Picture this: You finally make it to Italy after months of planning your trip. You want to ask the hotel concierge for a dinner recommendation, but when it comes time to speak to them in Italian, you freeze! Does this experience sound familiar?
Learning to speak in a new language is no easy feat—and putting those speaking skills to use can be intimidating! Like building muscle at the gym, it takes repetition and practice. But what if you don’t have a language partner you can practice with every day?
We’re excited to announce Video Call! Now, you can “call” Lily whenever you want to have a spontaneous, free-flowing conversation in your target language.
Catch up with Lily
Over the next few months, Duolingo Max subscribers will notice a new video camera icon on certain path nodes, and that means you’ve reached a Video Call. Press the call button and Lily will pick up and start a conversation!
Though Lily kicks off the conversation, you can talk about anything you want. And if she says something that you don’t understand, or speaks too quickly, you can ask her to repeat herself or slow down. Video Call is all about practicing your speaking skills in a low-pressure setting (you won’t be penalized for any mistakes!) so that you can build confidence in your new language.
What makes Video Call so unique?
We’ve offered many other ways to practice your speaking skills, but this is the first opportunity to simulate a real conversation on Duolingo! We’re using advanced AI technology to ensure that you can have an authentic speaking partner in Lily, and she’s been “trained” to make the conversation feel as real, and helpful, as possible. She’ll pause while thinking about her answer, she’ll adjust to your skill level, and you won’t hear her correct your grammar. After all, one wrong word or mixed-up verb ending is completely fine as long as the other person understands you!
The other thing you’ll notice about Lily is that her sassy personality really shines. As you advance through your course, Lily will begin to inject some of her signature sarcasm into your conversations. Don’t be offended if you get one of her classic eyerolls—that’s just the way she is 🤣
We hope you’re as excited about this new feature as we are. Make your first call today… Lily can’t wait to catch up with you!
Everything else you need to know about Video Call
How can I access Video Call?
Video Call is available to Duolingo Max subscribers on iOS learning English, Spanish, or French. These learners can find Video Call on the path and in the Practice Hub, and you can call Lily as many times as you want!
Soon, we will make Video Call available to learners studying Portuguese, German, and Italian on iOS. We are working hard to make this feature available to more courses and platforms in the coming months!
How long are the conversations?
For learners earlier in their course, conversations with Lily will last about a minute. As you advance, you’ll find that your conversations with Lily could last up to 3 minutes!
What if I’m not able to do a conversation lesson right now?
Sometimes, you have to do your Duolingo lesson in a very noisy spot (we’ve seen you at the club!) If you reach a Video Call node and you can’t talk now, no worries. You can skip the lesson and come back to it later.
What if the conversation feels too hard to follow?
Lily is trained to adjust to your level of language comfort. There are many different ways you can make the conversation feel a little easier—and they’re the same strategies you’d use in real life! You can ask Lily to repeat herself or you can simply say, “What? I don’t understand.” This is a great way to practice a little discomfort—speaking to another person in a new language can be intimidating, but embracing mistakes is part of the process!
Is Video Call powered by AI?
A team of Duos—from product designers to learning designers—worked together to make Video Call a reality. The feature is powered by the latest AI technology to ensure that Lily can have real-time, spontaneous chats with any learner, and that she will adapt as the conversation goes!
See Lily in action!
In case you missed it, we announced Video Call with Lily at Duocon 2024. Catch the full talk below!
