María Carreira acknowledges the worth of apps in making language studying extra well-liked and academics more practical
There’s an previous joke extensively used amongst language academics: What do you name somebody who speaks two languages? Bilingual. Somebody who speaks three? Trilingual. And somebody who speaks just one? An American.
Humorous, proper? Not likely—not less than to not the 68 million of us who communicate a language apart from English at house. For us, the joke stings as a result of it means that talking one other language makes us much less American—or worse, not American in any respect.
Historian Rosina Lozano, creator of An American Language: The Historical past of Spanish in the USA, calls this previous joke each hackneyed and traditionally inaccurate. She reminds us: “The lengthy multilingual expertise of the USA has remained largely absent from well-liked understanding of the nation’s historical past” (Lozano, p. 2).
America’s multilingualism could be very a lot alive as we speak. Our nation is the fifth most linguistically numerous on the earth—after Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Nigeria, and India (Ang, 2021). Remarkably, a brand new report locations the variety of languages used within the US at greater than 500—up from earlier estimates of round 350 (US Census Bureau, 2025).
America’s New Multilingual Second
To make sure, immigration performs a significant position on this linguistic range—as do our greater than 70 Indigenous languages—however neither is the only real driver of America’s multilingualism. Although it might appear stunning, we live in an period of unprecedented engagement with language studying throughout the US. Duolingo, the world’s most downloaded language-learning app, experiences that an astonishing 25% of its customers—greater than 144 million learners—are within the US. A CivicScience examine notes that language apps are particularly well-liked amongst younger individuals: practically half of all customers (48%) are faculty age, between 18 and 24 (CivicScience, 2023).
This development stands in sharp distinction to what’s occurring on faculty campuses, the place enrollments in language programs have been declining steadily since 2009 (Lusin, 2023). Understanding this paradox could maintain the important thing to designing language packages which can be extra related and attentive to as we speak’s learners, notably these in greater training.
Rethinking Language Studying
Analysis on language-learning apps constantly identifies 5 options that customers worth most:
- Flexibility: Alternatives for self-paced examine anytime and anyplace (Mihaylova et al., 2022).
- Personalization: Classes that adapt to learners’ objectives and desires (Viberg and Kukulska-Hulme, 2021).
- Microlearning: Chew-sized duties that make studying straightforward to combine into busy schedules (Fidan et al., 2021).
- Gamification: Factors, streaks, and ranges that continue learning enjoyable and motivating (Mihaylova et al., 2022).
- Autonomy: The flexibility to set objectives and direct one’s personal studying (Viberg and Kukulska-Hulme, 2021).
A key to designing stronger language packages lies in integrating the precious options of language-learning apps whereas preserving the evidence-based pedagogical practices and sense of group that outline classroom instruction as we speak. With this in thoughts, a promising method is to create hybrid programs that incorporate using a language-learning app as a part of the formal curriculum, maybe as a unit of credit score or as a recurring guided project undertaken exterior of sophistication for a portion of the ultimate grade.
To make this mannequin work, nonetheless, considerate integration between app-based studying and classroom instruction is important. Unbiased app work ought to be adopted within the classroom by a guided reflection on what has been realized, further observe, and an evaluation to trace progress. This layering impact ensures that unbiased studying is strengthened, contextualized, and prolonged by means of significant classroom interplay. It ensures that unbiased studying just isn’t handled as a mere formality to satisfy the necessities for a unit of credit score and that it isn’t perceived by college students as pointless busy work.
This method may be notably efficient in courses that embrace each heritage and second-language learners (so-called combined courses). Such courses pose distinctive challenges as a result of the 2 teams typically have very completely different wants and expertise. Because of this, every group could really feel considerably insecure in relation to the opposite: heritage learners could also be intimidated by second-language learners’ stronger command of grammar and spelling, whereas second-language learners could really feel unsure about their capability to make use of the language spontaneously.
Language apps can facilitate differentiated studying by permitting every group to pursue its personal objectives whereas participating with frequent content material. Contemplate, for instance, the instructing of vocabulary, a central piece of all language-learning apps. Heritage learners could already know the meanings of many on a regular basis phrases and use them comfortably in dialog, however they could be much less aware of their written types. A reflective in-class exercise may invite them to notice particular orthographic conventions practiced throughout an app lesson. In the meantime, second-language learners can take class time to observe utilizing this vocabulary in spontaneous dialog. To additional lengthen studying, and to assist heritage and second-language learners acknowledge each other as useful assets reasonably than as threats, classwork actions can draw on their complementary expertise to facilitate reciprocal studying. This mixture of focused observe and mutual alternate represents some of the efficient approaches to instructing combined courses (Carreira, 2016).
