In junior high, my Spanish teacher taught us a joke that I’ll never forget. It goes like this: What do you call someone who speaks three languages? Trilingual. What do you call someone who speaks two languages? Bilingual. What do you call someone who speaks one language? American.

Like most jokes, this one actually has a hint of truth to it. There are too many people in our society who do not see the point in learning a second language, and so they just don’t. But studies have shown that there are cognitive benefits to learning a second language, and the earlier one starts, the better. It’s also nice to be exposed to a different culture and open oneself up to communicating to a whole new group of people. And if that’s not enough to convince you, then maybe this will: Employers are looking for potential employees who are bilingual. Learning a second language has a lot of benefits.

And it’s really not as hard as you think. There are a lot of resources to help you learn a new language. You can take a class at your local college. Or you can try out the Rosetta Stone software. But both of these options can be expensive. Fortunately, there is a free, convenient way to learn a new language, and it’s called DuoLingo.

DuoLingo is a language-teaching software that’s available on just about any device. They have a website that you can access on any computer, and they also have apps for iOS and Android. DuoLingo makes it easy to learn a second language even when you’re out and about. Plus, it’s totally free and doesn’t have any pesky ads!

I really like DuoLingo’s approach to teaching. They treat it like a game. You earn experience points, level up, and work your way through different stages as you learn. It really makes the experience fun. But it’s not just fun and games. You’re actually learning. DuoLingo is set up in a way that teaches you the basics and then builds on them to reinforce past words while learning new ones.

And this learning is meant to be long-term. DuoLingo rewards you for keeping up a daily streak. All it takes is just a few minutes everyday. And the app encourages you to review past lessons periodically to remind yourself of what you’ve learned. The whole system is set up to help you succeed and actually learn the language over time.

I’m personally using DuoLingo to re-learn Spanish. I took a couple of Spanish classes in high school, but I had forgotten a lot of it, so the app is serving as a nice refresher. I’ve really enjoyed using DuoLingo so far, and I’ve actually learned a lot. I would highly recommend DuoLingo to anyone wanting to learn a new language or get a refresher on a second language one hasn’t used in a while. Learning a second or even a third language is a worthwhile goal to pursue, and DuoLingo can help you achieve it.

DuoLingo offers lessons in Spanish, French, Italian, German, and Portuguese. You can sign up for DuoLingo on their website or download the free DuoLingo app on the iOS App Store or Google Play.