The particular dialect or language that a person chooses to use on any occasion is called a code 2500 Copyright © 2024 The Author IDEAS is licensed under CC-BY-SA 4.0 License Issued by English study program of IAIN Palopo IDEAS Journal of Language Teaching and Learning, Linguistics and Literature ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) Volume 12, Number 2, December 2024 pp. 2500 - 2509 The Use of Duolingo Application in Teaching Reading Skill Yanpitherszon Liunokas yanpiters69@gmail.com Nusa Cendana University, Kupang, NTT Received: 2024-15-12 Accepted:2024-12-31 DOI: 10.2456/ideas. v12i2.6010 Abstract This research deals with the teaching reading through Duolingo Application at the fourth semester students of English Education Department, Nusa Cendana University, Kupang, NTT. The population of this research is the Fourth Semester Students of English Education Department, Nusa Cendana University, Kupang, NTT. Reading test was the instrument of this research. Based on the findings and discussion, the researcher concludes that the use of Duolingo Application is effective in developing students’ reading ability at the Fourth Semester Students of English Education Department, Nusa Cendana University, Kupang, NTT. It was proven by there was a significant difference between the students’ mean score of pretest and posttest. In pretest, the students’ mean score is 26 and the students’ score in posttest is 51. In addition, the result of statistical analysis for level of significance (p=0.05). The probability value was smaller than α (0.00<0.05). it indicated that there is significant differences between the result of pre-test and post-test after giving treatment in building students’ reading skill ng by applying Duolingo Application to the fourth semester students of English Education Department, Nusa Cendana University, Kupang, NTT. Keywords: think pair share strategy, reading skill Introduction Reading skill is a vital cognitive ability for students, that supports academic achievement and continuously involvement in most areas of life (Hulme & Margaret, 2011). Reading skill is a multifaceted mental capability that includes both language component (vocabulary and grammar), and cognitive skills with metacognition capability to control minds and also high order thinking level like inferencing from the passage (Capodieci, Cornoldi, Doerr, Bertolo, & Carretti, 2020). http://u.lipi.go.id/1457703302 mailto:yanpiters69@gmail.com IDEAS, Vol. 12, No. 2, December 2024 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 2501 Lately, as a result of the deployment of technology in education, reading text at university as well as office is now transforming to digital reading platforms (smartphones, e-books, e-magazine, e-journal, and of course internet). This affects the way students read and learn about reading skills. Reading is one of the important aspects in learning English, because through reading we can get a lot of information. By reading, people will be able to think critically and able to develop in any case. It cannot be denied that people who are successful in academics are those who familiarize themselves in cultivating reading and fostering a sense of love towards reading. Since reading of any sort is an activity, all reading must to some degree be active. Completely passive reading is impossible; we cannot read with our eyes immobilized and our minds asleep. Hence when we contrast active with passive reading, our purpose is, first, to call attention to the fact that reading can be more or less active, and second, to point out that the more active the reading the better. One reader is better than another in proportion as he is capable of a greater range of activity in reading and exerts more effort. He is better if he demands more of himself and of the text before him (Mortimor, 2017). According to Anderson (1999: 1) reading is an active, fluent process that involves the reader and the reading material in constructing the meaning. Furthermore, he notes that meaning does not reside on the printed page, nor is it only in the head of the reader. It means that reading can be constructed by combining the words on the printed page with the reader's background knowledge and experiences. Consequently, the teaching of reading should involve activities which connect the ideas on the text to what students already know. Duolingo is a language learning website and applications that can used as an independent learning media (Ajisoko, 2020) as an interactive learning media it helped the teachers to use this application as an additional tool in daily learning as needed. Teachers need to use various teaching strategies and media to help students enjoy learning English, particularly when it comes to vocabulary mastery. Connolly et al. (Lovantika, 2022) Duolingo allows students to learn various languages as needed with powerful and interesting features such as providing more than 37,500 interactive exercises, 1,900 word and phrases and has a reminder feature, and various educational games According to (Kusumadewi & Widyastuti, n.d.) in