Duolingo Blog
June 28, 2023
The sneaky speaking practice youâre probably not doing
This exercise is hiding in plain sight đ
When you do a lesson on Duolingo, youâll encounter exercises designed to teach you four fundamental language skills: speaking, writing, reading, and listening. Sometimes, we refer to these as âSWRLâ skills, and together, they account for the different things you can do with a language.
You might practice your reading skills with a Duolingo Story, or practice your listening skills by identifying what word you hear Lucy or Bea say in a sentence. And of course, most exercises combine multiple skills! Usually, you know exactly what skill youâre practicing based on the type of exercise.
But if youâre looking to really amp up your speaking practice, there is a sneaky way to turn an easier writing exercise into a more challenging speaking exercise! When youâre asked to translate a sentence into your new language, youâre faced with a blank box. Although these are designed to focus on writing⌠at the bottom of that box, thereâs a little microphone đ
Tap that microphone, and you can dictate the translation to Duolingo! Our app will pick up your speech and write it out (just like we do in more traditional speaking exercises). And because speaking is a skill with more time pressure, and it requires a faster response from your brain, it might feel more challenging to complete these exercises by saying the answer out loud. But thatâs a good thing!
And since our AI voice recognition is trained to pick up on your pronunciation, youâll be able to get real-time feedback on how you sound, and then edit your answer before submitting.
Thatâs it! This speaking exercise is hiding in plain sightâand now you can take advantage of it whenever youâre up for a challenge. Want more tips on how to improve your speaking and pronunciation skills? Check outâŚ