We live in revolutionary times of knowledge digitalization, when thousands of opportunities are open for learning, numerous new and effective approaches and methods are available. It would be extremely naive to ignore these processes, as it is the demand of time to follow technical progress and move in harmony with ever-changing digital developments. As a teacher, I constantly research new offerings in the digital world, conducting new experiments to find the keys to learner motivation. It turns out that no extra effort is needed to discover learners’ educational needs and opportunities – it’s enough to observe students’ natural play, their preferences, and individual learning approaches. Believe me, the results won’t take long to show – learners themselves will suggest and propose the most necessary toolkit for their learning. Thus, through joint conversations and work with learners, I understood that they are attracted to informal, game-based forms of learning. In elementary school, play is the most effective and natural form of learning. There is no coercion and fear of making mistakes; instead, there are continuous opportunities to try and reasons to strengthen willpower. After studying the available offerings in the digital environment, I decided to implement the “Duolingo” app in the educational process and formulated the “Duolingo” project. The “Duolingo” app is a free language learning program created in 2011 by Luis von Ahn. The main features of the app are:
- game-based learning,
- courses in more than 40 languages,
- free basic version,
- exercises for developing written, oral, and foreign language listening skills,
- point system for learning motivation,
- accessibility: can be used on web, iOS, and Android platforms.
The “Duolingo” app helps learn foreign languages quickly, interestingly, and effectively. First, a diagnostic test determines the learner’s initial knowledge level, an individual learning plan is selected, and rules for using the digital platform and forms of encouragement are established. The program can be used both for individual learning and team competition. During the second academic period’s camp days, I decided to include the “Duolingo” project in my camp educational process as a “Digitech 2025” review project. The project was launched on January 20th for a two-week period. The learners downloaded the app on their personal computers, took the diagnostic test as prescribed, and received their individual learning plans. Together with the learners, we decided to learn and play in bilingual mode – English-Russian version, implement a reward point system, and compete until the end of the camp period. The game started, and the learners were involved in it for over 2 weeks. The “Duolingo” app generated great interest among campers. They engaged in the process with great enthusiasm and took on the task with utmost responsibility. During the first week, I noted that the “Duolingo” app with its educational games is much more preferred by campers than many other digital games popular among students. The campers themselves realized the effectiveness of the educational app, noting that they could practically use previously acquired knowledge and add new ones. Although competition was at the core of the game rules, I repeatedly witnessed how learners helped each other – researching, finding, and sharing secret game features, observing and considering others’ experiences recorded online, taking creative steps, and conducting experiments. Thus, I note that the project managed to play its small but important role in developing effective communication, tolerance, and collaborative work abilities.
With this project, in addition to language and collaboration skills, I aimed to develop the campers’ creative skills. To achieve this, we agreed with the campers to make the winners’ prizes with their own hands. We discussed the proposals using the “Brainstorming” method. As a result, we decided to create character toys of Duo the owl, which is the symbol of the app. I gladly shared my modest experience in dollmaking, and together with the junior campers, we created interesting toys.
In addition to qualitative analysis, quantitative analysis is also important to evaluate the effectiveness of the project. Thus, during the two-week period, 85% of campers were able to achieve their goals. Each participant learned an average of 50-60 new words and 15-20 grammatical structures. It is noteworthy that 90% of learners decisively decided to use the app after the camp as well, which indicates the formation of a stable habit. One of the keys to the program’s success was also the active involvement of parents. Many parents, seeing their children’s interest, also downloaded the app and joined the competition by creating family teams. This proved that digital tools can play a role not only in education but also in strengthening family bonds. This experience also showed that it is necessary to create similar Armenian-language applications. There is a significant lack of quality digital tools for teaching Armenian, and this could be one of the promising directions for future development. In conclusion, I would note that the project revealed an important reality: children are ready to learn through the latest technologies, and our task is to properly guide this process. In the next academic year, I plan to expand the project to include more classes and subjects. My goal is to create a learning model where digital technologies serve not only the transfer of knowledge but also the general development and socialization of learners.
Project results: