SNL just created a Duolingo course that needs to be real
Do you too experience extremely awkward interactions with children? Help us speak their language, Duolingo.
What do you say when a kid falls down in front of you? SNL's fake Duolingo for Talking to Children app could actually be helpful.
Saturday Night Live has a habit of making ad parodies of non-existent products many of us wish were real. Whether it's credit card protection against doppelgangers or diamond-encrusted fidget spinners, SNL seems to know what we want before we actually need it.
And the show's done it again. Its made-up course for the Duolingo language app -- Duolingo for Talking to Children -- could help us all.
Not everyone has the gift of gab when it comes to chatting with children. During Saturday's episode, the show poked fun at the very real awkwardness some adults (me included) feel when they can't figure out how to talk to kids without sounding like a freak.
I'm that child-free adult who always says the wrong thing to kids. All during Halloween when children came to my door to trick-or-treat, my guesses of their costumes were wrong. When they looked at me weird, I randomly kept apologizing about climate change. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!
Then there's the time I asked a 7-year-old boy what his favorite horror film was. The parent was not amused. Just last week I asked a 10-year-old about his thoughts on Bitcoin. I'm hopeless.
SNL guest host and Charlie's Angels actor Kristen Stewart is that person who can't seem to say anything without confusing a kid and upsetting the parent. In the ad parody, Duolingo comes to the rescue with a lesson plan focused on how to converse with kids on their level.
Worried about telling a little girl she's pretty when you're supposed to focus more on smarts than looks? Tell the girl you like her cool backpack. Stumped at what to say when a kid comes up to you to say hello at a family gathering? Ask them about their favorite food, which according to Duolingo is probably chicken fingers.
Duolingo also teaches clueless adults to correctly identify kids' ages; greet kids using their own language and mannerisms (think high fives); and how to build up stamina to listen to long meandering, pointless stories told by kids.
I'm memorizing these categories of topics kids care about from SNL's fake Duolingo for Talking to Children app just in case I have to talk to one of them.
I desperately need Duolingo to create this kid-speak language course. The app company has created a language program for Star Trek fans who want to learn to speak Klingon as well as for Game of Thrones fans who want to be fluent in High Valyrian. So why not give us a course in how to master kid-speak to prevent these awkward situations?
I'm not alone in this feeling. Twitter also reacted positively to the idea of Duolingo for talking to children.
"This needs to be a real thing," Twitter user Jenny Greenfield tweeted.
"Take my money cause I need this," user Frankenstellar tweeted.
— Sesskasays (@sesskasays) November 3, 2019
I just had this happen to me! I was approached by a former student dressed in princess clothes, and I said, oh, you are a PRINCESS! The grandmother said, "you should say, oh what a beautiful lawyer!" The little girl was 7 years old!!!!! I need the app!
— Rita Scarpelli (@RitaScarpelli) November 3, 2019
The struggle is real. I feel this pain almost every day. #SNL #YouAreNotAlone
— Michael Smith (@Peacefuldog) November 3, 2019