their research, which examined the effect of using Duolingo on student vocabulary through a true- experimental design, where the value were compared before and after the treatment, it was found that students using Duolingo approach showed a positive effect on vocabulary mastery compared to those using a conventional with pre-test measures, and it cannot determine which group responded more positively to the Yanpitherszon Liunokas The Use of Duolingo Application in Teaching Reading Skill 2502 treatment. Conducting comparative studies with other languages learning application or methods to determined which yields the most significant improvement in vocabulary acquisition is crucial for several reasons. Firstly, it provides valuable insight into relative effectiveness of different approaches, enabling educators and learners to make informed decisions about the most efficient and beneficial strategies for language learning. Secondly, such studies helped identify the unique features and strength of each method, facilitating the development of more targeted and personalized learning intervention. Moreover, another research conducted by (Fitri et al., 2023) examined student performance after integrating Duolingo using quasi-experimental design. The study yielded similar result, showing a significant difference between the experimental class and the control class. Students who used Duolingo as an additional tool found it easier to achieve learning goals through daily practice and logging into Duolingo application. The study motivates other researchers to investigate deeper the roles of Duolingo application in the field. Based on the preliminary observation the fourth semester students of English Education Department, Nusa Cendana University, Kupang, NTT., it is found that students’ ability is still very low because the students face difficulties when they want to English. Because the teacher use text book as teaching materials, Teacher can’t good methods of learning and using appropriate media to give students. They are not motivated to read English. Finally, students are more passive in the classroom. The problem statement of the research was “Does the use of Duolingo Application improve students’ reading skill of the fourth semester students of English Education Department, Nusa Cendana University, Kupang, NTT.?” Then, the objective of this research is to find out whether or not the use of think, pair and share strategy improve students’ reading skill of the fourth semester students of English Education Department, Nusa Cendana University, Kupang, NTT. The result of the research is expected to be useful information to the English learner in general who want to improve students’ reading skill. The researcher expects this research would be a piece of useful information for the teacher of English especially in teaching reading. It is also expected that the students can be motivated to learn English so that they are able to master English reading skill well and help the student to get interesting strategy in teaching reading skill. It is also useful for the further researcher as a reference if she wants to conduct a research on reading skill so that the research can be refined. IDEAS, Vol. 12, No. 2, December 2024 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 2503 Review of Related Literature Reading Skill According to Nunan (1991) reading is a fluent process of readers combining information from a text and their own background knowledge to build meaning. By reading one can relax, interact with feelings and troughs obtain information and improve he science knowledge according to bowmen, reading is an appropriate means to promote a live long learning (life-long learning).By teaching the children a future with provides a technique to explore how ”the world” wherever he chose and provide the opportunity to get a goal. Reading is one of the most important skills in learning language besides listening, writing, speaking. The fundamental goal of any reading activity knows the language. Simanjutak states that reading is process of putting the reader in contact and communication with ideas”, Brougthon states that reading is a complex skill that involves the whole series of lesser skills, where skills means relate the ability to recognize stylized shapes which are figure on a ground, curves and lines and dots in pattern (Crystal, 1985). Richard (2016) revealed that reading means to apply a process to form a meaning from written text. Today, not only can be read through the book alone. Reading can be done via the internet. Many news portals and websites that can broaden our knowledge about the world. We also to be good at choosing readings. Choose useful reading. Reading can also be a means of entertainment for people. Therefore, reading for creating sound generation and advanced. Reading is an active process that requires attention or a favorable attitude. Reading is an information process from the text and readers‟ knowledge which is first function in make a sentence. It may also be defined as learning to recognize the printed symbols that