Speakers of fifteen European languages like French, German, Italian, and Spanish can now learn Japanese, Korean, and Mandarin, among other top languages.
- Asia: Speakers of Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Thai, Tagalog, Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, and Tamil can now learn all of the top seven languages; previously, many only had access to learning English.
Meanwhile, Google has also stepped into the language learning arena with the launch of Little Language Lessons, a Gemini-powered tool that is currently part of its Google Labs experiments. This new offering aims to provide playful, real-world language practice, allowing users to learn English or a foreign language in a more natural and contextual manner than traditional language apps.
Little Language Lessons goes beyond simple vocabulary. Instead of relying on static word lists or repetitive grammar exercises, the tool offers three short, interactive lessons that mimic everyday situations. The first experimental lesson, Tiny Lesson, simulates mini conversations. Users select the language they want to learn and provide Gemini with a situation that calls for speaking that language. The chatbot then responds with vocabulary, phrases, and grammar tips tailored to the context.
The second lesson, Slang Hang, uses storytelling to initiate conversations. Users can press the spacebar to continue the dialogue between characters who incorporate slang in the language of choice. This feature helps learners quickly grasp the nuances of everyday speech, moving beyond textbook-perfect dialogue.
The standout feature of Little Language Lessons is the visual vocabulary builder, Word Cam. Users can snap a photo of an object around them, and Gemini will identify it while offering related vocabulary. For example, if a user chooses English and takes a picture of a backpack, they might learn words like "zipper," "strap," or "pocket." This type of object-based learning enhances word retention by connecting language directly to the learner's environment.
Currently, the tool offers a mix of languages depending on the chosen experiment. Users can access Little Language Lessons from any device with a browser. Google's approach, powered by Gemini, adapts dynamically to how users interact with the tool, making it more than just a simple grammar correction or translation service. It also aims to nail the tone and nuance in voice narration, allowing learners to include slang and idioms in basic conversations, which many traditional apps often avoid initially.
As of now, Little Language Lessons remains a Labs experiment, and there is no word on when—or if—it will be rolled out more broadly. However, it reflects a growing trend in AI: utilizing large language models (LLMs) to transform passive tools into active learning companions. This experiment feels casual and fun, akin to asking a tutor a quick question rather than completing a formal lesson.
As Duolingo and Google continue to innovate in the language learning space, their respective offerings highlight a significant shift toward personalized, context-rich learning experiences. With Duolingo's massive expansion of language courses and Google's experimental tools, learners now have more options than ever to enhance their language skills in engaging ways.
