AI services growing in popularity among younger language learners in Japan

Artificial intelligence (AI) services such as ChatGPT are becoming increasingly popular among people in Japan as a way to learn new languages, with the number of people using such tools increasing by more than 80% in 2024, a recent survey showed. According to the annual Language Report released by language-learning app Duolingo earlier this month, 10.9% of respondents used AI-powered tools to study a new language -- up from 6% last year. Apps were the most popular learning method, with around 58% of respondents using them, followed by video streaming services such as YouTube and Netflix (37%), textbooks (35.6%) and online lessons (15.6%). Only 13.8% of people said they were studying a new language through in-person classes.