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Get off Facebook and learn something: Duolingo uses crowdsourcing to teach new languages

document Distributed Knowledge

JUNE 26, 2012 1:41 PM

Get off Facebook and learn something: Duolingo uses crowdsourcing to teach new languages
BY SARAH LANGS

For all the horizons broadened by the Internet, a digital language divide still exists, and you'd be silly to think Google Translate will get you all the way across. Duolingo, a new website from Luis Von Ahn, is aimed at translating the web by creating more foreign-language speakers, getting them to read pages in their original tongues instead of waiting for translations – or relying on shoddy ones. Finally, you will be able to read all that French “Twilight” fan fiction in its unadulterated beauty. (Photo: Duolingo) Unlike Google Translate, which simply places each word into a translator, without regard for grammatical differences across languages, Duolingo teaches those grammar rules to users, so that they can provide a more accurate translation from their newfound knowledge. Duolingo became available to the public on June 19, 2012. The website provides users with language lessons and tests ranging from basics to advanced (and always for free) in either Spanish, German or French, as well as English for Spanish speakers. The team plans to soon add Italian and Chinese, as well. Each level is accompanied by a few online articles, from websites like Wikipedia and foreign language news sites, which incorporate the words and phrasings learned throughout that level. “Duolingo leverages the brain power of millions of people who are currently learning a new language to help translate the web,” Von Ahn told WebProNews, which says that a beta version of the site launched late last year attracted some 125,000 users who have translated some 75 million sentences total. The interactive structure appears to lend itself well to learning the language. A combination of listening and translation from language to English and back again,

effectively ensures that the user isn't just memorizing a few vocabulary words. The accumulation of points is one incentive, though being able to read in another language should be incentive enough. If all goes according to plan, the user will learn a new language – or brush up on an old one – while foreign-language articles become increasingly more accessible. The site includes the obligatory link to social media, with the option to publish one's progress to Facebook and Twitter offered at the completion of each skill. Von Ahn seems to have a tendency towards archiving. This latest attempt to streamline the Internet and make content available regardless of language comes after his creation of reCAPTCHA, which describes itself as “a free anti-bot service that helps digitize book.: And while Duolingo’s aims seem to be worthwhile, it is hard to figure out if von Ahn and his team are trying to promote monolingualism or bilingualism. As Americans, we are guilty of forgetting that English isn't the only language out there. Though language-learning programs in schools certainly helps to nip this notion in the bud, a practical way to address language barriers seems like a welcome addition to the Internet. Instead of merely fueling the American ego complex, the site both encourages the adoption of a new language while also making English even more widespread by translating pages back into English on the site. A mixed message, perhaps, but a useful one nonetheless.

Summary Duolingo, a new website from Luis Von Ahn, is aimed at translating the web by creating more foreign-language speakers, getting them to read pages in their original tongues instead of waiting for translations – or relying on shoddy ones. Finally, you will be able to read all that French “Twilight” fan fiction in its unadulterated beauty.

Description “Duolingo leverages the brain power of millions of people who are currently learning a new language to help translate the web,” Von Ahn told WebProNews, which says that a beta version of the site launched late last year attracted some 125,000 users who have translated some 75 million sentences total.

Tags: Crowdsourcing, Duolingo, Facebook, Google Translate, language learning, Luis von Ahn, reCAPTCHA

Posted by Jayne Ann

Jun 27, 2012 01:19 am GMT Viewed 449 times

Author: SARAH LANGS Source

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