Duolingo English Test preparation: what exists and what to use

The official free material

• The free practice test on the official site — unscored, but the real interface and the real question types.
• The video walkthrough, which Duolingo names as one of the best ways to learn the structure.
• The help centre articles, which document each question type individually and how items are scored. These are the authoritative description and they are public.

Do the free practice test at least once before you buy. Nearly everything that goes wrong on this test is setup or interface, not language — and that is exactly what the practice run removes.

What to use instead of books

There is no equivalent of the Cambridge IELTS series here, and you do not need one. The four things that move a Duolingo score are all free:

1. Wide reading in English, daily, for the recognition vocabulary Read and Select tests.
2. Dictation practice from any audio source, for Listen and Type.
3. Recorded speaking, played back, for the speaking items and the sample.
4. One full practice run in the real interface, at the hour you intend to sit the test.

Treating third-party material carefully

• Anything claiming to have real Duolingo questions is either invented or infringing. Duolingo draws from a very large pool specifically so that questions cannot be memorised.
• "Question banks" of leaked items are the most common DET scam, and they do not work — you are highly unlikely to meet the same question twice even across your own attempts.
• Material that does not mention the phone camera in setup is out of date.
• Third-party score predictors are not Duolingo's engine and do not behave like it.

Practice material on this site is Vibedu-original and modelled on the official formats. We do not host or link to pirated test papers, and neither should any site you prepare from.

The part nothing can do for you

The Writing Sample and Speaking Sample are sent to every institution that receives your score, and no practice material will tell you how yours reads to an admissions officer. Record your speaking sample once in advance, watch it back, and ask whether you would take that person seriously. It is the cheapest feedback available and almost nobody does it.