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The Effectiveness of the Duolingo Platform in Vocabulary Retention and EFL Young Learners’ Attitudes: Evidence from a Private English Center in Vietnam

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This article investigates the effectiveness of Duolingo in supporting vocabulary retention among young EFL learners and examines their attitudes toward its use. Employing a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design with a quasi-experimental pre-test/ post-test control group framework, the study was conducted over a 12-week intervention period with 60 learners aged 10 to 11 (CEFR Level A2) at a private English center in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The experimental group (n = 30) used Duolingo as a supplementary after-school vocabulary tool for approximately 30 minutes per day while the control group (n = 30) received conventional classroom-based instruction only. Quantitative data were collected through researcher-designed parallel-form vocabulary tests and a 25-item Likert-scale questionnaire grounded in the Affective-Behavioral-Cognitive (ABC) attitude model. Qualitative data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with ten selected participants. Paired-samples t-tests revealed that the experimental group achieved a statistically significant mean gain of 0.97 points (t = -13.760, p < .001), approximately double that of the control group (0.50 points; t = -6.412, p < .001), despite equivalent baselines. Questionnaire findings indicated strongly positive attitudes across all three ABC dimensions, with particularly high agreement on enjoyment (90%), motivation (88%) and vocabulary transfer to communicative contexts (93.6%). Interview data corroborated these findings with experimental group learners describing spaced repetition, multimodal input and gamified rewards as key factors supporting retention and engagement. These findings suggest that Duolingo, when implemented as a structured and monitored supplementary tool, can meaningfully enhance vocabulary retention and foster positive learning attitudes among young EFL learners.

Students’ Perceptions on the Use of Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) in Learning Pronunciation

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The objectives of this research are to analyze the students’ perceptions of the use of Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) in pronunciation learning and to analyze the problems faced by the students regarding the use of the MALL in pronunciation. Additionally, this research was conducted using a mixed method design. The data for this research were taken from 15 students in the English Education Study Program, at Tadulako University. In collecting the data for this research, the researcher used questionnaires and interviews with the students. The questionnaire was in the form of a statement and it included five degrees of answer options. The interview, on the other hand, was in the form of semi-structured and included 10 items. Then, after analyzing the data obtained, it was concluded that the general perception of the students is that the perception of the students on the use of MALL in pronunciation is positive as they perceive that MALL is effective and beneficial for their pronunciation learning. Further, the students explained that there is one major problem they face regarding the use of MALL in pronunciation that deals with internet connectivity. However, as can be inferred from the students’ explanation, there are three more problems that cause difficulties to students. They are the students’ phones performance; the possibility of the students being redirected; and the students’ familiarity with using mobile phones for learning.