hello ๐
โ
we all know Duolingo is famed for being free
but, like everything nowadays, it's got some paid tiers that owly really, really, realllllly wants you to consider
(not that he's pushy or anything)
these paid tiers - namely, Super and Max - promise to enhance the free experience by adding some new features and removing some annoying ones ๐จ
โ
but here's the thing:
these features don't take you any closer to fluency ๐คจ
they just give you a bit more freedom to actually use the app
โ
free users know the struggle all too well...
- running out of hearts and being banished from the path
- hitting up timed challenges but running out of gems after attempt number two
- constant ads delaying those smooth transitions between lessons
โ
it's a real faff.
โ
but for paid users -- no such problems exist ๐
โ
this brings forth a number of implications, not least in the way Duolingo's weekly leagues unfold...
what's the best way to win your league?๐ค
we all know by now that it has nothing to do with learning your language
the most dedicated, steadfast learners are not rewarded in this arena
โ
instead, they're left scratching their sweaty heads wondering where they're going wrong:
โ
"here I am, spending all this time learning, all this time completing lessons, all this time moving forward through my path...
yet I just can't keep up in my league.
what in tarnation am I doing wrong?! ๐ฉ"
โ
for such users, the frustration is palpable
โ
like the indignant schoolboy who spends his entire weekend studying for his math test... only to do worse than his lazy classmate who spent his weekend playing Call of Duty and binging Prison Break for the umpteenth time
โ
well, here's the kicker:
on Duolingo, hard work doesn't pay off
(not in the leagues, anyway)
devoting your time to learning won't take you to the top of your weekly leaderboard...
โ
so what will?
it is here that the game starts to overtake the learning
where the means to the end becomes the end itself
a weird metamorphosis from help to hinderance ๐ง
โ
the easiest way to shoot to the top of your league is, obviously, to earn more xp than everyone else around you -- and to do so as quickly as possible
โ
and the best way to do this (that doesn't involve cheating)? ๐ค
โ
timed challenges โฑ๏ธ
โ
match madness is the sauciest of sauces for this
cruise up to those latter levels and you can easily bag yourself 60 xp every couple of minutes
better still, throw a fat triple xp boost into the mix and that becomes close to 200...
โ
it's mental
and Super and Max members have the golden ticket to exploit this again, and again, and again
because while free members must part with their precious gems to attempt a timed challenge, paying members do not
it's a real rinse, recycle, repeat situation
available to the privileged few... off limits to the rest
โ
there's no skill to it
((no language-learning skill, anyway))
it's just an easy way to farm xp faster than you can say "French or the trench" โ
โ
to give paying members unfettered access to this is, therefore, to give them a glaring advantage in the league stakes
โ
but what does it really prove anyway? ๐คท
suppose I top my league this week because I spend all my time rinsing match madness for all its worth...
so what?
does it mean I'm a better language learner than poor, old, demotion-zone Susan, who, by comparison, spends her week battling the heart system to push through her path?
of course it doesn't
it just means I'm using my Duolingo Max steroids to exploit loopholes in the game, not because I'm learning my language any better ๐
โ
winning my league in this way would be like Liverpool winning the Premier League because they downed the most bottles of Lucozade
sure, it's a win
but just as their triumph would have nothing to do with their footballing ability, mine would have nothing to do with my language-learning ability
โ
Duolingo is pay to win
but winning at what, exactly? ๐ค
it certainly isn't learning a language
that is a victory that can only be achieved by truly immersing yourself in the language,
getting to know it, inside and out, rather than mindlessly chasing some arbitrary points.
โ
that's why I'm always banging on about LingQโ
โ
these days I'm spending about 10-15 minutes on Duolingo before switching across to LingQ for some proper German immersion
those 10-15 minutes working through my Duolingo path ensures i'm picking up new vocab and grammar concepts in a structured environment,
while the time I spend on LingQ allows me to see it all in context and better commit it to memory ๐ช
every day is one step closer to fluency ๐
โ
the ultimate win in my book.
โ
๐คช Weird Duolingo ๐คช
Bears seem to do the strangest things in the Duolingo universe.
Ta to Lorenzo and Scott for this one:
When a bear finds his soulmate, downward dog is just the beginning... ๐ป๐ง
|
Seen a weird-ass sentence? Let me know... and it could feature in a future newsletter!