Language learning app Duolingo has announced five new language courses – Zulu, Xhosa, Maori, Haitian Creole and Austronesian Tagalog – in a bid to protect endangered languages.

Language learning company Duolingo filed to go public at the end of last month, according to documents submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Learning a language has become a popular hobby among those in lockdown, with over 30 million new Duolingo users following the outbreak of the pandemic.

Duolingo is offering its Duolingo app and Duolingo English Test to students in Syria, after obtaining an exemption from US government sanctions. 

Students living in Syria are facing barriers when applying to university courses and scholarships abroad, because of problems accessing English tests.

Duolingo English Test has introduced subscores in response to institutions wanting to "better understand" international applicants' English ability.

With the suspension of traditional English proficiency tests in many countries, a wave of US institutions are now accepting the results of the Duolingo English Test, either as stand-alone proof or as a supplement to other measures of English-language proficiency.

The example of Duolingo in the English language testing realm is a good litmus test for how disruptive and quick change can be