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 on the app.
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 while 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 10, 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.
Comments (18)
I learned enough Norwegian in a couple of months to carry on a firly long conversation witn a native, one of the real ones who speak English. How? I ca
I agree that the gamification encourages us to race through the lessons instead of progressing through the lessons in a more thoughtful way.
The best thing I did was to shut off the lederboards/leagues. Second best thing was to spend time thinking about why I made certain errors & then using Google AI to do queries to help me understand what to improve.
I find Duo phenomenal! To supplement it, I use the Radio Garden app to listen to french music & shows. Plus Spotify for podcasts. French movies (e.g. on Netflix) are generally still too difficult (too much slang, too fast, not spoken clearly enough).
5 mins a day no wonder you got nowhere at least spend 25 mins to 2 hours if you want to progress
After 735 days I actually speak French quite well But I spend two hours most days and do a lot of review and repetition. And I have the advantage of living in France, which gives me both motivation and a chance to practice away from the app.
I’m on day 500 of Duo. I chose to learn Spanish, as I was told its pretty accurate in Duo. My sister got the family plan and the energy update drove her bonkers. So I am enjoying those perks.
I’m a pretty slow learner, but I started using chatgpt to create lvl 1 basic stories for me on the side. I can speak small sentences. Understand what I’m reading or hearing better then speaking.
The windows version of Duolingo still has the hearts system.
Yes, I agree that Duolingo is not enough for most learners, even though the company wants people to believe it is (and, thus, pay for the app). I started with Duolingo almost 800 days ago, in an unbroken streak ever since. I completed the Greek course in a bit less than a year (it is one of the neglected languages) and the Latin one in about a month, I think (it is very short and limited to the present indicative, mostly). Now, I am doing the “daily refresher” lessons only (after learning Russian for a while… Should go back to that), and I too feel like it’s only to keep the streak, now. Regarding my skills… I learned pretty well with Duolingo’s method, but I can see that other people would prefer a more systematized way. I was fluent in German, English and Portuguese (my native) before starting, so there weren’t many grammatical surprises (cases? seen them before; three genders for nouns? old news; etc.). But, after finishing Greek on Duo, I also started watching language related videos on YouTube, in Greek. Reading some webpages on Greek Wikipedia. Bought a grammar book (in Portuguese, because learning Greek in English is much more difficult given the simplified English grammar). And so on. I was, if online reading tests are to be believed, between A1 and A2 levels when I finished the course. I can understand quite a bit from the didactic videos I watch (Easy Greek, Do you speak Greek, etc.), but more natural videos are a different thing altogether, of course. If I go to Greece, I would be pretty fine reading signs and with very basic vocabulary, I think. But not much beyond that. So, I think Duolingo can be a valuable tool in our arsenal, but not the only one.
From school days, I had always thought I was terrible with languages but using Duolingo for 5-6 months I had mastered basic Mandarin and was able.to use it on a trip around China. I have used other apps that are useful add.ons, e.g., Lingopie and Jumpspeak but are not as enjoyable as Duolingo. One exception is HelloChinese which is far more comprehensive and can take you to higher levels of learning but it is only for 1 language. Duolingo has also got me into good learning habitss, I am no longer chasing the leader board but do practice morning and night and now take it slower to explore and consolidate the learning. Pay for Duolingo. It is excellent value for money and far more effective than old school learning.
What you described is a very passive form of learning. It is not going to work, especially when we are not immersed in our target language. An app is not going to put a language in our brain just cause we open it 5 minutes a day and maintain a streak. Duolingo is only a tool, not to be used as a crutch.
I have been studying Spanish on Duolingo for three years. Whilst nowhere near fluent I find that I can hold a basic conversation and can understand pretty well as long as the speaker isn’t too rapid. Incidentally, it still is possible to revise old lessons just by scrolling back.
Here, it’s the same frustating situation. 2300 days and I still cant have a basic conversation in french. But Im in a better position than yours, I know how to count to 20.
They insist on a premium subscription but with my current results I dont find the necessary incentive to do it.
I will keep the owl app and my streak but I really dont have the joy and excitement i used to have when I started.
