Unacademy CEO Says He Built ‘Airlearn’ After ‘Duolingo’ Language Learning App Failed Him

Recently, Unacademy CEO Gaurav Munjal shared how even after completing a 100-day streak on the Duolingo app he still couldn’t speak or write the Spanish language. 

On platform X (formerly Twitter) the CEO went on to spot the shortcomings of the app and took the opportunity to discuss his newly launched language-learning platform.

Gaurav Munjal slams Duolingo, praises own app

In a series of tweets, Munjal explained that his inability to speak or write Spanish after continuing lessons in the Duolingo platform prompted him to launch his own app.

He wrote, “A few months ago I achieved a streak of 100 days on Duolingo for Spanish. But I still couldn’t speak or write even a few sentences in Spanish."

“This is the reason we decided to build Airlearn. A Language Learning Product that actually helps you learn the Language instead of being a status symbol for a virtual reward which is the Streak," he further said.

The Unacademy CEO pointed out that Duolingo doesn’t teach fundamental grammar, which is one of the main reasons students fail to learn the language, even after maintaining a winning streak on the app.

He said, “The first problem with Duolingo is the oversimplification of the problem statement. Duolingo does not teach you basic concepts of grammar. It just makes you do the exercises with the hope that you’ll learn them on your own."

Next, sharing screenshots from his app Airlean he elaborated that the focus of this app is on teaching the basic concepts of the language first. “Airlearn not only teaches you the grammar concepts, it teaches you about the culture of the people who speak the language you’re trying to learn.”

A few months ago I achieved a streak of 100 days on Duolingo for Spanish. But I still couldn’t speak or write even a few sentences in Spanish. This is the reason we decided to build Airlearn.

— Gaurav Munjal (@gauravmunjal) November 28, 2024

Sharing positive reviews from learners, Munjal shared that Airlearn users completed over one million lessons in October. He revealed that the majority of learners on his app are from the United States and are learning Spanish or French.

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