2000 days of Duolingo: Can I speak fluent Norwegian?

2000 days ago, in the midst of lockdown and the Covid-19 pandemic, with not much to do, I resolved to take up learning a language. For five and a half years, I have exclusively used Duolingo to achieve my fluency dreams, but they haven’t quite materialised into reality.

Despite my teachers’ insistence that I needed to take a language at GCSE, I decided against it. Having studied French since reception and barely able to string a sentence together nine years later, I was convinced another two years in the classroom would be a waste of time. So, 2020 felt like the perfect time to take things into my own hands. I had used Duolingo on and off three years prior, and since the highly popular language learning app was free, accessible, and easy to use, I decided that would be my method of learning.

When it came to choosing a language, I simply Googled ‘what is the easiest language for an English speaker to learn’, and a couple of articles mentioned Norwegian. That was good enough for me, and my language learning journey commenced. On reflection, this lack of research and flimsy justification would foreshadow how my language learning journey would go.

It quickly became more about maintaining my streak rather than actually learning a language

Duolingo offers quick, bite-sized lessons in over 40 languages, from French to the constructed language Klingon. Gamified exercises include speaking practice, matching pairs of words, translating to and from your target language, and listening tasks. After completing a lesson, you earn XP, which can help you meet weekly goals and climb up the leaderboard through their league system. It’s fun, low-pressure, and a great way to get started on your language learning journey.

Duolingo’s gamified style allowed me to commit to my five-and-a-half-year streak, but it has also been my downfall since I retained hardly any of the information presented to me. It quickly became more about maintaining my streak rather than actually learning a language. Spending more than five minutes on the app became a rarity as I sped through the content to keep that flame alight instead of reflecting on and processing the content. Rather than completing a lesson in the morning when I’m more refreshed and energised, Duolingo tends to be the last thing I do before going to sleep, something which I do not recommend.

Over the past five years, I’ve seen a huge decline in the services offered by Duolingo, with more and more services locked behind a paywall. Under the old ‘heart system’ where a mistake would cost you a life, Duolingo removed the ability to practice old lessons to regain hearts, which rather defeats their mission statement of learning a language for free, given it took a whole five hours for one life to refresh. The new energy system has made the situation even worse. Now, whether you get something right or make a mistake, you lose energy regardless, so if you are feeling extra motivated and want to do more than one lesson, tough luck. The only way to recharge is to wait hours or pay. Simply put, it is impossible to learn a language for free.

Duolingo tends to teach grammar through repetition rather than targeted lessons, which can make it hard to grasp

Another major loss to the app was the removal of free comments and forums. This gave users the ability to connect with and ask questions of their fellow language learners for any given lesson prompt. Now, you can only ask AI, but for a fee.

It must also be noted that some changes have been for the better. Three years ago, the old language tree was replaced with the path system. The path creates a more linear learning structure with practice of new vocabulary built in. With this change, I have found myself learning more content and progressing further, rather than continuously learning the same couple of phrases like ‘I am a girl’. It’s ‘jeg er en jente’ in case you were wondering.

Duolingo tends to teach grammar through repetition rather than targeted lessons, which can make it hard to grasp. However, they reintroduced the grammar tips feature, which breaks down the grammar in the unit. Duolingo scores have also been a welcome addition. These scores can help you understand how proficient you are in the language and the level of fluency.

Duolingo now allows you to get in some much-needed speaking practice through a back-and-forth conversation with an AI chatbot that can replicate specific scenarios

Unfortunately, many features – such as reading stories in your target language – are reserved for the most popular courses like Spanish, English, French, and German. These courses have the most users and therefore the highest quality learning path. For people learning more niche courses like Norwegian, it can feel incredibly frustrating to use a lesser service. Of those users lucky enough to have the story feature have noticed their decline however, with the text lacking a creative flair and are likely AI-generated.

AI implementation by Duolingo hasn’t been all bad. In their most recent major update, Duolingo now allows you to get in some much-needed speaking practice through a back-and-forth conversation with an AI chatbot that can replicate specific scenarios. Although as you’ve probably guessed, this too is locked behind a paywall, so whilst this could be game-changing for reaching fluency, I won’t be using it anytime soon.

Frustratingly, when Duolingo introduced these supposedly exciting new updates, my progress was lost, and I would be put back a section. The haphazard nature of these updates meant sections now marked as complete, I had not actually studied, and instead I was forced to repeat sections I had already learned.

I can tell you what a duck, spider, and moose are in Norwegian, although not much else

This brings me on to my progress in Norwegian and what I can actually say after 2000 days. I can tell you what a duck, spider, and moose are in Norwegian, although not much else. I can count to ten, but any higher and I’m stuck, so telling you my age is out of the question. As for ordering in a café, if you want chicken soup, I’ve got you. You need directions? I’ve got nothing. Needless to say, my fluency dreams are still just that, dreams.

Duolingo can be a great tool, but when used in isolation, it isn’t very helpful with its emphasis on gamification. However, during the past 2000 days, I have certainly formed a consistent habit. It may not be the most efficient habit, but it’s better than doing nothing at all.

Luis von Ahn, the co-founder and CEO of Duolingo, told The Verge that showing up is the cornerstone of making progress with language learning, as you can’t teach someone who isn’t there, hence Duolingo’s gamified style. “By far, what matters the most is that you’re doing it every day, whatever the hell you’re doing. It’s kind of the same with Duolingo. Maybe some methods are more efficient than others, but what matters is that you’re doing it every day.”

Can I speak fluent Norwegian? No. Could I hold a basic conversation with a native speaker? Probably not. However, despite all of this, the streak and green owl have me well and truly hooked all these years later, so I will continue to use Duolingo, although I will try to make a conscious effort to actually start using other resources. Perhaps after 5,000 days, I’ll finally be able to count to 20.