The Duolingo English Test (DET) consists of 4 sections that comprehensively assess candidates’ English language proficiency. These sections are: Introduction and Onboarding, Adaptive Test, Writing Sample, and Speaking Sample.
Each part evaluates the test taker’s ability to communicate effectively in English across academic, professional, and social settings. In this blog, we have discussed the Introduction and Duolingo Adaptive Test sections individually, covering their content, evaluated skills, question types, answering strategies, and more.
Table of Contents
Overview of the Duolingo English Test
Below, we have tabulated the overview of the Duolingo English Test (DET).
| Conducted By | Duolingo |
|---|---|
| Purpose | English language proficiency test for higher study abroad |
| Test Format | Fully Online Test |
| Sections | Introduction and Onboarding Adaptive Test (Reading & Listening) Writing & Speaking Test |
| Duration | 1 Hour |
| Scoring | 10-160 |
| Test Availability | All year round |
| Price | Rs. 5,110/- per registration |
| Result Time | Within 2 Days |
| Validity | 2 Years |
Duolingo Exam Pattern & Structure
- The Duolingo English Test pattern consists of 4 sections- Introduction and Onboarding, Adaptive Test, Writing Sample, and Speaking Sample.
- First, test takers are required to introduce themselves through an unscripted video for about 5 minutes.
- The Duolingo Adaptive Test is the core scoring section in which the skills of reading, writing, listening, and speaking are assessed simultaneously.
- It consists of a variable number of questions and lasts approximately 45 minutes.
- Writing and speaking samples are the non-scoring sections where candidates are required to write and speak on the given prompts.
- These 2 tasks provide qualitative insights for institutions.
| Section | Duration | Number of Questions | Marks | Tasks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Introduction Video | 5 Minutes | - | Unscored | Candidates need to introduce themselves |
| Adaptive Test | 45 Minutes | Varies (AI-driven) | 10-160 | Assess the reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills |
| Writing Sample | 5 Minutes | 1 prompt | Unscored | Write a short essay on a given prompt |
| Speaking Sample | 5 Minutes | 1 prompt | Unscored | Speak on a given prompt |
Duolingo Exam Pattern: Introduction & Onboarding Part
- In this part of the Duolingo English Test pattern, candidates are required to introduce themselves through video recording for about 5 minutes.
- It also allows candidates to go through all the rules, requirements, and structure of the test.
- Candidates are required to ensure their computer’s camera, speaker, and microphone are functioning properly.
- They are also required to submit their ID card before proceeding to the test.
- This phase is designed to ensure a fair and accurate testing environment.
- This part remains unscored so that candidates can adapt themselves smoothly to the testing environment.
Duolingo Adaptive Test (For Speaking, Reading, Writing & Listening Skills)
- The Duolingo Adaptive Test assesses the candidate’s speaking, reading, writing, and listening skills simultaneously, through a series of different question types.
- The duration of the Duolingo Adaptive Test is 45 minutes during which test takers are required to answer different questions of varying difficulty.
- The number of questions is not fixed and they administer more or fewer questions depending on the grading engine’s confidence in your score.
- The difficulty of some questions changes dynamically throughout the test, depending on the test taker’s performance.
- For example, if a candidate is able to answer a question correctly then the next question will be more difficult.
Duolingo English Test Question Types
- The Duolingo Adaptive Test is the only section of the Duolingo English Test that evaluates all four language skills- listening, writing, speaking, and reading in an integrated manner.
- Unlike traditional English proficiency tests such as TOEFL and IELTS, the Duolingo English Test does not clearly separate the assessment of individual skills.
Below, we have discussed each question type, including what it evaluates, what it contains, how to respond, and allowed time to make a response.
Read & Select
- The read-and-select question type asks the test taker to answer whether the given English word is correct.
- They have to read each word and decide if it is an actual word.
Skills Assessed
| Independent Skills | Integrated Skills |
|---|---|
| Reading | Literacy |
| - | Comprehension |
Time Duration
Test takers are required to respond to this question in 5 seconds
How to Interact with the Question?
