Lessons Learned: 1,000 Days of Duolingo

Thursday, April 22, 2021, I completed a Duolingo lesson in Mandarin Chinese. I didn’t think much of the lesson or the app at the time — I just wanted to practice my Mandarin. Earlier this year, I celebrated my 1000-day streak. Now, I’d like to offer some insights I’ve uncovered during my lengthy relationship with Duolingo. Amidst the sea of daily lessons and owl-themed notifications, valuable lessons have emerged.

Lesson 1: Duolingo is great! Kind of…

Is Duolingo useful? Useless? Over the years, many reviews have weighed their opinions with in-depth analyses, so I’ll keep this part short. For me, Duolingo has been a great way of practicing and brushing up on languages. However, I wouldn’t say I’ve learned too much — I haven’t built much new language knowledge. As much as I’ve dreamed of mastery in various languages, I’m not a polyglot. I’ve tried to learn new languages on the app, but with little success, even over a long time.

However, Duolingo has been useful in some regards. As a heritage Spanish speaker, Duolingo was helpful for maintaining my listening and reading skills when I didn’t have significant exposure to Spanish during high school. I greatly appreciated the opportunity to practice the language when it wasn’t spoken much around me. Now that I live in Los Angeles and Spanish is more prevalent in my life, I generally don’t use Duolingo for Spanish.

I learned Mandarin for some years in elementary school but generally didn’t remember too much — I was quite young. But I remember I loved the language. Duolingo allowed me to re-engage with Mandarin as I had many “Oh I remember that!” moments while rediscovering words that I had forgotten. These instances of reconnection have been gratifying, thanks to my prior Mandarin education. Duolingo served not only as a refresher but also as a platform to build upon my initial exposure to Mandarin.

Lesson 2: Languages as connection

On Oxy’s move-in day, I learned that one of my randomly assigned roommates was from Chongqing, China and spoke Mandarin as his first language. We were able to converse in Mandarin — albeit with my very limited range. I remembered how to introduce myself with my name in Chinese: 朱利安.

From that day on, we’ve connected and grown close — and language is a part of that connection. Over the school year, we have sung songs in Chinese that I had forgotten that I knew and greeted each other with 新年快乐 (Happy New Year!). He’ll also practice his Spanish with me — he even got on Duolingo to practice as well. So, beyond the app, I’ve experienced the lesson that language is all about connection.

On Duolingo, I’ve skimmed the surface of French, Turkish and Japanese to begin opening doors to diverse cultures. The foundations I built through language learning became the building blocks for meaningful connections.

This semester, beginning formal French studies has been a smoother journey due to my prior experience. Comfort in the classroom setting was a testament to the effective language exposure on Duolingo. However, the real test will be studying abroad in France (ideally)…

Similarly, my attempts at Japanese allowed me to loosely converse with friends, bridging cultural gaps through shared phrases and expressions. A chance discussion with a Turkish friend about the meaning of “ekmek” (bread) and its dual significance as a verb (to plant, sow) revealed the cross-cultural depth of connection that language can facilitate.

Short of achieving functional fluency, the effort invested in navigating a foreign language has served as a universal currency for building bridges. In pursuit of communication, I’ve discovered that the value lies not only in the words spoken, but also in the effort made to connect, learn and appreciate the richness of language.

Lesson 3: The gamification of education

Why on Earth did I complete a Duolingo language lesson for 1,047 days in a row? I’d point to gamification — the application of typical elements of game-playing to other contexts. In my case, it’s been the key to maintaining engagement in Duolingo.

Distinctly game-esque, Duolingo’s weekly league leaderboard tapped into my inner competitive side. I never wanted to see my name and profile fall to the bottom of the leaderboard. Being at the top of the leaderboard, especially when competing with friends, became a source of motivation. Practicing a language transformed from a task into a competitive, and strangely enjoyable, endeavor.

Duolingo’s level system created an additional layer of incentive. The prospect of “leveling up” became another challenge to embrace. Similarly, the concept of a streak added an additional layer to this gamified experience by transforming my studies into a daily game, incentivizing consistency and streak growth.

The concept of gamification extends beyond language learning; it offers meaningful insights for us college students in our academic journeys. Inspired by Duolingo, I’ve come to view my undergraduate studies as an arena to “level up” within. As a first-year, hopeful Diplomacy and World Affairs major, I find myself on level one in my introductory class. This is just the beginning of a new game. Equipped with the lessons from Duolingo, I am determined to lock in and level up — aspiring to reach my worldly goals.

The gamification of education, as exemplified by Duolingo, has taught me that learning is not merely about the destination but the challenges and sense of accomplishment along the way. The gamified approach has made the pursuit of knowledge an adventure — a series of quests to conquer. It’s a lesson that we students can apply to our formal studies, turning our academic endeavors into a captivating game of growth and achievement.

Lesson 4: Finding Sisyphus, absurdism, and beauty in everyday life

In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was an awful tyrant who angered the gods and was thus condemned to eternal punishment. His punishment was to roll an immense boulder up a hill only for it to roll back down every time it neared the top, repeating this action for eternity. Nowadays, we hear the word Sisyphean, which is used to describe tasks that are laborious, reiterated and futile.

Is Duolingo Sisyphean? Duolingo is indeed laborious (requires effort), reiterated (completed every day) and futile (I’ve been doing this for 1,000+ days, and I am barely bilingual). Is it thus meaningless?

French philosopher Albert Camus offered an interesting take on Sisyphus’ predicament. Camus asserted that “one must imagine Sisyphus as happy.” In other words, we should find happiness in the process. Camus, with his exploration of the absurd in his seminal work, “The Myth of Sisyphus,” invites us to consider that the struggle itself can be a source of meaning.

This argument finds unexpected resonance in my daily Duolingo endeavors. Maybe it’s not about standing at the linguistic summit of fluency in many languages, but rather finding joy in the ascent itself. In embracing the absurdism of the language learning app, I’ve uncovered beauty in the ritual, a rhythm in the repetition. The absurdity of rolling the language boulder uphill each day becomes a peculiar exercise and a celebration of the mundane. The repetition of daily Duolingo practice, moreover, serves as a testament to dedication and identity formation.

As I reflect on my streak of over three years, the Sisyphean nature of Duolingo takes on a new light. It’s not just about language acquisition; it’s a vote cast for my identity. The consistent effort — despite the distant horizon of mastering multiple languages — reaffirms my pursuit of knowledge. I try to shift from being a user of a language app to my identity as a language learner in a process of self-actualization.

So, is Duolingo truly Sisyphean? Perhaps. Duolingo may not be the gateway to fluency. But in the absurdity of its repetitive nature, I’ve found a peculiar joy in the daily Duolingo odyssey — a meaning in the absurd. The boulder rolls and I level up over a thousand days. In the Sisyphean repetition, I’ve found a strange solace — a reminder that sometimes, the meaning lies not in the destination but in the journey itself. The real fluency was the lessons we learned along the way.

Contact Julian Villa at jvilla@oxy.edu