Duolingo’s gamified approach to learning languages has contributed to a surge in popularity among users of all ages.
In 2012, Duolingo was launched globally with the goal of making language-learning free and universally accessible. As of now, the app has become the top mobile learning platform in the world and has surpassed over 500 million downloads, according to Duolingo.
“I downloaded Duolingo around 2017 or 2018 because I saw my dad learning French and the app seemed interesting and fun. Now, I use the app to help me add on to the Spanish I am learning at school,” said Katelyn Lorilla, a junior at Carlmont.
Since its release, Duolingo has also acquired over 100 million monthly active users and millions of subscriptions, allowing it to become the top-grossing app in the “Education” category of both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
According to The Business Model Analysis, Duolingo’s growth in active language learners can be attributed to their interactive platform that combines education with gamified lessons and challenges.
“The app has endless activities and possibilities for users,” said Pouran Khonsari, a frequent Duolingo user learning French. “The ‘fun’ element of the app is what I believe sets it apart from other language-learning apps.”
To keep users active and motivated to continue using the app, Duolingo has incorporated daily rewards, quests, and tournaments. For users like Michael Winters, a student at Ralston Middle School, the rewards and goals cause him to feel obligated to learn until he earns the prizes.
“Duolingo’s reward system creates a feeling of continuation and makes me want to stay on the app for a while,” Winters said. “It makes me actually feel interested in learning.”
In addition to rewards, Duolingo’s introduction of streaks has turned the language learning app into a daily habit for many users like Winters. In hopes of maintaining his streak, Winters does at least one lesson a day, sometimes even reminding his family members to keep up with their streaks too.
“I currently have a Duolingo streak of over 200 days,” Winters said. “With bigger streaks and being higher on the leaderboards, you can show other users that you are better than them.”
As of 2024, over 8 million users have racked up a Duolingo streak of at least 365 days, according to the official Duolingo blog.
Not only in the app, but on various social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, Duolingo keeps an active presence and encourages users to share their gamification mechanisms like ranks, streaks, and challenges.
“I have seen people on Instagram and Facebook tag Duolingo with screenshots of their streaks and accomplishments,” Khonsari said.
On Duolingo’s United States Instagram and TikTok pages alone, the accounts have surpassed a combined total of 20 million followers.
According to Lorilla, Duolingo’s short-form content, especially ones that follow trends and include Duolingo’s unique characters, contributes to users’ engagement on the app.
“They post trends and memes with their characters and each post gets hundreds of thousands of likes,” Lorilla said. “I think because people don’t typically expect this from a language-learning app, users find it more fun and feel interested in using the app.”
Khonsari believes that if Duolingo was not as interactive through its gamified nature, she would be less interested in learning.
“I don’t think I would have the motivation to even open the app or learn without the additions,” Khonsari said.
