Duolingo : 1000 days tips and myths.

After achieving my 1000-Day Streak on Duolingo ?? i decided to celebrate this milestone by sharing some tips and insights on learning with this app, addressing common objections and myths often associated with it:

1. "Duolingo isn't the best place to learn":

While it may not be the ultimate tool for mastering a language, Duolingo is fantastic for those who want to learn consistency and commitment!

If you're busy or have been wanting to start learning for a while but couldn’t commit, Duolingo’s tricks won’t just introduce you to the language in a fun and quick way; it will also help you build a habit, and that's all you need at the beginning, as for many, sources of information are enormous, but the will to start something and finish it until the end is the hard part.

Also Duolingo’s experts excel in psychological techniques, that makes the learning process more it efficient.

2. "Duolingo's lessons/words are useless, not what I'm looking for":

Honestly, I thought this at first, but spending more time with it made me realize that the lessons are designed for long-term retention rather than immediate needs.

Just like traditional language lessons that start with “hello, how are you,” or “what’s your name” (basic conversations you can easily find and learn), Duolingo tend to include some random phrases or words in the early lessons!

I find this approach clever because it shows you how your conversation in an advanced level conversations might look like, giving you a deep preview of the language, and engages you to keep learning until you reach a level where the vocabulary becomes more relevant.

so yes, the lessons contain useful words if you’re patient enough to complete them :) and If you already know the basics, you can skip initial lessons or units with a mini test.

Also, Duolingo is incredibly helpful if you want to learn the writing system of a new language.

For languages that require memorizing new characters, like Chinese, Japanese, Hindi, or Russian, Duolingo offers excellent lessons focused on writing, pronunciation, and retention. While many apps teach kanji or Chinese characters, none (except Duolingo) cover pronunciation as precisely, helping learners distinguish sounds like à, ā, á, and a in pinyin, for example.

3. "Why do you have many languages in your profile?":

My method of learning multiple languages simultaneously (Russian, Hindi, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Korean, Turkish, and more) might be unconventional for many people, that's because you choose your way of learning based on your goal/brain.

So, if you're a multitasking neurodivergent aiming to be a polyglot by 40, my approach might actually benefit you! And here's why

Knowing some basics from childhood; focusing on a language for a time then moving totally to another one makes me forget the first languages! So switching between languages prevented me from forgetting them entirely.

Also, as someone who thrives on multitasking and enjoys long-term learning, this approach keeps me engaged and excited about which language I’ll use each day.

Additionally, Learning multiple languages has trained my brain to understand and auto-extract grammar and patterns from any new language i meet without formal lessons, helping me recognize similarities, which is both enjoyable and rewarding.

For instance, commonalities in numbers and characters between Chinese and Japanese or shared words in Hindi and Turkish make the process fascinating. Additionally, having basic knowledge of many languages can be useful whenever needed, rather than being entirely unfamiliar/clueless.

4. "I don’t have time to learn":

Languages are my hobby, and I balance them with my studies and other projects. Consistency -even at a slow pace-, is key. Learning just one word a day may seem insignificant, but over time, it’s far better than not learning at all. Spending just 10 minutes daily can yield impressive results.

5. Additional Tips:

Duolingo's articles, created by specialists using psychological strategies, provide added learning support through writing, listening, and speaking exercises, they are often interesting tbh i recommend checking them.

Moreover, Duolingo’s creative and effective marketing strategies are inspiring. Companies looking to advertise their products could learn a lot from them!

In the end, while Duolingo offers many benefits, using it alone isn’t enough to fully master a language. Combining it with other resources—teachers, books, media, and conversations with native speakers—will enhance your learning, exposing you to slang and expressions you won’t find elsewhere.

What about you? Which platforms do you find most useful for language learning? Let’s share our experiences and journeys!

Thank you for reading, and I hope the article was helpful!