The 2025 Duolingo Language Challenge captivated Westminster with Members of Parliament (MPs) and the House of Lords (peers) competing to be crowned Language Champion. Cat Smith MP overtook Adam Thompson MP in the final days to snatch the title!
So what do you do when lawmakers, lords, and language lovers beg to bring it back? You go bigger.
Duolingo returns to Westminster
For 2026, the Language Challenge leveled up.
It expanded beyond MPs and peers to include parliamentary staffers as well as vice chancellors and university faculty. For the first time, the higher education sector went head-to-head with politicians, racking up XP and climbing the rankings in Duolingo's language courses. It turns out that academics are just as competitive as politicians.
The rivalry quickly picked up pace. The Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson MP, returned to learning Spanish after hearing that Skills Minister Dame Jacqui Smith had signed up to learn French. Meanwhile, defending champion Cat Smith added Scottish Gaelic to her streak—determined to understand what her partner’s children were saying.
There was a charity prize pot. There were bragging rights. And yes, there was the coveted title of Duolingo Language Champion. But beyond the friendly competition, the mission stayed the same: to help more people experience the joy of learning a language.
Here are just a few stories from the competitors—erm, politicians and professors—about why they're learning a new language.
Ticking a language off her life-long “to do” list
| Kerry McCarthy MP
Labour MP, Bristol East Learning: Russian |
Learning to speak Russian has been on my “to do” list for more than 40 years. In theory I already can, as I have a degree in Russian, Politics, and Linguistics. The language element was a relatively small part of the course, however, and, having not done Russian at O or A level, it was very much a case of cramming it in and forgetting it almost as quickly.
I left university having spent much time translating excerpts from War and Peace or Lenin’s What is to be Done, with the aid of a dictionary, but not being able to ask for a cup of tea.
While I’ve been on Duolingo for a while now, doing the Challenge has made a big difference. There’s a real sense of achievement in being able to piece complex sentence structures together, with all the words in the right order. I am starting to appreciate the rhythm and beauty of the language, as familiarity grows. I won’t be attempting to read War and Peace in Russian any time soon, but if I do ever get to go to Russia again, at least I’ll be able to ask for a cup of tea when I want one!
Using a new language to connect with her community
| Professor Dame Karen Holford DBE FREng
Chief Executive & Vice-Chancellor, Cranfield University Learning: Italian and Welsh (and has a 2085-day streak on Duolingo!) 🔥 |
Throughout my career and personal life, I have valued opportunities to broaden my perspective, and language learning has been a great way to do so. I began learning Welsh many years ago while working in Wales, motivated by a desire to better connect with colleagues, communities, and the culture around me. Although I was far from fluent, even a modest ability to greet people and understand conversations created a deeper sense of belonging.
More recently, I have taken up Italian again after many years, and Duolingo has been excellent—its structured, accessible approach enables me to build confidence gradually. I have a very demanding job, but still manage to practice daily, either for relaxation following a busy day, or between tasks, for instance on long train journeys.
Learning a language is not simply an academic exercise; it is an act of respect and curiosity. It opens doors to richer communication, enhances cultural understanding, and strengthens our ability to collaborate in an increasingly interconnected world. For me, it remains both a personal commitment and a professional enrichment, although I’m not sure when I will get a chance to use Klingon!
Showing respect through language learning
| Sam Rushworth MP
MP, Bishop Auckland Learning: French |
I am using Duolingo to brush up on my French so I can feel more confident expressing myself when I travel to Strasbourg four times a year as a UK delegate to the Parliamentary Assembly for the Council of Europe. While translation is provided, I think it’s a great mark of respect to learn another’s language, and it makes it easier building relationships with fellow parliamentarians around Europe to have made an effort to learn another language.
Reviving a skill to connect with locals
| Joanna MacDonnell PFHEA NTF FSEDA MA PGCert
Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education at Kingston University Learning: German |
I chose German because I lived in Germany in the late 1990s (I worked on the German production of Starlight Express!) for around 18 months and spoke the language quite well at the time, learning from scratch for the job in a short space of time and continuing to learn whilst working. Unfortunately, that knowledge has lain dormant in my brain for nearly 28 years, and much of my grammar and vocabulary has been forgotten.
Since starting my role last July, my motivation to revive my German has grown. Kingston has a partnership with an institution in Germany, and there will be future opportunities for me to visit, and I know I will want to speak German whilst in the country.
Duolingo gave me the push I needed to return to the language and get my grammar in order, and revise and increase my vocabulary. I like Duolingo as it’s so responsive, honing in on my weakest grammatical areas for improvement and being able to practice speaking without making a fool of myself!
My goal is simple: to bring my German back up to a comfortable conversational standard, to enable me to communicate with our colleagues in Germany in their language, without assuming that everyone can speak English. Learning a language is really valuable; it opens doors for work and travel and creates opportunities for making amazing memories.
Building relationships with new colleagues
| Professor Kevin Shakesheff, FMedSci, FRSB, FRPharmS
Vice-Chancellor of Keele University Learning: Greek |
I started learning for a simple, practical reason: Keele University Greece was set up in 2025 in Athens, and when I visit to meet staff and students, I want to be able to speak at least some of the language of the country that is now part of Keele’s academic community.
What surprised me most is just how engaging Duolingo has become. I tell myself I’ll do one short lesson, and before I know it I’m chasing that dopamine hit of the cheerful “boom” and “incredible” sound effects—at least five times a day.
My only slight concern is that the phrase that seems most firmly lodged in my memory is “the gorilla is pink” (Ο γορίλας είναι ροζ). While grammatically useful, I’m not entirely sure how often this will arise in conversation during my visits to Athens. Still, it’s early days, and every language journey has to start somewhere.
Connecting with his children and their interests
| Chris Kane MP
MP, Stirling and Strathallan Learning: Chinese and soon Spanish |
A pilot program introduced by Strathclyde University was launched in a primary school in my community, giving both of my children the opportunity to learn Mandarin from the age of six. My daughter, now 18, has become nearly fluent. I thought it would be a lovely surprise to learn some Mandarin myself, creating a shared interest in something that has become important to both her and my son.
The Challenge has been a wonderful way to encourage MPs and peers, and this year staffers and university colleagues to think about how important languages are. Not just in an academic sense but also as a means to improve quality of life and being able to experience something new.
All learners are winners!
The response to the Challenge has been overwhelming and shows that the passion for learning languages in Westminster and in the UK higher education sector is as strong as ever.
To see who is leading the challenge, please visit the 2026 Duolingo Language Challenge leaderboard 💪