STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF DUOLINGO AS AN ENGLISH LEARNING APPLICATION

In the digital era, mobile applications have become an alternative tool for language learning, such as Duolingo, which is widely used by students to improve their English skills. This study intends to investigate the perceptions of English major students at Muhammadiyah University of Malang regarding their use of Duolingo for learning English. However, students’ perceptions of Duolingo as an English learning application may vary depending on their experiences and expectations. This research employs a qualitative approach, with interviews as the primary data collection method and questionnaires as secondary data to validate the interview results. Interview responses were analyzed using thematic analysis, while questionnaire data were interpreted using simple percentage analysis.
The findings reveal eight key themes that appeared from students’ responses: frequency of Duolingo use, motivation using Duolingo, effectiveness of Duolingo features, improvement of English skills, Duolingo’s advantages, limitations of the free version, Duolingo as an independent learning tool, and user suggestions for feature enhancement. The results indicate that although most students perceive Duolingo as a beneficial tool for learning English, they also point out several drawbacks, especially with the free version of the application. In conclusion, Duolingo is considered a useful and engaging platform for English language learning. However, improvements to certain features could enhance its effectiveness. This study provides insights into the student experience and offers recommendations for the future development of language learning apps.