Since launching in 2011, Duolingo has become one of the most popular language-learning apps on the market. While that remains its core service, the recently public company has loftier ambitions. “One of the things I often say is we’re trying to make Sesame Street for grown-ups,” says Timothy Shey, the company’s vice president of studios and content.
Inching toward that goal, Duolingo unveiled a diverse roster of characters last year that appear throughout the platform’s courses. And now, instead of using generic text-to-speech (TTS) audio for language lessons, each of Duolingo’s characters has its own distinctive voice, as well as a backstory.
“One of the elements of great storytelling is great characters,” Shey says. “We were looking at things like sitcoms or shows like Sesame Street where there’s a cast of characters that you really connect with and engage with, and it gives you a reason to come back every day.”
Duolingo is synonymous with its mascot, Duo, the…
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Source : fastcompany.com
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