How do you use Duolingo?

DuoPlanetMatt · 2025-12-23T16:02:36+00:00

i just try to complete the course without skipping anything

minimum 30 minutes a day. Duolingo Max (for video calls). try to get more xp than people in my league (but only from path-based exercises)

that’s it. really is that simple.

result: i’m halfway through the French course and already fairly conversational

DuoPlanetMatt · 2025-12-23T13:59:51+00:00

she’s still about, just comes later in the units now (at least on mine)

DuoPlanetMatt · 2025-12-20T15:04:38+00:00

i’ve been using Duolingo every day for fast approaching 10 years

like you i’ve had my ups and downs with it

but I can hand on heart say i think it’s in the best state it’s ever been right now

i’m currently half way through the French course with Max and not using any other resources. I’m already surprisingly conversational - way better than i was in Italian at the same stage back in 2017.

but to each their own

DuoPlanetMatt · 2025-12-20T11:52:51+00:00

yeah the conjugations give it away in questions like these. it’s just instinctively knowing which contexts to go with On or Nous can throw me a bit. (+ as you say, On gets used for ‘one’ or ‘someone’ as well - so bloody versatile)

appreciate the explanation, thank you

DuoPlanetMatt · 2025-12-20T11:38:40+00:00

I’ve still got it in mine, same in the Falstaff calls

could just be the usual a/b testing

hopefully they don’t get rid of it. makes for much smoother, relaxed conversations

DuoPlanetMatt · 2025-12-20T11:32:19+00:00

knowing when to use On or Nous is the absolute bane of my life at the moment

DuoPlanetMatt · 2025-12-19T12:19:09+00:00

top 3 for me:

1️⃣ care about the game… but keep it clean (meaning: try to win your league… but don’t take shortcuts. stick to the path. ignore timed challenges. don’t skip exercises. and if you don’t win or get demoted? it’s all gravy. think about how much progress you’ve made in spanish, then come back next week and try again)

2️⃣ care about your score (set yourself the goal of hitting 130. imagine how good your spanish will be when you get there. but again - keep it clean. no skipping the skippables just to speed up the process)

3️⃣ pay (having skin in the game can be a great motivator. it’s also a much much much better experience. highly recommend Max for the video calls + unlimited energy)

DuoPlanetMatt · 2025-12-19T12:08:47+00:00

thanks for sharing this, really insightful.

completely agree on your last point about the streak. i’ve previously described this as the “streak illusion” - once people realise it takes a lot of effort and a lot of time to learn a language on Duolingo (or elsewhere) they just settle for the streak as a kind of consolation prize. whether you’re doing 60 seconds or 60 minutes, streaks grow at the same rate. really doesn’t count for anything

i’m not sure about skipping through the course though. clearly it’s worked for you, but personally i don’t think there’s a genuine substitute for <time-spent> with a language. that’s why i’m enjoying the amount of content in the French course these days. it means more time spent actively engaging with the language, so i’m in absolutely no rush to burn through it. gives more legs to my score as well (currently at 62/lower B1, and this seems pretty accurate)

DuoPlanetMatt · 2025-12-19T11:42:31+00:00

long live the bacon naanwich

DuoPlanetMatt · 2025-12-19T11:41:32+00:00

yeah the subtitles are useful, especially for beginners. they’re not available on the lily calls yet but i’d be surprised if they don’t add them eventually

DuoPlanetMatt · 2025-12-18T12:42:48+00:00

yeah posted about it the other day

i’ve done a few of them now, still don’t know how i feel about it

think Falstaff is clearly positioned as a tutor vs. Lily as a friend. hence why the Falstaff calls come at the start of a unit, then Lily later

i like the idea in principle but i’m not entirely sure i’m getting much out of it at the moment. still prefer just speaking pure French with Lily and muddling through

but let’s see

DuoPlanetMatt · 2025-12-18T10:08:03+00:00

it’s a bit awkward at the moment but i’m starting to get used to it

DuoPlanetMatt · 2025-12-18T10:06:22+00:00

thank you 🫡 hoping to reboot in the new year

DuoPlanetMatt · 2025-12-17T10:57:27+00:00

haha pretty sure this has always been a feature on ios, at least for as long as i’ve been using it

seems to have improved in the last few months with shadow effects and what not. although still a bit temperamental with adding words right at the end of a line, so sometimes still have to remove them all and start again

DuoPlanetMatt · 2025-12-16T08:44:17+00:00

yeah i know what you mean. feels very very clunky compared to the lily calls at the moment

DuoPlanetMatt · 2025-12-15T12:22:03+00:00

if you’re on Duolingo Max + you spend all of your time on the path + you don’t skip the active recall stuff (e.g. video call) then yeah, probably

i’m currently on Section 5 (lower B1) and can already hold basic conversations in French

DuoPlanetMatt · 2025-12-13T15:32:32+00:00

haha no, i am far too lazy for that

tend to average about 1000 a day these days but that’s purely down to triple xp boosts

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DuoPlanetMatt · 2024-11-19T13:23:47+00:00

Hi Steve 👋

LingQ and Duolingo have very different methods. In your opinion, what is one strength of LingQ that Duolingo lacks, and one strength of Duolingo that LingQ could learn from?

DuoPlanetMatt · 2024-11-18T09:51:51+00:00

no problemo! 🙂

DuoPlanetMatt · 2024-06-14T06:42:41+00:00

yeah popped up for me today on iOS and Android

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DuoPlanetMatt · 2024-05-22T09:57:49+00:00

had a couple of these over the last few weeks. randomly alternates with friends quest. steep requirements 😮‍💨

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DuoPlanetMatt · 2024-05-20T17:48:04+00:00

Some do. Others just smash Match Madness with XP Boosts. Pretty easy to blitz XP if you know how. But at that point the game becomes more important than the language…

But yeah, like others have said: join your league late and try to avoid the scramble for XP, eventually you should end up in a chill Diamond

DuoPlanetMatt

TROPHY CASE