I will reach 2000 today in Spanish. I do pay for the basic, and I miss and resent the disappearance of the forums. That’s a huge hole but I can’t afford the AI fee right now. Am I fluent? No. I have a great vocabulary and a strong structural basis but I’m weak on composition and really weak on comprehension of a full speed native speaker. But it’s fun and part of my routine.
Ok 2000 day streak is good, but how many minutes or hours per day? If you do 1 or 2 3 minute lessons you won’t go far. I did German and Spanish for 1300+ days (I’m still at it) and I’m at B1 German and B2 Spanish. Ok, granted you that I was already fluent in Portuguese, do Spanish was easier for me, but still. But I’m doing it for an hour or more per day and complement with other apps, mainly reading and listening. What I mean is, the length of time devoted and commitment have a lot to do.
You’re absolutely right. It takes more commitment than the basic lesson(s) each day. I haven’t made the commitment consistently. Best of luck to you.
You know you can watch ads for 5 energy, right (and 2 energy every few hours for nothing)? Do a lesson, watch a couple of ads (that many are skippable after 5 seconds), and get back to full energy. There‘s no limit, so you could spend the entire day doing lessons without ever having to wait for recharges
You’re right about the new update of Duolingo. I hate it now, it’s annoying. Wish it go back to the way it was. Now it’s just about money, not about learning.
Yes I am also use duolingo .
I’m always amazed when people complain that they need to pay for a service. I believe that Duolingo’s annual fee of less than $200 a year for unlimited use is a very fair price. I’m also amazed when a student admits to spending 5 minutes a day studying and then expresses surprise that he cannot count beyond 10. The information is available for free through Google or many other sources. How can you not look that information up? Just out of curiosity, if nothing else.
To learn any subject matter, the student actually needs to put some effort into it.
After many years of fumbling in my attempt to learn Spanish, approximately four and a half years ago I started out with Duolingo. In the beginning, I was not a very good student. I got into the gamification of Duolingo. And admit to maintaining my current streak largely based on my reluctance to lose my streak. But, fundamentally, I want to be able to speak the language!
However, I shortly realized that, like learning any other subject matter, I would need to take notes and learn the language like I would learn the script of a play that I was participating in. I pay for Duolingo at its basic level, which is a little less than $100 a year as I recall. I lucked upon a program called DuoCards. It is a flashcard system that allows me to write out a Spanish or English sentence from my Duolingo lesson onto a flash card, with room for notes about the grammar or idiomatic phrase at the lower part of the card. (DuoCards apparently has no association with Duolingo. I used to use a spiral notebook, but find the DuoCards app preferable.) Using Duolingo and in conjunction with DuoCards (about $70 a year), and in conjugation with ConjuGato (a verb conjugation app which I believe I paid less than a one-time $10 fee for), and using Google to query why some grammatical structures are used, I have been given a great gift with Duolingo at its core.
A single lesson at any of the language institutes would cost more than each of the programs that I use.
I haven’t yet upgraded to the AI Duolingo Pro service. But, I will. I truly appreciate the addictive nature of Duolingo’s teaching style.
I usually spend 20 minutes or more a day. Sometimes, after a hard work day, I’m reluctant to spend the time, but overall I’m very grateful that this program exists to prompt me to do so.
I most definitely can communicate now at a very elemental level orally. I can read most beginning / intermediate Spanish stories. I bought two inexpensive English/Spanish Dual reader Kindle books containing short stories, and find that repetitive reading aloud of those stories helps me considerably.
I have no connection with Duolingo other than being a customer. I just was irritated by reading the blog written by the article’s author who admits to spending 5 minutes a day and expects any tutor / language program to magically teach him a language.
I have high hopes for the author. I hope he considers that he is much more capable of learning than what he has experienced/ demonstrated so far. Duolingo allows its customers to study multiple languages at one time, including chess, simple math, and very basic music for the same single low fee. I’m sure that if the author were to choose a language that he feels some affinity for, a culture that he would like to understand better, and a language that he has a realistic chance to speak given the population where he lives, he might be amazed at what he could accomplish with a new study plan. I wish him well.