DUOLINGO OR TOEFL... WHICH ONE IS RIGHT FOR ME?
Since 2020 the Duolingo English Test (DET) exam has become extremely popular among candidates due to the pace of acceptance it is having by academic centers worldwide. It’s a fast test, with quick processes and cheap…but is it the right one for you? It goes without saying that EPIC Spain, the creator of this article, prepares students for both exams for the same price. It is precisely this independence and knowledge that we believe qualifies us to give our opinion on the subject. In this article, we will give you the information you need to be able to answer this question for yourself.
Table of Contents
Brief History of Duolingo
The DET is an exam created by a company dedicated to online language learning. Duolingo, for years, has had an application that helps millions of people learn multiple languages anywhere in the world. In the wake of the 2020 pandemic, Duolingo was able to capitalize on the opportunity presented by the need to create an online test that would validate English as a foreign language skills. Its digital model made it the perfect player to fill a gap that neither TOEFL nor IELTS could fill. It’s fast, online, cheap and quality validation test caught the attention of universities worldwide that saw it as a solution.What is the Duolingo English Test?
- – The DET is an exam that validates the 4 English language skills: speaking, writing, listening and reading. It uses an online test that consists of 2 parts: the adaptive test and the video interview, with a duration of 45 and 10 minutes respectively.
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– Something that differentiates DET from the rest is that it is a self-generated and adaptive test by a predictive model. In other words, Duolingo applies artificial intelligence to a huge database, which selects the questions based on the candidate’s answers. The test is created instantaneously and no two are the same.
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– The sections are intertwined during the test so it is essentially a less structured test.
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– Scores range from 10 to 160, in ranges of 5 point increments and serves to validate low, intermediate, high and advanced levels.
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– The price is $49 and results are received within 48 hours.
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– Currently it is a validation test accepted in 3500 educational centers worldwide.
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– As a student you have access to the test 24/7. This means that you are available to take the test remotely any day at any time.
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What Is the TOEFL Like?
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– The TOEFL is an exam that is taken with a computer in an official center or remotely and that validates the 4 English language skills as well. It consists of 4 distinct parts: Speaking, Writing, Reading and Listening. The duration of the exam is 3 hours.
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– It is a more conventional exam in its preparation, so the candidate receives a test that has already been prepared when the test begins. This conventionalism allows you to practice on the basis of past exams that maintain an identical structure to the one you will find on the day of the exam.
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– Scoring ranges from 0 to 120 points and tests low, intermediate, high and advanced levels.
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– The price is $255 and results are received within 6 days.
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– It is currently a validation test accepted in 160 countries and by more than 11,500 institutions.
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– As a student you can take the exam in an official center (be careful if you are a person who does not concentrate easily when there is noise) or take the iBT Home Edition which is available to you almost 24/7.
Conclusions
As we pointed out at the beginning, the purpose is for you to be able to give a verdict on which exam (TOEFL or DET) is more convenient for you when you have the possibility to choose between either of the 2. In our opinion, many mistakes are being made assuming that one is easier than the other. Both are exams accepted by the most prestigious university centers, so both are capable of giving a credible result of your English level. The difficulty does not depend on the exam but on the score you are asked to give for each one. A TOEFL for an official procedure in which 32 points are requested is much more doable than a DET in which 130 points are requested and vice versa. To make your decision easier, we have created a summary table to help better see the difference between the DET and TOEFL:
Hopefully this blog post has resolved all your doubts. However, if you have questions in regards to your Duolingo English Test preparation, get in touch and we will let you know how EPIC PREP can help you achieve your goals. Differently, if you prefer to continue reading here is the link to our Duolingo courses page.