Click YES or NO to select if it is a real English word
How to Answer?
Read carefully each word and ensure that the given word is correct or not.
Fill in the Blanks
- In this question, test takers are required to complete the sentence with the correct words
Skills Assessed
| Independent Skills | Integrated Skills |
|---|---|
| Reading | Literacy |
| - | Comprehension |
Time Duration
Test takers are required to respond to this question in 10 seconds
How to Interact with the Question?
Use the backspace or delete button to go back one space and delete a letter
How to Answer?
- Read the whole sentence carefully before focusing on the incomplete word.
- Use context clues while filling in the blank
Read and Complete
- In this question, test takers are required to type the missing letters to complete the text given, much similar to the previous question type.
Skills Assessed
| Independent Skills | Integrated Skills |
|---|---|
| Reading | Literacy |
| - | Comprehension |
Time Duration
Test takers are required to respond to this question in 2.54 minutes.
How to Interact with the Question?
Use the backspace or delete button to go back one space and delete a letter.
How to Answer?
- Read the passage carefully before focusing on each individual word.
- Use context clues to help you complete the words
Read Aloud
Test takers will read a written statement, and then speak it out loud into the microphone.
Skills Assessed
| Independent Skills | Integrated Skills |
|---|---|
| Speaking | Comprehension |
| - | Conversation |
Time Duration
Test takers are required to respond to this question in 14 seconds
How to Interact with the Question?
- Test takers have 20 seconds to read and record the response and they are given only one chance.
- After reading, test takers should click RECORD NOW and start speaking.
- Once finished, they have to click NEXT.
How to Answer?
- Practice speaking the statement once loud out before the recording starts
- Stay aware of the punctuation in the statement to make sure your pace is maintained.
- Test takers will hear a statement then they have to transcribe it.
Skills Assessed
| Independent Skills | Integrated Skills |
|---|---|
| Listening | Comprehension |
| - | Conversation |
Time Duration
Test takers are required to respond to this question in 55 seconds
How to Interact with the Question?
- Test takers can replay the statement up to 2 times by clicking on the speaker icon.
How to Answer?
- Type out the statement simultaneously while hearing it
- Replay the statement and compare the response
Complete the Sentences
- Test takers will read a passage with several blank spaces, and select a word to complete the sentence
Skills Assessed
| Independent Skills | Integrated Skills |
|---|---|
| Reading | Comprehension |
| - | Literacy |
Time Duration
Test takers are required to respond to this question in 6.53 minutes
How to Interact with the Question?
- Test takers can complete the sentence in any order
- They can use a mouse/touchpad to navigate between the sentences
- They have to select the appropriate numbered word for each missing place
How to Answer?
- Read the complete sentence.
- Use the context clues to help you select the best word choice
Complete the Passage
- Test takers will read a passage with a missing sentence in the middle and they have to select the best sentence to fill in the blank.
Skills Assessed
| Independent Skills | Integrated Skills |
|---|---|
| Reading | Comprehension |
| - | Literacy |
Time Duration
Test takers are required to respond to this question in 5.38 minutes
How to Interact with the Question?
- Test takers can hover over each option to see them in the context
How to Answer?
- Read the passage
- Use the context clues to help you select the best sentence choice
- Select each alternative provided to ensure it fills the missing context.
Highlight the Answer
- Test takers will see a question on the screen, then they have to find and highlight the answer within the passage.
Skills Assessed
| Independent Skills | Integrated Skills |
|---|---|
| Reading | Comprehension |
| - | Literacy |
Time Duration
- Once test takers will highlight the text, it will appear in the box below the answer
How to Interact with the Question?
- Once test takers will highlight the text, it will appear in the box below the answer
How to Answer?
- Be precise but thorough in your selection, and make sure to highlight only the answer to the question asked.
Identify the Idea
- Test takers are required to select an idea from the list that best represents what they have read in the passage.
Skills Assessed
| Independent Skills | Integrated Skills |
|---|---|
| Reading | Comprehension |
| - | Literacy |
Time Duration
Test takers are required to respond to this question in 7-8 minutes
How to Interact with the Question?
