What Can Duolingo Teach You About Creating an Addictive Course? -

Duolingo has developed an online learning experience that's enjoyable and effective. Learn how you can apply the best aspects of its software to your course.

About 433 weeks ago I signed up for an account for myself on Duolingo to the very first time. I'm aware of the exact date since that's what my streak runs. Since then I've spent most of my time with the mobile version of their app as well as trying out the classes for Spanish, Russian, German as well as Korean.

Indeed they do! Duolingo does not come without flaws however, it provides a learning experience that offers a far easier on-ramp to trying out a new language than any of its rivals (that I've tried). The most important thing is that the experiences it offers are useful that can be used by educators from other fields as well. If you're in the market for the most engaging online learning experiences, Duolingo offers a powerful model.

Five observations I've made that can apply to any course that uses e-learning.

1. Utilize a variety of forms of gaming, as much as possible.

Gamification refers to the process of ensuring that learning objectives are tied to certain purposes or triggers that motivate learners or create competition. Duolingo is notable not just because it uses gamification effectively, but for deploying gamification in a variety of ways. Some of the ones I've seen are:

• streaks. Not wanting to be able to lose my streak is the #1 reason I'm still in the application. No joke.
• Points. Duolingo lets learners establish a daily target for points in addition to linking points with other elements of gamification.
• The leaderboards are HTML0. I don't compete in a race for the top spot each week however, whenever I have to, I find the challenge exciting.
• Leagues. Early on, my drive to get to the top league helped me continue my winning streak. I kept coming back until I was in my Diamond league, and now each time I fall from the diamond league, the desire to return to the high motivates me to play once more.
• Badges. I had to make it to the diamond league to obtain the badge of diamond league. Then I had to be the winner of the diamond league in order to get that badge. The next step is to win a crown in every skill in a course so that I can earn the Conqueror badge. See how it never ends?
• Crowns. Earning crowns provides a satisfying sense of achievement. It is fun to check off boxes.
• Challenges that are timed. Timed challenges add a new level of difficulty, but the also improve the speed of recall. Speaking in a spoken language there is a need for you be able to form phrases that follow the correct grammar pattern under pressure. This is a fantastic example of how gamification is also a great tool for real-world learning goals.

It supports a variety games natively, and others can be achieved through modifications or by adding additional features. As an example, students can earn points from tests, and points may be tied to leaderboards or you can put a time limit on exams, and badges could be awarded when the learner takes a specific action.

2. Be forgiving of mistakes.

I'd have ended my 433-day streak somewhere around Day 100, if not because of Duolingo's streak thawing. At first this felt somewhat like cheating but the reality is: sometimes life happens. In the event that I ended a streak of 100 days in due to a problem arise at work or due to personal tragedy, the loss of the streak could seem pretty demoralizing, to the point that I might actually quit the app.

Duolingo also keeps track of your mistakes so that you can practice those sentences again for an extra boost in points. So, it's always a chance to get back up in Duolingo. Mistakes aren't permanent, they're just an area that needs some more time. In the event that life gets in the way of your progress for just a bit then there's no reason to punish you for it.

3. Prioritize mobility--and flexibility.

Instructions in Duoliongo rarely take more than five minutes. It means that you'll have plenty of time to accomplish a lesson, and when the content is interesting, almost always a reason to go on with several.

But, since the material is so short and so mobile, there are also times when I've found myself trying to finish a class in public spaces that it's suitable to repeat words of phrases out loud. Duolingo can help by providing alternatives that state "I can't listen right now," or "I can't use my voice in this moment." The learners can remain engaged in their studies regardless of whether they're in a noisy or congested space.

4. Learn a variety of abilities using a range of learning styles.

In the beginning, when I began using Duolingo, the lessons involved translating sentences back and forth using or without a word bank. Sometimes , I would have to hear a phrase before writing down the information I heard. Or I was asked to read a sentence out loud so the app could assess my speaking. Mostly, the questions followed a few basic formats.

Since then, Duolingo has expanded question formats and provided new kinds of learning exercises. Their most popular courses include the "stories" section, which includes builds reading comprehension skills. There are also audio-based lessons that help build listening comprehension. In fact, the standard lessons include longer audio quests where students must listen attentively for long periods of time, and respond to a question regarding what they heard.

These diverse question type cover three of four major aspects of learning languages: reading, writing, speaking and listening. Only speaking, which would likely require a one-on-1 conversation with a instructor, isn't covered.

In the end, the diversity of different types of content creates an exciting and enjoyable experience. A year ago I was getting tired of switching sentences back and forth. As I age, I am tired of the normal lessons, I can switch it around with different types of materials.

You can do the same by offering different content types--or making use of a wide range of problem types when building your tests. includes a number of different question types, including multiple choice, single choice (true false) as well as fill-in the-blank, matching, sorting, and essay.

5. Always strive to be innovative.

In the end, if there's a single aspect I've never failed to be amazed by the Duolingo application, it's the fact that over the years I've been using it its features have only grown. Each month, it seems they upgrade their features to provide a more enjoyable learning experience. They've created challenging new tasks, created an array of characters to enhance their story and have also expanded their badges. They've created additional formats for questions, as well as launched daily and monthly points challenges featuring a unique gamification incentive.

Being a user, I get the impression that the way I'm using the app is creating an positive feedback loop which enhances my experience of the application over time. This is a very enthralling experience.

Of course, most educators don't have the resources to create a professional app like Duolingo. On a more modest level, you could pay close attention to the students who provide feedback, and always look for ways to improve the experience that learners get from your class. If you're always staying fresh and up-to-date, you'll be able to avoid being caught off guard by your competitors.

It requires time and effort to develop an engaging online learning process, however the return is enormous.

Duolingo has its fans and its detractors. Myself I am frustrated because the Spanish learning process is getting more and more lengthy and the Russian courses aren't as well-developed. Some languages, such as Korean, don't have nearly enough support for learning and writing with the alphabet, and I'm worried that the other languages are being added in a hurry, more as a show rather than an actual education experience.

But, it cannot be disregarded that Duolingo is more invested in making a positive experience for their users over any other educational program I've ever experienced. It does this with an obsessive focus on UX, UI, and the data of its users. The focus on data and UX has not only led to a better-loved app, but it actually assists learners achieve their learning objectives.

After one year of Duo's Spanish course, during which I've obsessively tried to reach the highest level of each skill, I've barely reached Checkpoint 2. However, the other day I had a short conversation in Spanish with two of my friends, one who had taken Duo's Spanish course, and one of them is an ESL teacher of primarily speaking Spanish students. One of my teachers asked me about our plans for the morning, and I talked about the ingredients that I have in my fridge and offered to make breakfast.

It's not a huge win however, nothing beats a win that makes you want to keep going.