My 8-Year-Old's Math Struggles Ended With This App

A New Dimension to Duolingo: Math Learning

When people hear the name "Duolingo," they typically think of language learning. With over 40 supported languages and an engaging learning workflow, it’s no wonder that the app is currently the most downloaded education platform globally, nearing the historic 1 billion install milestone. However, many may not be aware that language lessons are not the only feature of this popular app.

In October 2022, Duolingo launched a standalone math app before integrating the module directly into their main app a year later. This expansion has opened up new possibilities for users looking to enhance their mathematical skills in a fun and interactive way.

I’ve been using Duolingo Math with my eight-year-old daughter for the past six months, and it has significantly improved her confidence with the algebra basics, including addition, subtraction, and multiplication. Math has previously been a source of anxiety for her, but the fun and interactive way of learning through Duolingo has shown her that math is something that can be enjoyed rather than dreaded. She might even tentatively say that she likes math as a result of using the app.

Learning That’s Fun and Engaging

Duolingo Math features the same interface that is present across the rest of the app. Lessons are split up into grades and topics, making it quick and easy to dial straight into the subjects that you want to work on. You can also revisit lessons if you want to strengthen your skills in a particular area. My daughter, for example, spent months on the initial lessons covering basic addition.

When you’re inside a particular topic, there is a fun mix of basic questions, word problems, and even a conversation-based level where you have to help a fictional character called Junior work out how much money he needs to buy a video game. Extending the learning beyond simple numbers helps engage the learner.

My daughter finds this blend of questions helpful for maintaining focus because it never becomes so familiar as to become boring and predictable. Despite the variety, it doesn't skip around so much that your child would become confused by what is being asked of them.

If You Love Rewards, You'll Be Hooked

To further guarantee engagement, every correctly answered question is met with a sound effect, haptic feedback, and encouraging feedback text, including “Amazing!” and “Nice job!” And if you answer a series of questions correctly, then the Duolingo bird flies onto the screen and hands out extra points.

When a lesson is complete, you are given XPs (Experience Points), which are the primary way Duolingo measures your activity and rewards your progress. You can think of it as the score for your learning journey. XPs are earned by completing lessons, doing daily questions, and carrying out timed challenges. They are used for leaderboards, promotion/demotion, and tracking daily goals. If you’re a competitive learner, then you’ll love XPs.

While XPs measure your daily effort and determine your rank in the Leagues, Quest Points are a separate currency specifically used to earn your Monthly Badge. If the XP is your score, then Quest Points are your stamps on a loyalty card. Quest Points can be collected by completing daily requests, friend requests, and weekend quests.

My daughter and I focused on daily requests, choosing not to engage with friends and having weekends off. The questions helped to reinforce in my daughter’s brain how well she was doing in her learning journey and motivated her to keep engaging in lessons rather than becoming bored and disinterested too quickly.

Free Is Good, But Premium Is Better

As is the case with other Duolingo learning modules, the free version will provide about ten to fifteen minutes of learning. That’s enough for one or two lessons, depending on how quickly you progress through. We stuck with the free version, although my daughter would often be disappointed when she ran out of Duolingo 'energy' and had to wait till the next day to play again.

If you’d like to remove these limits, then you have two upgrade tiers. The first is Super Duolingo, which costs $12.99 / £10.99 per month. This removes all the little annoyances, such as ads and limited energy levels, that get in the way of learning. Unfortunately, it doesn’t add much in terms of the learning process. For that, you’ll need Duolingo Max, which offers AI tools, roleplay, and video calling. This costs £29.99 / £19.99.

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and take your or your child's math skills to a whole new level.