Learn a new language on your mobile device with Duolingo (pictures)

Language programs are broken down into different lessons, which focus on specific vocabulary sets and phrases.

You must complete a lesson in order to move on. And as an added incentive, when you do complete a lesson, you earn points that can be weighed against your friends' progress on a leaderboard.

Lessons usually start off with simple questions to teach you new vocabulary words.

For this type of question, you need to listen carefully and type out the phrases you hear. As you can see, the app is sometimes lenient with mistakes.

The hearts at the top are your lives. Get a question wrong, and you lose one. Lose them all, and you'll have to start the lesson over.