07/27/24

Why I don't like Duolingo (and what to use instead)

The green owl is not your friend and I can prove it.

First of all, why do people even use Duolingo?

They use it because of its promise:

The free, fun, and effective way to learn a language!Âč

That’s what their website says.

“Free, fun and effective.”

One could argue it’s not really free since you have to pay for the full version of the app.

One could also argue it’s not necessarily fun since fun is subjective.

But I want to focus on the third word, which is the most important one:

Effective.

For something to be effective, it needs to have the highest ROI possible.

In other words, the time you invest in it should give you the highest return.

That, of course, can only happen if the method behind it truly works.

So, let’s see what is the basis of Duolingo’s method according to their websiteÂČ:

1. Learn by doing 2. Learn in a personalized way 3. Focus on what matters 4. Stay motivated 5. Feel the delight

As someone who’s been working with languages and education for nearly a decade, these 5 are dead on.

But the question here isn’t if these principles are the right ones.

The right question is: does Duolingo truly offer that?

Quick answer: no.

Let me explain one by one.

→ 1. Learn by doing

Duolingo’s website description: “Interactive lessons grounded in learning science help your brain learn.”

Again, flawless definition.

Languages are skills, not subjects, so if there’s no interaction involved, there’s no learning.

However, what types of interaction does Duolingo provide the learner?

They are as follows:

  • Arrange all the words: You are presented with a shuffled sentence in your target language and you have to rearrange the words to form a grammatically correct sentence.
  • Complete the translation: A sentence is presented and its translation is missing a word and you must type it.
  • Mark the correct meaning: You are asked which of several sentences in one language is a valid translation of a sentence in the other language. Often the wrong alternatives are not even grammatically correct.
  • Picture flashcard matching: You are presented with several words and corresponding images in one language and asked to choose which one matches a word in the other language.
  • Picture flashcard translation (labeled Which one of these is “word”?): You are presented a word in one language and are asked to translate it into the other language with the help of a few relevant pictures.
  • Read and respond: There is a sentence in your target language with a highlighted word, and three alternatives (sometimes in the target language, sometimes in your native language) with its meaning.
  • Select the missing word: You are presented a sentence with a blank and you are asked to choose the correct word or phrase to complete it.
  • Sentence shuffle (labeled Write this in language): You are presented with the text of a sentence in one language and a shuffled sentence in the other. You have to rearrange the words to form the correct translation.
  • Speak this sentence: You are presented with the text of a sentence and asked to speak it into your microphone.
  • Tap the pairs: An even number of boxes, half in your native language and half in your target language are shown. You must select the pairs. You may select a box in either language and then its translation.
  • Translation: You are presented with the text of a sentence in one language and are asked to translate it into the other.
  • Type what you hear: You are presented with the audio of a sentence and are asked to transcribe it. A button labeled with a turtle repeats the sentence slowly.
  • What do you hear?: You are presented with the audio of a word or sentence and several transcriptions as alternatives.

As you can see, there’s a catalog full of different interactions that can definitively help the learner.

Keyword being ‘can’.

It all depends on one variable:

Are they adapted to the learner’s current skill, interests and needs?

That’s when their second point comes in:

→ 2. Learn in a personalized way

Duolingo’s website description: “Lessons adapt to your individual needs so you can learn faster.”

That would be great if it was the case.

Anyone who pays attention to the vocabulary presented knows it’s not.

As a matter of fact, this is such a recurring thing that it became a meme.

Here are some examples:

One could argue these make learning more fun.

But from an objective standpoint, they’re not useful at all.

Some people use this app out of desperation.

They’re just been offered a great job offer and need to learn another language.

Others were finally able to organize their dream trip and want to be able to speak to locals.

And then others, who have tried learning countless times already, might see Duolingo as their last hope.

You can’t waste people’s time and hopes like this.

The way in which you honor both is by doing their 3rd point, which is:

→ 3. Focus on what matters

Duolingo’s website description: “US and international standards inform our curricula so you can learn what matters.”

“Learn what matters.”

This right here is my biggest problem with Duolingo.

There are basic universal words and sentences everyone should learn from the get-go.

