Genius Hour: The Final Verdict

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Hi all,

To begin, I decided to create a quick infographic to review some of the comparisons I made with the two apps.




     Next up I will go ahead and declare the winner in each of the 4 qualifications I established at the beginning of this project:

  • Accessibility 

Both apps are fair contenders in this category as they are free to use and available on both the Apple and Google Playstore as well as on a desktop computer as a website. Ultimately, I would have to give this category to Duolingo as it is slightly cheaper if you were to pay for a premium account. 
  • Diversity of Learning Style
With the ability to look at pictures, read translations, write out translations and even speak French into the microphone for evaluation, Duolingo definitely wins the diversity of learning style category.
  • User Friendliness 
Meanwhile, Memrise wins the category for user-friendliness. I find their app overall easier to navigate as the questions are presented to you without having to click on anything. There are also fewer pauses in the game due to fewer advertisements and point calculating so it feels more streamlined as you go from one lesson to the next.
  • Accommodation
The accommodation category will have to go to Duolingo for offering to skip over questions that require your phone volume or microphone to be on, as well as the option to listen to certain audio clips at half speed. This allows you to catch up on your lessons no matter where you are and slows things down for learners who may not be auditory-based but still want to learn a language.

Overall winner: DUOLINGO

[Image retrieved from https://events.duolingo.com/events/details/duolingo-swindon-french-presents-french-conversation-soiree-2/]

     Ultimately I would recommend both apps for language learners. I realize that adults who may want to learn some French before traveling abroad should definitely check out Memrise. While students in the FSL school system would greatly benefit from using Duolingo for ten minutes a day. I will probably continue to use Memrise myself, so I can become familiar with different Francophone accents and further develop my oral communication skills. And I would love to be able to implement Duolingo into my current placement to see if it helps students remain engaged in their learning. If I were to continue with a followup Genius Hour project I would try and apply the teaching techniques used in Duolingo in a classroom with no technology as this is a reality for some schools.



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