all language learning features explained

July 14, 2021 Luisa Rey

Duolingo is the go toapp to learn a new language, but with all the options available, it’s not the most organized app. That is why we explain all the options for you.

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Contents

1 Guide: This is how Duolingo works

Guide: This is how Duolingo works

Since 2012, Duolingo has been a fun app to learn a new language. With the clear, short lessons you can speak a little about the border.

A lot has changed between 2012 and now. The app is barely recognizable and is bursting with crowns, hearts, stories, jewelery and a subscription. Can’t you see the forest for the trees? Then this article is made for you.

Choose a language

The basics of Duolingo have remained unchanged since the start: you choose a language and start your lessons. But what that looks like has changed a lot over time.

First of all, you now have a choice of many more languages. From Dutch you can learn German, English and French, but if you speak English you have much more choice. At the time of writing, you can learn nearly forty languages. There are even some fictional languages among them, such as Klingon (from Star Trek) and High Valyrian (from Game of Thrones).

It differs per language which options you get. For example, French and German are very extensive and with Japanese, for example, you can get extra information about the writing system and the associated sounds. Not all options that we discuss below can therefore be found with every language.

Lessons: all about crowns

The main part of Duolingo are the lessons. These are divided into topics, such as ‘greetings’ or ‘travels’. Tap a topic to take a lesson or test. You do a lesson to learn about the subject, while a test looks at how your knowledge is doing.

If you do more than one lesson, you will level up. When you complete a test, you immediately level up. With every level you go up you get a crown. The more crowns you have around a topic, the more difficult the questions become.

If a crack appears in the topic you’ve already learned, it’s time to see if you remember it all. You can also ignore this tear, because your crowns will not be taken away after obtaining it.

Have you got your hands on the first crown in a topic? Then you can move on to the next topic. You can always come back later to explore a subject further and earn more crowns.

Be careful not to lose too many hearts during classes, because otherwise you will have to get old skills practice again, or wait for these hearts to fill up automatically. Unless you subscribe to Duolingo Plus, more on that later.

Collect everything: XP and jewels

XP is the experience points you earn by doing everything in the app. This allows you to achieve goals and earn medals. You can also compare yourself with your friends.

In addition, there is a leaderboard in which you compete against unknown Duolingo users. If you are in the top, you will be promoted to a higher division. So for example from silver to gold.

Jewelery is the currency of Duolingo. Previously they were lingots mentioned. You earn jewels by taking classes and reaching your daily goal. You then spend these jewels in the store. There you can buy useful and funny things.

For example, it is possible to buy hearts to protect your streak. You do this if you think it is important that the app keeps track of your learning every day. You can also buy packs for the green owl Duo. Especially nice is that you can buy bonus skills. For example, a short course in French flirting.

Also interesting: The 3 best apps for learning a new language

Duolingo Stories and Audio Lessons

Sure enough, even Duolingo now has Stories. At least, in a limited number of languages. Instead of the Stories on Instagram or Facebook, the Duolingo Stories don’t consist of short videos from users. In this case, they are short stories with words that you have largely learned. As you listen and read these stories, answer some questions about what you just heard. Educational and fun.

Audio lessons are also available in a limited number of languages. These are short lessons of a few minutes in which you are taught a little more about the language. For example, how to pronounce a word really well.

Your profile: Together with your friends

In Duolingo you can also compete against your friends. Do that in your profile, where you also post a picture of yourself and find statistics about yourself. You invite friends via Facebook, by sending them a message, or by searching by username, name or email address.

A ranking shows you how much XP your friends have earned. If you tap on a friend, you will see their stats.

You will also find the achievements on your profile page. These are challenges you’ve completed, such as a seven-day streak or a certain amount of XP. Once you have completed these challenges, exchange them for jewels on this page.

Also read: The 5 best apps to learn to read and write Chinese

Duolingo Plus

You can also subscribe to Duolingo: Duolingo Plus. All ads will then be removed. You also get unlimited hearts, so you can make unlimited mistakes.

You can also protect your monthly streak with Duolingo Plus if you forgot to use Duolingen for a day. And one of the most useful options is that you can progress through lessons much faster by taking unlimited tests. Ideal if you already have some command of the language.

These are a lot of advantages, but they also come with a high price tag. After a 14-day trial, Duolingo Plus costs 10.49 per month or 89.99 euros per year.