It’s been twenty-two months since I started using Duolingo to learn Spanish. The app “gamifies” learning, making it more interesting and fun at the expense of a bit of rigor. But it keeps me coming back, day after day, to make sure I keep my streak.
Well, I just hit 100,000 experience points!
My “streak” is a little over six hundred days strong, and this week is also the one-year mark of being in the diamond (top) league.
I think these little psychological tricks– points and streaks and leagues– are a brilliant way to engage people, and I admit I’m influenced by them. At the same time, I think my Spanish is improving more just being in El Centro, surrounded by native speakers and working with some other apps and tools.
But still, I’ll be back to Duolingo again tomorrow. Gotta keep that streak alive.