To optimize your learning, aim to spend between 15 and 30 minutes on the app each day. If you're struggling to commit a decent amount of time to your learning, try breaking the time up throughout your day.
When signing up for Duolingo, you set a daily goal. You can choose between 5, 10, 15 or 20 minutes a day. Most of the Duolingo marketing touts “Spending 15 minutes a day learning a new language.” So, if you have 387.5 hours of material to get through – and you practice for 15 minutes a day – that's 1,550 days.
So, can Duolingo make you fluent? By itself, no. But when used in the right way, I would say it can — but this will depend entirely on your definition of fluency, the quality of your language course, and whether you actually use the language away from Duolingo.
You have to practice your language on Duolingo every day. If you break your streak, you will be back to zero. But there is a way to solve the winning it back.
There isn't an official number of how much XP it takes to be fluent in a language by using Duolingo. However, you can use your language levels and the Duome to figure out how many vocabulary words you have learned which can be an indicator of how close you are to fluency.
Casual is one lesson per day, Regular is two, Serious is three, and Insane is five lessons in a day. I have my daily goal set to Serious, which requires completing three lessons daily, but I'll often do more lessons if I have the time, typically around five or six.
And this comes from a lack of human interaction and real speaking practice. So, no, you can't become fluent with Duolingo alone. But, if you pair it with other resources, it can be an amazing tool to boost your studies as a beginner to intermediate learner.
The biggest difference between Babbel and Duolingo is the approach to language learning. Babbel is a better option if you want traditional language instructions through modules and lessons. By contrast, Duolingo works great if you need a playful, gamified experience.
If you miss a day while a streak freeze is active, your streak will remain exactly the same, meaning you won't lose it, but you won't gain a day either. For a streak freeze to work, you need to have one active before missing a day.
If you are experiencing issues with speaking exercises in the Duolingo Android app, please check for the following settings/permissions: Speaking exercises toggled ON in the Duolingo Android app (Profile tab > Settings > Speaking exercises) Microphone permissions set to ALLOW for Duolingo in your Android settings.
Good for Practice, Not Always for Learning
Even with some of the well-developed courses, Duolingo may not be enough to completely teach a language to fluency. As mentioned earlier, Duolingo is great for getting a base in a language—but don't expect to get to advanced fluency on Duolingo alone.
“Hover” around several skills – spreading your time across a handful of nearby skills – and alternate between gaining crowns and doing new lessons. Hovering across multiple skills helps you maximize learning by practicing what you've already studied while continuing to learn new material.
According to an independent study conducted by the City University of New York and the University of South Carolina, an average of 34 hours of Duolingo are equivalent to a full university semester of language education. You can see a full report of the study here.
Now, that may sound like a lot, and it is, but know that each lesson is very short, taking only about 5 to 10 minutes to complete. So that's the program from a high level. Basically, there are different units you need to complete, and each unit consists of several stepping stones and lessons thereunder.
Once you complete and submit a test, you will need to wait for your results before taking a new test. You may purchase three tests in any 30 day period.
Our research shows that if people advance too quickly on Duolingo in one day, it can actually negatively impact their learning because they are less likely to remember what they've learned. We know that users learn best when they study every day and take the time to practice and review what they've learned.
As of February 3rd 2023, the longest Duolingo streak is 3676 days, held by user christi3. This means that the longest Duolingo streak is over 10 years old! christi3 isn't the only user in this category, either. There are currently 5 others with streaks over 10 years old.
To achieve VIP Status on Duolingo, you need to have at least a 365-day streak. As you extend your streak, you'll move up through the different tiers. To activate your VIP Status, simply head over to your streak tab, swipe over to Streak Society, and tap 'enter now'.
Other important factors to consider when researching alternatives to Duolingo include ease of use and reliability. We have compiled a list of solutions that reviewers voted as the best overall alternatives and competitors to Duolingo, including Rosetta Stone, Busuu, Lingvist, and Babbel for Business.
Bronze is the starter league. From there, the goal is to work your way up through the leagues all the way up to Diamond — Duolingo's highest league. Once you've done that and you've finished every single league, you will progress onto the Diamond Tournament (more on that below!).
Despite its lavish success, the truth is that Duolingo not only isn't the best way to learn a language − it's completely ineffective for anything but some basic vocabulary that you'd be able to learn using flashcards.
Depending how much you study, this could be do-able in a little over a year. Aiming to read native-level material or watch TV shows in Japanese? That's a more long-term goal, and you're probably looking at around three to five years of learning.
A good rule of thumb is that you can expect to be conversational in a language within 6-12 months of dedicated study and practice. This means that you'll be able to hold basic conversations and understand most of what is being said. To reach fluency, you'll likely need to dedicate at least 2-3 years to the language.