Duolingo has been teaching additional languages ​​to learners for years. As cool as this is, it does mean that some people who may have let their streaks die out may be missing out on the update. On the other hand, if you’re looking into the app now it’s a lot more in-depth than it used to be. Don’t worry, we’ll give you the tour.

You’ve heard of Duolingo, haven’t you?

Duolingo is probably the best language learning app out there. It launched in 2011, but spent time in closed beta before opening up to everyone in 2012. Back then, the app only taught three languages, all of them Western European.

Duolingo’s goal has always been to remain free. Then, it accomplished that mission by using the platform to translate web pages. Now, Duolingo is still free but it pays the bills by showing ads after each lesson.

And the platform now teaches over thirty languages, including some fictional languages ​​like Klingon and Valyrian. Duolingo has also diversified into podcasts, reading lessons for children, and solutions for educational institutions and group learners.

You can use Duolingo completely in-browser with no app downloads, and some of the more advanced features are easier to navigate that way. However, a companion mobile app is free from Apple’s App Store or Google Play Store.

This article was written using the Android version, so some things may look slightly different if you’re on iOS. Whether you use the browser version or the mobile app, you can upgrade to the paid version without ads and with a few other extra perks like offline lessons, bug fixes, and infinite lives.

Basics of language learning with Duolingo

Duolingo is built around a series of lessons. