How Difficult is the Duolingo English Test

In this article I will talk about my own observations and opinions about how difficult is the Duolingo English Test and compare it with other English Proficiency tests like IELTS & TOEFL to some extent. Let’s take a look at some observations.

Duolingo English test has gained popularity as an English language proficiency test over the recent years. Although, Duolingo English Test has limitations in terms of its validity for immigration and study purposes, many students who want to study abroad are opting for the exam as a good substitute for IELTS(International English Language Testing System) and TOEFL(Test of English as a foreign language).

The question arises, Is Duolingo English Test easier than IELTS or TOEFL?…In some ways it definitely is. Here is a comparison chart of Duolingo English Test vs IELTS /TOEFL .

How Duolingo English Test is Easier / Better than IELTS or TOEFL

What are cons of taking a Duolingo English Test vs IELTS or TOEFL

Despite having many advantages over the traditional IELTS and TOEFL exam, there are some downsides of opting for Duolingo English test. Let’s take a look at them:

• For the Duolingo Test, you need to prepare your environment. You need a quiet, well lit room with a pc or laptop with recommended browser settings. While for IELTS or TOEFL exams, the exam centre does everything for you.
• Many times, the Duolingo Test system invalidates the test for technical reasons or because the students do not comply with the test rules. In case of tests conducted at exam centres, the students never come across such problems.
• Duolingo Test is not as widely accepted for studies, immigration or professional certifications as IELTS or TOEFL. For example, some professional bodies in foreign countries only accept IELTS or TOEFL as an English proficiency proof, if you are applying for a professional certificate in their country.
• IELTS and TOEFL are paper based or computer based, whatever you choose. Duolingo is only computer based. You need to have good typing skills to take the test.

How difficult is the Duolingo English Test if you choose to take it

Duolingo English test format is a lot simpler as compared to other tests. Being a one hour test, you are tested for reading, writing, listening and speaking skills in form of short questions. It is important to remember that Duolingo is an adaptive test and as you keep responding correctly to questions the difficulty level of more questions will increase.

Talking about Duolingo Test pattern, the questions can start in any order. Mostly they start from “Type the missing letters to complete the text” or ” select the real English words from the list”.Lets take a look at the test pattern more closely:

The test consists of the following question types:

Select the real English word from the list (Read and select)

“Select the real English word” occurs 4-6 times in the test. You will see a list of 17-18 words to choose from in one minute.You will need to choose only the words you think are the real English words. The words in this question are all kind of words from very common English words to comparatively difficult English words. Some words have wrong spellings.Some are only a jumble of letters without making any sense.

This question is considered easy. Do not click on words you are not sure about or it can result in negative marking.

Select the real English word (Listen and select)

Listen and select question types comes 4-6 times in the test. For this question do you listen to a list of words and click on only the words that are real English words. You can play the words as many times as you need but you need to choose your words in one minute and 30 seconds.

This is an easy question if you practice listening to foreign accent. It can be difficult if you do not listen to English conversations in movies, dramas or news.

Type the missing letters to complete the text below (Read and complete)

This question is a test of your reading comprehension. It is a paragraph with incomplete words. You get three minutes to complete the text. You can easily find the missing words if you read the paragraph once or twice and understand the theme/topic of the paragraph.

The habit of reading English news, books and novels will surely enhance your reading comprehension.

Type the statement that you hear (Listen and Type)

You can listen to the statement 3 times and you get total one minute to type it. It is again a listening exercise and you need to prove that you listened correctly by typing all words and punctuation correctly.

Listening to English news and watching English movies can help a great deal in listening exercises.

Record yourself saying the statement aloud (read aloud)

With only 20 seconds to record yourself, you should read the statement once and then start recording yourself. The statements can be short or long but the test aims to gauge your speaking ability.

This is also considered a simple question as long as you can speak naturally in English. Say it aloud in your own accent. Don’t try to imitate foreign accent.

Write about the picture (Describe the image Duolingo)

Some consider it a difficult question because it only gives you one minute to describe the image but it can be easier if you practice describing some images within the prescribed time. You can find more picture description tips and examples on this page:

Describe the image aloud (Speak on a photo)

Speaking on a photo for 1:30 seconds is a speaking skill test. Usually the difficulty level of all picture description questions is the same. You just need to describe the main details in the picture with use of adjectives and sentence connectors.

Don’t forget to add your opinion or speculations about the picture in the last sentence. Example: ” I believe this picture has been taken in the evening”, It looks like the people in the picture are having a great time” etc.

Respond to the question in at least 50 words (Read , then write)

5 minutes is a good time to respond to this question. It is one of the most talked about question type in the Duolingo English test. The students prepare for this question much more than other questions. It is a test of your English as well as how well you can write on a topic.

If you gain information on social, geographical, environmental, scientific and cultural topics through news, books and stories; you can generate ideas to answer this question easily.

The knowledge of grammar and sentence structure is also required to write quality answers. Find more on Duolingo writing 50 words here:

Prepare to speak for at least 30 seconds on the question below(Speaking Cue card questions)

Speaking is generally considered difficult in all English Proficiency tests. Duolingo speaking is no different. You need to prepare it quite well. The good thing about Duolingo speaking test is that you are given one question and you need to speak about it. It is not an interview with a human examiner which sometimes causes embarrassment in candidates.

The solution to make it less difficult for you to handle is to prepare for it by practising everyday before exam and write and speak on various topics. Find more on Speaking cue cards in the following post.

Speak the answer to the question you hear (Listen and speak)

Once again a speaking test, this time you also need to listen carefully to the question as you won’t be able to listen to it again while you speak your answer. You will get maximum 1:30 seconds to respond.

You need to adapt your ears to the native English accents to hear well. Also, as for all speaking and writing, your knowledge of grammar, vocabulary and sentence structure should be good.

Duolingo Reading Section / Interactive Reading

Interactive reading is a new section added to the Duolingo English Test. It has total 7-8 minutes time and 6 slides to complete. There are many free practice choices available on the internet and on this page.

The more you read English text, news and stories, the better your English comprehension would become.

Duolingo Interactive Listening

Duolingo Interactive Listening is comparatively a new addition in the Duolingo English Test. You will listen to a conversation and answer the questions by choosing the multiple choice options. There is also a Summarize this conversation question that you need to finish in 75 seconds

Duolingo Interview and Writing sample

Duolingo interview and writing sample are the last two questions in the Duolingo English test. Speaking task is not graded but the institutions you are applying to can see your performance.

The writing sample is graded and it is also sent to the universities you apply to for admission.

This section has changed this year since the choices available in the questions have been eliminated. You get only one question for speaking interview and one for writing sample. This way this section has become a little tough.

Like all other extended speaking and writing tasks, you need to gather information and knowledge on various topics related to work, School, culture, society, science and technology in order to do well in the task. For practice on this section, visit the cue cards section on this website. There you will find multiple practice questions and answers on various topics.