Whereas this instance highlights the potential of apps in combined school rooms, the identical rules apply broadly in any tutorial context. When thoughtfully paired with in-class actions that promote reflection and train language-learning methods, language apps may be harnessed to help differentiated, self-guided, and collaborative studying.
To help personalization, college students ought to have the chance to decide on a few of the items or matters they examine. To train autonomy, they may analyze what further content material and actions may make their chosen unit more practical—each for themselves and for his or her classmates. To advertise a way of possession of the fabric, they may even publish their very own opinions of language-learning apps, providing constructive strategies to builders and sharing their insights with the broader instructional group. These sorts of actions assist learners develop what is named disciplinary literacy—the power to take part not merely as recipients of instruction however as rising consultants and contributors to the sphere (Shanahan and Shanahan, 2013; Carreira, 2016).
Exploiting the Full Vary of Digital Sources
Past language-learning apps, a wealth of freely accessible digital assets may contribute to this basic method to configuring instruction. For instance, college students can train autonomy by taking an lively position find and curating such assets. The collective contributions of all learners can change into a useful repository of genuine supplies for the advantage of the category in addition to future cohorts. These sorts of actions deepen learners’ funding within the materials and supply richer publicity to the goal language.
Learners occupied with language for particular functions can give attention to amassing supplies associated to knowledgeable subject of their selection. This method personalizes studying and enhances motivation by aligning language examine with learners’ skilled aspirations, a characteristic more and more valued by as we speak’s college students.
A vital aspect in all of that is the instructor’s position. Instructors should take an lively half in serving to college students find genuine sources, consider their high quality, determine key linguistic and content material options to be realized from them, and enact studying methods that promote real linguistic and cultural progress. Briefly, to maximise the worth of language apps, academics should present the roadmap to studying.
Reaffirming the Classroom and Strengthening Applications of Research
In as we speak’s more and more distant and digitized world, it is very important do not forget that alternatives to interact in particular person are extra vital than ever. The classroom stays the premier area the place language comes alive: the place learners negotiate which means, interact in genuine communication, and expertise connection and group, all of that are important to motivation. For heritage learners, the classroom affords a much-needed area to discover id, belonging, and shared experiences: parts that lie on the core of heritage language studying.
Past the classroom, on the program and institutional ranges, language-learning apps supply renewed hope for increasing the examine of much less generally taught languages, at the same time as institutional assets for language training have gotten more and more scarce. Duolingo, which gives free entry to greater than 40 languages, illustrates the huge potential of those platforms not solely to broaden the vary of languages supplied but additionally to maintain further ranges of instruction by means of new alternatives for unbiased studying past the classroom. On this approach, as we speak’s language-learning apps are a strong instrument for supporting range, fairness, and entry in language studying.
Finally, the objective is to not substitute conventional instruction however to complement it by incorporating digital instruments and genuine on-line assets that make language studying extra participating for as we speak’s college students. In doing so, we will make language examine extra engaging, efficient, and equitable, whereas strengthening our nation’s extraordinary multilingualism and multiculturalism.
References
- Ang, C. (2021). “The International locations with the Most Linguistic Variety.” Visible Capitalist. www.visualcapitalist.com/the-countries-with-the-most-linguistic-diversity
- Carreira, M. (2016). “Approaches and Methods for Educate-ing Heritage Language Learners: Concentrate on combined courses.” In Pascual y Cabo, D., and Benjamins, J. (Eds.), Advances in Spanish as a Heritage Language, pp. 159–176.
- CivicScience (2023). “How Many Individuals Use Language-Studying Apps?” https://civicscience.com
- Fidan, M., et al. (2021). “The Effectiveness of Microlearning in Cell-Assisted Language Studying.” Training and Info Applied sciences, 26(6), 6651–6673.
- Lozano, R. (2018). An American Language: The Historical past of Spanish in the USA. College of California Press.
- Mihaylova, P., et al. (2022). “Cell-Assisted Language Studying: Motivation, Engagement, and Gamification.” Journal of Language and Training, 8(2), 45–59.
- Lusin, N., Peterson, T., Sulewski, C., and Zafer, R. (2023). Enrollments in Languages Different Than English in United States Establishments of Increased Training, Fall 2021. MLA.
- Shanahan, T., and Shanahan, C. (2013). “What Is Disciplinary Literacy and Why Does It Matter?” Matters in Language Problems, 33(1), 7–18.
- US Census Bureau. (2025). “New Knowledge on Detailed Languages Spoken at House and the Capacity to Communicate English.” Press Launch CB25-TPS.40. www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2025/2017-2021-acs-language-use-tables.html
- Viberg, O., and Kukulska-Hulme, A. (2021). “Personalization and Self-Regulated Studying in Cell-Assisted Language Studying.” ReCALL, 33(3), 234–252.
María Carreira is govt director of the American Affiliation of Academics of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP).