- After selecting the response, the box around it will turn blue.
How to Answer?
- Be precise but thorough in your selection, and make sure to highlight only the answer to the question asked.
Title the Passage
- Test takers are required to select the best title of the passage.
Skills Assessed
| Independent Skills | Integrated Skills |
|---|---|
| Reading | Comprehension |
| - | Literacy |
Time Duration
Test takers are required to respond to this question in 7-8 minutes
How to Interact with the Question?
- After selecting the response, the box around it will turn blue.
How to Answer?
- Read and consider all of the options carefully.
- Some of the options may be somewhat relevant, but make sure to choose the one that is the best title for the whole text.
Listen & Respond
- Test takers will read about the situation and pick the best option to start the conversation.
Skills Assessed
| Independent Skills | Integrated Skills |
|---|---|
| Listening | Comprehension |
| - | Conversation |
Time Duration
Test takers are required to respond to this question in 4 minutes
How to Interact with the Question?
- The audio clips will play once
- Test takers can read the earlier parts of the conversation again
How to Answer?
- Pay attention to the relationship between the speakers.
- Remember the main ideas of the conversations for the summary of the task.
Summarise the Conversation
- Test takers are required to summarise the conversation.
Skills Assessed
| Independent Skills | Integrated Skills |
|---|---|
| Writing | Comprehension |
| Listening | Literacy |
| - | Production |
| - | Conversation |
Time Duration
Test takers are required to respond to this question in 75 seconds
How to Interact with the Question?
- Write a complete paragraph instead of separate bullet points.
- Start with the facts about the conversation.
- Use all the time to summarise the task in as much detail as possible.
Write About the Photo
- Test takers are required to write a description of the image that shows up on the screen.
Skills Assessed
| Independent Skills | Integrated Skills |
|---|---|
| Writing | Literacy |
| - | Production |
Time Duration
Test takers are required to respond to this question in 1 minute.
How to Interact with the Question?
- Test takers will be able to see the image as they begin to write
How to Answer?
- Try to write about the photo in more than one sentence as longer responses can help demonstrate more of your skills.
Interactive Writing
- It asks test takers to write about the topic for about 5 minutes
Skills Assessed
| Independent Skills | Integrated Skills |
|---|---|
| Writing | Literacy |
| - | Production |
Time Duration
Test takers are required to respond to this question in 8 minutes.
How to Interact with the Question?
- In step 1, test takers will be given a prompt to write.
- In step 2, they will be given a follow-up prompt based on their initial response.
- Test takers are required to write their responses in both steps.
How to Answer?
- Use all of the time you have to make sure your responses are the best they can be.
- Write as much as you can, as long as you are using English effectively and it is relevant to the topic
Listen, Then Speak
- It asks test takers to speak about the topic after listening to a prompt.
Skills Assessed
| Independent Skills | Integrated Skills |
|---|---|
| Speaking | Conversation |
| - | Production |
Time Duration
Test takers are required to respond to this question in 0.30-1.30 minutes.
How to Interact with the Question?
- Test takers will need to speak for a minimum of 30 seconds.
- Once 30 seconds have gone by, they will see the NEXT button turn blue, and they will then be able to come to a natural conclusion and click the button to submit their response.
How to Answer?
- Speak naturally
- Use varied words and sentence structures
- Have a clear understanding of the prompt before you start to record.
Speak About the Photo
- Test takers are required to speak about the photo that appears on the screen.
Skills Assessed
| Independent Skills | Integrated Skills |
|---|---|
| Speaking | Conversation |
| - | Production |
Time Duration
Test takers are required to respond to this question in 0.30-1.30 minutes.
How to Interact with the Question?
- Test takers have 20 seconds to look at the photo before the recording begins automatically.
- They need to take this time to observe and mentally plan their response before recording their answer.
- They will also be able to look at the image as they speak.
- Only one opportunity is provided.
How to Answer?
- Describe the image as if explaining it to someone who can’t see it.
- Speak at a natural pace
Read, Then Speak
- This question type asks test takers to speak about the topic.
