Last summer, during our beach vacation, I found the Duolingo app. It's a point of pride for me that I've been using the app for over a year now, moving closer to fluency in my long-neglected French skills, dusting off my limited German, and learning to communicate in a very rudimentary fashion in Spanish. I really enjoy the app, despite the fact that the lessons are nowhere near as easy now as they was when I first started. That's not the fault of the app but is, rather, attributable to the fact that I've moved out of beginner levels.
In addition to Duolingo, I enjoy characters. (Yes, I know that's an odd transition. Bear with me, please). I love creating them, writing about them and prefer character-driven entertainment (books, movies, television shows) as well. If I like a character or an ensemble, I'll stick with the medium, even if it's not stellar. I want to see what happens to the people I've invested in.
Which made the article I stumbled across in Fast Company today particularly interesting. Entitled "Duolingo wants to be the 'Sesame Street' for Adults," the article by KC Ifeanyi talked about how the app is building a stable of characters who appear in its stories -- the ones it uses to help language learners develop their skills.
I'm not sure how I feel about using a Sesame Street-like app at my age but, as I read further, I realized that I've already absorbed the characters, who recur throughout the stories on the app. Clever (of them, not me).
Duolingo is already on my list of favorite things. Now, with the addition of characters, it could, perhaps, endear itself even further.
Maintenant, excusez moi, s'il vous plait. Je dois pratiquer mon français.*
*Now, excuse me, please. I have to practice my French.
(At least that's what I hope I said).
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