represent language and to respond intellectually and emotionally from the text while reading in additions, it conveys the information that makes and interaction between a reader text itself (Miklulecky, 2007). Based on the definition by the experts above, the researcher concluded that reading skill is an activity that doing by person to understand the meaning of the text to get the information and knowledge. Duolingo Application According to Perez and 2020: 76, Duolingo is the most downloaded platform for language learning and is used by one million individuals all over the world. This mobile application comes packed with a wide variety of fun features that incorporate elements of game-based learning. The features consist of a variety of leagues, courses, and themes, as well as reviews, activities, and stories. Yanpitherszon Liunokas The Use of Duolingo Application in Teaching Reading Skill 2504 The previous studies reveal that the use of Duolingo in EFL learning have supported students’ higher achievement in learning English (Zheng & Fisher, 2023; Arumsari & Octaviani, 2022; Hakimantieq, Suherdi, & Gunawan, 2022; Redjeki & Muhajir, 2021; Cesarini, et., al., 2021; Alfuhaid, 2021; Jiang, et., al., 2021; Ünal and Güngör, 2021; Hernadijaya, 2020; Sarie & Anggraeni, 2020; Habibi, 2020; Niah & Pahmi, 2019; Syahputra, 2019; Putri & Islamiati, 2018). Based on the previous research, Duolingo provides numerous benefits for the users, namely: 1. It exposes the users to the numerous vocabulary that contributes to the users’ vocabulary enrichment. 2. It enables the users to identify and apply various types of sentence structures that promote better understanding and mastery of grammar. 3. It trains the users to sharpen their listening, reading, speaking, and writing skills by completing the exercises on Duolingo. 4. It encourages the users to be more active by providing opportunity to compete with other users. 5. It provides fun and interesting learning atmosphere by including gamification . Method In this research, the researcher applied a pre-experimental method. Pre- experimental design used pre-test and post-test where pre-test was held before treatment and post-test after treatment. The design of the research is as follow: O1 X O2 Where: O1 = pre-test X = treatment O2 = post-test (Best 1997:103) The population of this research was the Fourth Semester Students of English Education Department, Nusa Cendana University, Kupang, NTT. In determining the sample of this research. The researcher took 24 students as sample of this research. The writer used reading test to measure the students’ ability to read in English. Before and after giving the treatments. IDEAS, Vol. 12, No. 2, December 2024 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 2505 The data was collected by using the procedure below: 1. Giving Pre-test Firstly, the researcher introduced himself to the students and explained purpose of her coming in their class. The researcher gave pre-test to the students to measure the reading skill of the students before giving treatment. 2. Giving Treatment The researcher conducted the treatment to the students for sixth meetings by using Duolingo Application in teaching reading with various themes. the steps as follows: a. Thinking activity in reading a text, b. Pairing activity in discussing and answering questions about the text Sharing activity. 3. Giving Post-test The students were given the same activity in the pre-test after the treatment. The researcher gave reading test and asked the students to answer. It aimed at finding out the students’ability in reading skill after giving treatment. In analyzing data, the researcher giving score to the students based on the result of their reading test in pretest and posttest. The last step of the data analysis was the hypothesis testing. The hypothesis was tested by using inferential statistics. In this case, the researcher used t-test (testing of significance) for paired sample t- test, that is, a test to know the significance difference between the result of students’ mean score in pretest and posttest. Results From the result data analysis, shows that the mean score of the student’s pretest was 24 and the mean score of posttests was 70 It means that using TPS in teaching reading can enhance the students’ achievement especially for the students’ reading skill. From the statistical analysis, the researcher concludes that there is a significant difference between pretest and posttest in enhancing the students’ reading ability through the use of Duolingo Application as a way to deliver learning material. Duolingo Application is effective in enhancing the students’ reading ability. Based on the describing above, the researcher concludes that one of important point that teacher should accommodate he/she should give full the attention especially in reading skill. Therefore, in teaching writing one of technique that the teacher may use this technique in teaching, especially in writing or constructing ideas is greatly expected to make the students easier in generating and expressing their idea in