Skills Assessed
| Independent Skills | Integrated Skills |
|---|---|
| Speaking | Conversation |
| - | Production |
Time Duration
Test takers are required to respond to this question in 0.30-1.30 minutes.
How to Interact with the Question?
- Test takers have 20 seconds to read the topic before they begin to speak.
How to Answer?
- Answer all of the components of the questions
- Speak at a natural pace
How are the Duolingo Adaptive Test Questions Scored?
- The below types of Duolingo Adaptive Test Questions are graded automatically through special procedures.
- Read and Complete
- Read and Select
- Fill in the Blanks
- Listen and Type
- Read Aloud
- Complete the Sentences
- Complete the Passage
- Highlight the Answer
- Identify the Idea
- Title the Passage
- Listen and Respond
- These procedures compare the test taker’s response to correct responses and then evaluate the similarities and differences.
- Each correct answer will grant an increment of 5 points.
- If the answer is partially correct, test takers will receive partial credit.
- Below question types are open-response questions and the test taker’s response will be evaluated on the basis of certain key aspects.
- Summarize the Conversation
- Write About the Photo
- Speak About the Photo
- Interactive Writing
- Read Then Speak
- Listen Then Speak
- The key aspects are tabulated below
| Content | Relevance, style, development, and effect on the reader |
|---|---|
| Coherence | Clarity, cohesion, progression of ideas, and structure |
| Vocabulary | Lexical diversity, lexical sophistication, choice of words, formation of words, and spelling |
| Grammar | Grammatical complexity, grammatical accuracy, and punctuation |
| Fluency | Speed; natural use of pauses; and reliance on filler words, repetition, and starting/ stopping |
| Pronunciation | Intelligibility, individual sounds, word stress, sentence stress, and intonation |
How to Prepare for the Duolingo Adaptive Test?
- Make yourself aware of the pattern, format, and types of the Duolingo Adaptive Test.
- Go through the instructions given in the exam
- Read academic and news articles frequently.
- Practice picking out main points, summarising information, and answering comprehension questions.
- Work on your grammar and vocabulary every day.
- Learn paraphrasing and summarising techniques and apply them while writing the essays.
- Engage with podcasts, TED Talks, and English news channels to get used to different accents and speech patterns.
- Mimic native speakers to improve fluency and pronunciation.
- Concentrate on understanding different accents, restating information, and following lectures.
- Practice completing tasks within the time given for the listening section.
- Develop strategies to ensure you can easily attempt all the questions.
Key Takeaways by Smart Academy
The Duolingo Adaptive Test is a unique and dynamic assessment designed to evaluate your English language proficiency efficiently. Unlike traditional exams, it adapts to your performance in real-time, adjusting question difficulty based on your responses.
This integrated test assesses listening, reading, writing, and speaking skills simultaneously, providing a comprehensive evaluation. To excel, focus on improving vocabulary, grammar, and quick comprehension. Practicing with sample questions and developing strong typing and speaking skills can significantly boost your score.
FAQs
\What is the Duolingo Adaptive Test?
The Duolingo Adaptive Test is a computer-based English proficiency exam that dynamically adjusts question difficulty based on your previous responses. It evaluates listening, reading, writing, and speaking skills simultaneously, providing a comprehensive assessment.
How does the adaptive system work in the Duolingo English Test?
The test algorithm adapts in real-time, if you answer correctly, the next question may become harder; if you answer incorrectly, the following question may be easier.
This ensures an accurate measurement of your language proficiency in fewer questions.
What types of questions are included in the Duolingo Adaptive Test?
The test includes various question types such as fill-in-the-blanks, dictation, read-aloud, sentence building, and writing/speaking prompts. Each question is designed to assess multiple language skills at once.
How long does the Duolingo Adaptive Test take?
The adaptive section typically lasts 45 minutes, followed by a 10-minute video interview and a writing sample. The entire test takes about 60 minutes to complete.
What skills are evaluated in the Adaptive Test?
The Adaptive Test evaluates four key skills — listening, reading, writing, and speaking, in an integrated format, ensuring a well-rounded assessment of your English proficiency.
