Language app Duolingo is turning its attention to teaching kids mathematics

Duolingo on iPhone (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

Duolingo is working on a new app designed to help teach kids about mathematics.
The company says the project is still in the early stages of development.

Duolingo is already one of the best iPhone apps for learning new languages, but it could soon be the best for teaching kids about mathematics, too.

As reported by TechCrunch, Duolingo says that its new math app is "still very early" in development and it isn't keen to share any more information about it as yet. CEO Luis von Ahn did mention the app during an interview last week, however — an interview that just so happened to go out the same day Duolingo listed on the stock market.

Work has been ongoing for a couple of months at least, however. Duolingo apparently listed a job for "a learning scientist with a PhD in mathematics" back in May, for example.

The listing hints that the app will be focused on serving younger learners. It mentions that Duolingo wants candidates to have classroom experience and knowledge about teaching K-12 level math, especially with younger students between 3rd and 8th grade.

Duolingo has crafted itself a reputation as the go-to app for learning languages on iPhones and that reputation will surely help it break into the world of teaching mathematics as well. The company currently offers another app aimed at kids, with Duolingo ABC designed to help kids learn how to read. Both of Duolingo's apps are available for download from the App Store now.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.