GoKawiilJoe Maring / Android Authority
I’ve seen a few of my colleagues ditch Duolingo over recent years, and I can’t blame them. Over the past year alone, Duolingo has changed the goalposts for free users by introducing the energy system, then reshuffling the courses in a way that irked many people. Even before those changes, many users found the UI to be annoying and over-gamified. I’m much more forgiving, but I was curious to find out if Gemini could finally wrestle me free of my extensive Duolingo streak, which is now somewhere between an achievement and a hostage situation.
I’m not setting out to trash the infamous green owl — it gets angry enough if you just miss a lesson. As I explained last year, having used Duolingo daily for years and amassed a monster streak, I still find it a useful learning tool despite its many flaws. But I live in Mexico, and having reached an intermediate level in Spanish, I feel like Duolingo has taken me as far as it can. Handy as it can be as a refresher, it’s repetitive and not particularly well-suited to real-life scenarios. Worst of all, it can’t adapt to my own personal circumstances, such as my particular weaknesses and the type of Spanish I want to learn.
Have you tried using an AI chatbot to learn a language? 54 votes Yes, and it worked well 28 % Yes, but I didn't find it very effective 9 % No 59 % Other (tell us in the comments) 4 %
These seem to be issues that an AI chatbot like Gemini could be ideal to address. In fact, there have been times when I’ve turned to AI to understand an answer or explanation in Duolingo. Instead of switching between apps, I was curious whether Gemini could step up as my go-to for daily lessons. I tried it out for a week, and it’s changed my approach to language learning.
Building my Gemini tutor
Gemini
I started out by creating a custom Gemini Gem, with the aim of it being my dedicated learning hub. But I wasn’t going to jump right in and ask it to quiz me on Spanish words. The whole point of the exercise is to escape the limited Duolingo approach, so I wanted Gemini to act more like a personal tutor. If that tutor were human, they wouldn’t just hand me a workbook; they would first need to assess my Spanish level, my circumstances, and my learning goals.
When you create a new Gem, you can choose from some pre-made versions, including a ‘learning coach’. This would seem like a no-brainer, but I chose to make an uncustomized Gem instead. It would seem counterintuitive, but for some reason, Google makes clear that the learning coach isn’t suitable for language learning. That’s weird. In any case, I was keen for the gem to be taught only on my bespoke instructions.
I told the Gem to act as my personal Spanish tutor and build me a structured, progressive course. I described myself as an intermediate learner, but asked Gemini to assess me first across grammar, vocabulary, reading, writing, and conversation before deciding where to start. From there, it would create a learning plan based on my strengths and weaknesses and adapt as I improved. I also wanted the focus to be on practical Spanish for everyday life in Mexico, including common Mexican usage and slang, with 10- to 15-minute lessons that mixed conversation, grammar, and more.
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