Top universities caught using DUOLINGO to screen foreign students

Some of the top UK universities are using Duolingo to screen the English language abilities of foreign students before allowing them to commence courses.

Imperial College London, the University of Leeds and seven others in the Russell Group, are among some 50 higher education institutions using the language-learning company.

The Home Office has started procurement for an £816 million contract to provide English language testing for visa and immigration decisions, overhauling digital screening potential.

Duolingo is not on the list of approved providers for this scheme, although universities are able to set their own English language assessments at their discretion.

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Duolingo’s hour-long timed test involve identifying real words from fictitious ones, describing a photograph of a scene, interactive listening and interactive writing - taken by four million people each year.

The platform is better known for its language-learning app, whose owl mascot encourages learners to achieve daily goals - with bitesize learning modules to engage those with shorter attention spans.

The Duolingo English Test (DET) is not yet approved by the government, having irked those behind more established tests despite assuring stringent anti-cheating measures.

The International English Language Testing System (IELTS), managed by the British Council and Cambridge University Press and Assessment, is more commonly implemented to screen foreign students.

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