Keywords
Abstract
Smartphones have faded into the background of our lives for the past decade or so but have quietly become one of the most ubiquitous tools that people use to learn a new language. Apps like Duolingo, Babbel, Memrise, HelloTalk and Tandem have drawn hundreds of millions of users who crave the flexibility to learn on their own time, at their own speed and without the commitment of formal classes. That convenience is real, and it matters. But it also conceals a number of problems that anyone who has ever tried to learn a language solely by using an app will eventually encounter. This article considers five of those problems in more detail — the tendency toward a lack of genuine conversation practice, the superficial attention to grammar, how motivation can dry up over time, the difficulty of tailoring lessons to each person’s needs and challenges posed by technology and costs that still lock many learners out. The point is not to dismiss these tools but rather to reflect more deeply on what they can do and cannot do, and how they might work better in tandem with other types of learning.
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