What can Duolingo teach you About Creating an Addictive Course? -

Duolingo has developed an online learning experience that's rewarding and productive. This is how you can incorporate its most effective features to your learning.

433 weeks ago I made an account at Duolingo to the very first time. I'm aware of the exact date as that's the length of my streak is. Since then I've mostly spent my time using the mobile version of their app as well as trying out the courses offered in Spanish, Russian, German, and Korean.

Indeed they do! Duolingo has its faults however, it provides the opportunity to learn and provides 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 user experience offers lessons to teachers in different areas as well. If you're interested in delivering a more engaging elearning user experience Duolingo provides a compelling approach.

Below are five observations that I've come across that could be applied to almost any elearning course.

1. Make use of all kinds of games As much as you can.

Gamification refers to the process of ensuring that learning objectives have a connection to particular functions or triggers in ways which reward students or encourage the spirit of competition. Duolingo is notable not just for using gamification well however, it also uses games in various methods. The ones I've identified are:

• Streaks. Not wanting to lose my streak is the main reason why I'm on the app. No joke.
• Points. Duolingo lets learners set a daily point goal as well as tie points with other elements of gamification.
• The leaderboards are HTML0. I don't compete in a race for the top spot each week, but when I participate, I find the challenge exciting.
• Leagues. Early on, my determination to be in the top league was instrumental in helping me maintain my streak. This kept me returning until I was in my Diamond league, and now whenever I get out of the diamond league, my desire to return to the top gets me to compete with the same intensity.
• 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 the badge. The next step is to win the highest grade in each skill within a class so that I will get that Conqueror badge. See how it never ends?
• Crowns. Earning crowns provides a satisfying sense of achievement. It is fun to check off boxes.
• Timed challenges. Timed challenges add an additional level of challenge however they also increase recall speed. In spoken language there is a need for you to create phrases that follow the correct grammar structure under time pressure. This is a fantastic example of how gamification could also be used to help with real-life educational goals.

It supports a variety types of gamification features with ease, but others can be accomplished through tweaks or by adding additional features. For instance, learners get points for taking quizzes, points can be linked to a leaderboard, you can set a time limit on tests, and badges may be awarded when a learner does a particular task.

2. Don't be afraid to forgive mistakes.

I would have lost my 433-day streak somewhere around Day 100 had it not been because of Duolingo's streak thawing. At first this felt somewhat like cheating however the reality is that there are times when life gets in the way. If I had been unable to keep a streak for 100 days into because I had a crisis that came up at work or due to personal tragedy, the loss of that streak would be pretty demoralizing--so much so that I might actually quit the app.

Duolingo is also able to keep the record of any mistakes you make so that you can repeat those phrases for additional XP. So, it's always a chance to get back up in Duolingo. Mistakes aren't permanent, they're just an area that needs a little more practice. And if life gets out of the way of learning for a little bit, there's no need to punish you for it.

3. Prioritize mobility--and flexibility.

Instructions on Duoliongo seldom last more than five minutes. That means that there's always enough time for completing a lesson, and when you're able to engage with the material, almost always a reason to take multiple.

The content is so brief and flexible, there have been times when I've found myself trying to finish a class in a public area in which it's not appropriate to be repeating sentences out loud. Duolingo solves this issue by giving choices that read "I can't listen right now," or "I can't use my voice right now." This lets learners keep learning even in crowd or in a busy area.

4. Explore a wide range of capabilities using a variety of learning methods.

When I started using Duolingo, their lessons mostly included transcribing sentences back and forward either with or without word bank. At times, I was asked to listen to a sentence before writing down what I heard, or I'd be required to read a sentence out loud so the app could test my pronunciation. The questions generally followed the same basic format.

Since its launch, Duolingo has expanded question format and introduced new types of exercises for learning. The most well-known courses are the "stories" section that helps to improve reading comprehension. They also have recordings to help develop listening comprehension. In fact, the standard lessons contain longer audio quests, where learners have to listen carefully for long periods of time, and respond to a question regarding what they heard.

In total, the various questions kinds cover three of the four major aspects of learning languages: reading, writing, speaking and listening. Only speaking, which would probably require a one-on-one conversation instructor, isn't covered.

In the end, the diversity of content types makes for a more interesting and engaging experience. One year ago, I quickly grew tired of switching phrases back and forth. When I get bored of my normal classes I'm able to change it around with different types of materials.

The same can be done by providing different types of content or making use of a wide range of different types of questions when creating your quizzes. includes a number of different kinds of questions, such as multiple choice, single choice (true false) and fill-in-the-blank. Other options include matching, sorting, and essay.

5. Always be innovating.

In the end, if there's a single that I've always been amazed by the Duolingo application, it's the fact that over the years I've been using it its features have only grown. It seems like each month they upgrade their features to provide a more enjoyable learning experience. They've introduced new challenges, added the characters they've introduced that enhance their narratives, expanded their badges, created additional formats for questions, as well as launched daily and monthly point challenges, each having their own unique reward for gamification.

For me, as a user, get the impression that the manner in which I use this app has created a positive feedback loop that enhances my experience of the application over time. This is a very enthralling feeling.

However, many teachers aren't equipped to create a professional application like Duolingo. However, on a less scale, you can be attentive to the students who provide feedbackand constantly look for ways to improve the learner experience of the course. If you're never bored and up-to-date, you'll be able to avoid being caught by competitors.

It's a lot of work and time to create an engaging elearning process, however the return is huge.

Duolingo has its fans and detractors. For my part I am frustrated because it seems that the Spanish course keeps getting longer, while the Russian program is still in the beginning stages of development. Certain languages, like Korean aren't equipped with enough resources to support learning and writing with the alphabet. In addition, I am concerned that some languages are being added in a hurry, more to show off than actually a education experiences.

But, it cannot be denied that Duolingo has put more effort into providing a superior learning experience for its users over any other educational course I've experienced, and it has achieved this through an obsessive focus on UX, UI, and information about users. It's not just led to an app that is more addicting, but one that actually aids learners reach their goals of learning.

After one year of Duo's Spanish course, during which I've been determined to get to the highest level of each ability, I'm only at Checkpoint 2. But the other day, I had a short discussion in Spanish with two of my friends, one who had taken Duo's Spanish course, and one of them is a ESL teacher who teaches mostly Spanish-speaking students. The teacher asked me about our plans for the morning, and I talked about the ingredients I had in my refrigerator and offered to cook breakfast for them.

It's not a huge win it's not a huge one, but nothing is more satisfying than a win to make you want to go on.