different mode and sense. Yanpitherszon Liunokas The Use of Duolingo Application in Teaching Reading Skill 2506 After calculating the result of the students’ pretest, the mean score and standard deviation of both groups are presented in following table: Pretest Posttest Mean 28 75 Standard dev. 8.30 10.49 Max 56 80 Min 21 37 The data shows the mean score of the student’s pretest was 28 and the mean score of posttests was 75. Standard deviation of pretest was 8.11 and the standard deviation of posttest was 11.34. It means that using Duolingo application in teaching reading can enhance the students’ achievement in reading. The hypothesis was tested by using inferential statistics. In this case, the researcher used t-test (testing of significance) for paired sample t-test, that is, a test to know the significance difference between the result of students’ mean score in pretest and posttest. Assuming that the level of significance (𝛼) = 0.05, the only thing which is needed; the degree of freedom (df) = N – 1, where N = 25, then the t-test is 10.81 P is 0.00 From the analysis, the researcher concluded that there was a significant difference between pretest and posttest in enhancing the students’ reading ability through the use of Duolingo Application as a way to deliver learning material. The result of statistical analysis for level of significance (p=0.05) with degree of freedom (df)= N-1, where (N) = 25, df = 24. The probability value was smaller than α (0.00<0.05). it indicated that the alternative hypothesis (H1) was accepted and the null hypothesis (H0) was rejected. It means that the use of Duolingo Application is effective in enhancing the students’ reading ability. Discussion Based on the result of data analysis, the researcher found out that the use of Duolingo Application is effective in developing students’ reading skill.at the Fourth Semester Students of English Education Department, Nusa Cendana University, Kupang, NTT. Actually, there some technique that we can use to teach reading but the researcher using Duolingo Application, moreover the use of Duolingo Application gave good effect in enhancing the students’ skill in reading. Based on the data collected, the use of Duolingo Application in teaching reading can enhance the students’ achievement. It was proved by students’ score on the reading test. All students’ score was improved after conducting the treatment through TPS strategy. The result of this research is supported by Raba (2017) who explained the influence of the use of Duolingo Application on improving students’ reading skills, to foster critical thinking to provide IDEAS, Vol. 12, No. 2, December 2024 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 2507 an opportunity for students to work independently and increase in their self- efficacy, participation, understanding and enjoyment levels after the intervention. This research has shown that the use of Duolingo Application can increase the students’ vocabulary in reading. So, in teaching reading, the students should be having a good media support in reading. The result from questionnaire exposed positive perspective from students. Students felt motivated in learning and more skilful because the interest of learning increases. They also felt the apps is easy to understand the material. The apps are providing students to learn by themselves equally and to decrease dullness. The apps provide information to learn and facilitates students in improving other aspects of English. The combination of technology and English language learning is inevitable. Students can access a lot of information through their smartphones. Teachers should convert their teaching method with recent technology. Duolingo can be the solution to use in English language teaching and learning. Duolingo is a useful apps to learn English. It is greatly exciting for students as they showed admirable responses for this apps, having an opportunity to all learners to get a fair turn in practicing material, Duolingo make students motivated and avoid boredom in learning. Conclusion The researcher concludes that the use of Duolingo Application is effective in developing students’ reading skill at the Fourth Semester Students of English Education Department, Nusa Cendana University, Kupang, NTT. It was proven by there was a significant difference between the students’ mean score of pretest and posttest. The result of statistical analysis for level of significance (p=0.05). The probability value was smaller than α (0.00<0.05). it indicated that there is significant differences between the result of pre-test and post-test after giving treatment in improving students’ vocabulary in reading by the use of Duolingo Application to the Fourth Semester Students of English Education Department, Nusa Cendana University, Kupang, NTT. Yanpitherszon Liunokas The Use of Duolingo Application in Teaching Reading Skill 2508 References Ajisoko, P. (2020). The Use of Duolingo Apps to Improve English Vocabulary Learning in Borneo University of Tarakan. iJET, 149-155. 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