A Duolingo-based English Language Skills Assessment - Through the Eyes of Vocational Students

Aug 30, 2026

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Mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) strengthens learning activities, yet Duolingo remains underexplored as an English-learning assessment tool. This study examines Duolingo’s use for English language skills assessment (ELSA) within English for Specific Purposes (ESP) in Indonesia. Three Electromedical Engineering students participated in semistructured interviews, and thematic analysis was applied to the data. Findings highlight engaging use, support for autonomous assessment, motivation, and vocabulary improvement, while limitations include lack of specialized engineering vocabulary, fake images affecting real-life meaning, and limited interactivity. Recommendations address purpose, objectives, practicality, reliability, validity, authenticity, and washback effects.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

English for Specific Purposes (ESP)

English Language Skills Assessment (ELSA)

Mobile-Assisted Language Learning and Duolingo

A Duolingo-based English Language Skills Assessment: Through the Eyes of Vocational Students Audi Yundayani 1 *, Muchlas Suseno2, Elin Herlina3 1English Education, STKIP Kusuma Negara, Indonesia 2English Education, Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Indonesia 3Teknik Elektromedik, Akademi Teknik Elektromedik Andakara, Indonesia *[audi_yundayani@stkipkusumanegara.ac.id](audi_yundayani@stkipkusumanegara.ac.id) Abstract The utilization of mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) enhances learning activities. As online learning modalities proliferate, Duolingo is becoming increasingly well-known but understudied as an English-learning assessment tool. This study explores the utilization of Duolingo as an English-learning assessment tool, specifically in the context of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) in Indonesia. Three Electromedical Engineering students were selected as participants, and semistructured interviews were conducted to gather data. Thematic Analysis was employed to analyze the collected data. The findings revealed several positive impressions students had when using Duolingo as an English language skills assessment (ELSA) tool, including its engaging nature, facilitation of autonomous language skills assessment, provision of positive motivation, and improvement in vocabulary mastery. However, participants also mentioned drawbacks, such as Duolingo's inability to provide specialized Electromedical Engineering vocabulary, the use of fake images that hindered comprehension of meaning in real-life contexts, and the lack of interactivity in language skills assessment. The study recommends ESP practitioners to consider student-centered learning tools for assessing English proficiency, focusing on the test's purpose, objectives, practicality, reliability, validity, authenticity, and washback effects. Keywords: Duolingo, English for specific purposes, English language skills assessment tool, Mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) , Technology-based English language skills assessment. Received: January 7, 2023 Revised: February 28, 2023 Accepted: March 31, 2023 Article Identity: Yundayani, A., Suseno, M., & Herlina, E. (2023) . A Duolingo-based English Language Skills Assessment: Through the Eyes of Vocational Students. Jurnal Ilmu Pendidikan (JIP) STKIPKusuma Negara, 15(1), 9-23. INTRODUCTION English for specific purposes (ESP) assists students with a particular genre of English by focusing on their own goals, and it is geared and concentrated on English teaching and learning. Numerous English for language teaching (ELT) experts have defined ESP (Ghafar, 2022; Salmani-Nodoushan, 2020). Furthermore, ESP teaches English for a utilitarian purpose (Yablokov, 2020) . The objective is to determine the student's academic, occupational, and scientific needs through study. These demands, in turn, revealed essential information for the ESP program. The ESP course prepares students for real-world scenarios, including the capacity to communicate with others and apply information. It is a challenging skill that is expected of vocational students. To increase their English competence, they must master various subskills, including a sufficient vocabulary, arranging words and phrases, and more (Jiang et al., 2021) . Teaching English for specific purposes guarantees that students can communicate successfully in English. In addition, because language usage tends to be context-dependent, ESP was developed with a learner-centered approach. Assessment in ESP is akin to assessment in other domains of language study. The assessment practitioners must take into account the aims, the characteristics of the students, the students' profiles, and the target language use context (Douglas, 2012) . The purpose of English language skills assessment (ELSA) is to identify the specific student's strengths and, more crucially, the students ’ shortcomings with regard to the characteristics that they have not yet mastered. They can re

FAQs

How does the study use Duolingo in the context of ESP and ELSA?

The study deploys the Duolingo application as an English-learning assessment tool within ESP for assessing students’ language skills.

What positive impressions did students report when using Duolingo for language skills assessment?

Students reported Duolingo’s engaging nature, its support for autonomous assessment, positive motivation, and improved vocabulary mastery.

What drawbacks of Duolingo were mentioned by participants?

Participants noted that Duolingo does not provide specialized Electromedical Engineering vocabulary, uses fake images that hinder comprehension of meaning in real-life contexts, and lacks interactivity in language skills assessment.

Aug 30, 2026

Upload by Mia