Are Duolingo’s AI video calls just a gimmick or a valid way to study?

Turning the traditionally boring world of language learning upside down.

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Watching my nephew effortlessly figure out a new video game without any tutorials got me thinking about how we naturally learn. That’s what led me to explore Duolingo’s latest updates — Adventures (2024) and AI Video Calls (2025) — and how they’re changing the way we learn languages.

Let’s break down how they’re turning the traditionally boring world of language learning upside down.

Duolingo Adventures

Duolingo just dropped a new feature called Adventures, where users explore virtual worlds alongside characters like Lily and Oscar, following storylines and completing tasks.

Remember those language classes where grammar felt like advanced calculus?

Duolingo said, no thanks.

Instead, they built something around a simple idea: we learn best when it’s fun and when we actually need to use what we’re learning. Psychologists call this the exposure-need dynamic, but really, it’s just how humans naturally pick up languages.