Using Duolingo as a means of enhancing (Post) Obligatory Secondary Education Students’ interest in the English subject

Abstract

[eng] This research has aimed at studying and analysing the effects of using Duolingo, a mobile phone application, on the youngest and the oldest students of a Spanish high school. Basing the research on the premise that the so called digital natives students would feel much more comfortable and motivated by using a technological device for learning, I have endeavoured to prove that young learners of English would be more eager to learn the language if they are given the chance to use a tool such as Duolingo, since it is a mobile phone application and these students use this type of tools as part of their daily life. After having the students use Duolingo for a couple of weeks at home, they were asked about their experience and it was shown that, unexpectedly, the older students had actually enjoyed Duolingo as much as the younger ones, although the application proved to be more useful for the students of the first year of Compulsory Secondary Education, since the level that Duolingo offered was not sufficient for students of Post Obligatory Secondary Education. However, both groups showed interest in incorporating Duolingo as part of their English learning process.