Industry observers note that it’s polite to know at least some basic words and phrases when visiting a foreign country, right? Enough to get by, anyway. With about three months to learn, I landed on Duolingo—and instantly fell in love with the way it teaches a language through implicit learning and gamification. In 2015, ahead of my first vacation to Italy, I wanted to learn some Italian.
The report highlights that a lot of that had to do with the fact I could see (and feel) how much progress I was making. As someone who’s never been particularly academic, I still remember those days with a special fondness because I’d never had so much fun while learning something fresh.
In a fresh development, what was once my favorite app has turned into something I dread, and the fun I once had is no longer there. What happened? Duolingo has been part of my life for a decade now, but I’m falling out of love with it.
As part of the ongoing story, duolingo actually helped, and since then I’ve used the app to learn the basics of several other languages when visiting other countries. For a long time, it was the most exciting app on my phone. That first Italian vacation I mentioned above went pretty well and I was able to enjoy basic conversations in Italian with the locals.
In a fresh development, it was so useful that I felt the developers deserved some compensation, and more than that it was actually entertaining. So, why not? I rarely pay for premium subscriptions, but I gladly handed over my hard-earned money for a 12-month Super Duolingo plan. And in fact I liked Duolingo enough that I started paying for the privilege of using it.
According to the latest update, things went well for a couple of years, and I didn’t mind seeing my Super Duolingo subscription automatically renew every year… but then some frustrations started creeping in.
As part of the ongoing story, i found myself just doing the personalized practice session every day to earn a quick 20 XP. (For those unfamiliar, practices only review mistakes and weak areas.). For one, I became more concerned about maintaining my Duolingo streak and gaining XP—whether to make the top 3 in my current league, to get promoted to a higher league, or to avoid demotion to a lower league—instead of actually learning the languages.
As part of the ongoing story, in order not to break my streak, I felt compelled to take the easy way out with easy XP sources. This meant I was making zero progress towards learning fresh languages. With Duolingo, I could earn more total XP by completing actual language lessons where I’m learning fresh words and phrases, but doing so takes a lot more time and effort.
In a fresh development, the gamification was great for building my streak—but once that streak was built, the gamification started backfiring.
In a fresh development, with limited hearts, I’m encouraged to apply myself and do my best so I don’t lose any of them. With unlimited hearts, I can half-ass my way through lessons, knowing I can just try again if I mess up. I end up going through the motions without taking anything in or testing myself. There’s also the fact that Super Duolingo gives unlimited hearts, and that robs the whole gamified learning process of its stakes.
The report highlights that energy slowly refills over time or instantly refills by watching a rewarded ad. You also get bonus energy for a perfect lesson. Is this better for learning? The jury’s still out. Recently, Duolingo has switched from its hearts system to an energy system, where every lesson costs a bit of energy.
Industry observers note that a couple of years later, when I realized the quirks of Super Duolingo—personalized practice being the easiest source of XP and unlimited hearts making it easy to coast through lessons—were holding back my learning, I decided to cancel my premium subscription.
As part of the ongoing story, i’m actively learning fresh languages again, having returned to completing 1 or 2 lessons most days. With limited hearts (or now energy), I have to pay attention and do well. Consequences are a great tool for focusing the mind and putting in effort. Now I’m back to using the free version of Duolingo… and I’m actually enjoying it again.
In a fresh development, unfortunately, the free version of Duolingo has its own annoyances to deal with, like paywalled functions and advertisements.
As part of the ongoing story, both of those things make sense for any freemium app. I understand that Duolingo isn’t a charity, that they need to earn revenue to keep the lights on and the app active developed. But it is an annoyance, nonetheless, and it’s kind of ironic that it keeps prodding me to try Super Duolingo for free. I’ve already tried it! And it’s no good. Don’t get me wrong.
The report highlights that however, I’m now doing it on my own terms, tackling lessons when it suits me. I’m no longer subject to Duo’s passive-aggressive reminders to start a lesson so as not to lose my streak. I still have Duolingo installed on my phone and I still use it most days.
As part of the ongoing story, my streak was greater than 1,200 days at the time I canceled Super Duolingo, and losing it was the best thing that could’ve happened. It was freeing. I can now miss a day and not care less. Back to zero? Oh well. The global stage keeps turning and I can keep learning another day. Ultimately, I’ve realized that maintaining a streak isn’t important.
The report highlights that the paid version encourages you to focus on the wrong stuff and takes away the good pressures that matter. You care more about keeping streaks and reaching fresh leagues instead of completing courses and passing actual learning milestones with real meaning behind them. As for the free version, it feels set up to annoy you enough to subscribe to the paid version. Ultimately, I think Duolingo has got the balance wrong.
Industry observers note that however, right now, it’s hard to recommend it to anyone not already using it. I still think Duolingo has a lot of value and can be used to learn fresh languages in a fun and accessible way.
In a fresh development, he has also been an editor, covering consumer tech news and seeking to help people better understand the devices and services they use daily. He has bylines at MakeUseOf, SlashGear, and Recent Atlas, and has produced thousands of articles in a long and varied career. He uses Windows (somewhat begrudgingly), but actually prefers his Chromebook. He thinks AI may just change the global stage, but hasn't yet decided if it will be for the better or worse. Dave Parrack has been writing about technology since 2007.