And there are also technical ones needed for professional purposes.

A sentence such as “Why is the plumber jumping on the turtles” is USELESS.

It throws your time and attention into the trash can.

Then again, Duolingo does offer useful vocabulary.

But it doesn’t focus on it as it should and says it does.

If you don’t focus on these things, your progress will be delayed to the uselessness of what you learned.

In turn, this lack of progress will inevitably get in the way of their 4th point:

→ 4. Stay motivated

Duolingo’s website description: “Bite-sized lessons and gamification features help you make learning a habit.”

You might be familiar with Duolingo’s “language streak”.

The idea is to help you commit to studying by fear of losing your streak.

Even the app reminds you of it with funny threatening notifications (which have generated a ton of memes as well).

But there’s a major issue with Duolingo’s strategy to keep people motivated:

It’s based on marketing and gamification, not on tangible progress.

You really think Duolingo keeps those nonsensical sentences for no reason?

That’s a huge part of their marketing and reason why they’re known.

The amount of screenshots you can find with examples of it online is stunning.

They’re marketing team is also great at using meme culture for their benefit.

Even people who’ve never had an interest in languages know of Duolingo.

The gamification part comes in the way the app works.

Think of the sound you hear when you get something right.

The characters’ smiles and happiness that goes along with it.

The fact you get points as well.

It truly is a game, and people do enjoy games.

That’s why they’ve chosen their 5th point to be:

→ 5. Feel the delight

Duolingo’s website description: “Delightful experiences bring you joy and help build your confidence.”

Here’s the problem:

Enjoying a game doesn’t mean you’re truly getting better at something in real life.

Think of how many people you know who’ve used Duolingo and aren’t fluent.

They might say it’s fun.

They might even say it helped them.

But are they fluent?

Most likely not.

Enjoying your learning experience is a must, don’t get me wrong.

But this joy needs to come with actual progress.

Real life progress.

Using an app for years with no substantial improvement is not progress.

It’s stagnation.

Thankfully, there are many resources that can help us achieve true progress in the shortest amount of time.

Here are my favorite ones:

→ ChatGPT: use it to find the most important words, sentences and technical vocabulary you will need to hit the ground running. You can also ask it to explain why sentences are built the way they are, give you the translations, create exercises for you, stories and so many more things. There are many YouTube videos that teach how to do it. Look for them, apply what you see and thank me later.

→ Youglish: a website and app that finds whatever word or short sentence you look for on YouTube to show you how native speakers use it in different contexts, with different accents and pronunciation speeds.

→ YouTube: the absolute best way to find content in any language that is adapted to your current level, needs and interests. Use the right keywords to find the content that is best adapted to you. My recommendation: children’s stories with subtitles if you’re starting from scratch, native teachers’ videos with subtitles if you’re at a basic level, and native speakers’ channels about topics you’re interested in if you’re at an intermediate/advanced level.

I’ve been using these for years and have successfully learned 5 languages.

Each one took me around 7-8 months to get good at.

Not perfect, but to the point where I could truly talk to anyone with rare and minor mistakes.

I hope by now you have understood why Duolingo is not the best option.

Then again, if you simply enjoy it and feel it does help you, by all means keep going.

But know there are objectively better options are out there.

And the most important thing: take charge of your own learning.

No app, website or YouTube channel will magically put the language in your brain.

It’s up to you to organize your life to achieve this goal.

And you can definitively do it.

Just make sure to use the best tools available.

And count on me for the journey.

Be seeing you, my friend.

References:

1 – https://en.duolingo.com/

2 – https://en.duolingo.com/efficacy/method

Who is Jonatha Koeller?

I'm a self-taught polyglot, fluent in 6 languages and on my way to the next ones. For 9 years I have been helping people unlock their natural ability to learn languages and achieve fluency in their target language in a matter of months.

I've worked as a language mentor for companies such as Sony Music, Vale, Globo, Accenture, Scrumlaunch, helping everyone from base employees to CEOs.

I don't know what you'll find more surprising: that I did all of this, or that I'm bald at 26. Either way, you can be the next person I’ll help become fluent by unlocking your natural ability to learn languages.

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