🐴 One pace fits one child. Yours.

Why do we force children who learn at different speeds to move at the same pace? Meanwhile, Duolingo shifts to AI-first while Mango Languages offers a human-centered alternative.

Author

Charlie Deist
May 05, 2025

Join us Tuesday, May 13 at 12:30pm MT for a 45-minute live Q&A launch event for our new book – Open Education: How to Reimagine Learning, Ignite Curiosity, and Prepare Your Kids for Success.

IN THIS EDITION:

🍎 Learning isn't one-size-fits-all
🍎 Duolingo's bold pivot to "AI-first" education
🍎 Mango Languages: The AI-free alternative your library offers

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💡 THOUGHT

PACE OVER PLACE

Teaching everyone at the same pace is like:

  • Making everyone eat at the same speed

  • Forcing everyone to grow at the same rate

  • Expecting everyone to sleep the same hours

Learning ≠ one-size-fits-all.

📊 TREND

DUOLINGO GOES “AI-FIRST”

The popular language learning app Duolingo is making a bold pivot, announcing that the company is becoming "AI-first" - a strategic shift comparable to their early bet on mobile that helped them win iPhone App of the Year in 2013.

"AI isn't just a productivity boost," the company’s CEO Luis von Ahn explained (in a press release that sounded oddly like it was written by AI), "It helps us get closer to our mission. To teach well, we need to create a massive amount of content, and doing that manually doesn't scale."

This transition means gradually replacing contractor work with AI systems and evaluating employees partly on their AI utilization. The goal isn't replacing human employees but "removing bottlenecks" to allow staff to "focus on creative work and real problems, not repetitive tasks."

Duolingo is hoping AI will provide personalization at scale - delivering tailored learning experiences to millions of students simultaneously. We’re rooting for you, Duo!

🔨 TOOL

MANGO LANGUAGES

Looking for a non-AI language learning alternative? Mango Languages might be free with your library card.

The platform features 70+ languages with a clean, distraction-free interface. What sets it apart: cultural context notes, special lessons around cultural events, and the ability to compare your pronunciation with native speakers.

That’s all for this week!

– Charlie (the OpenEd newsletter guy)

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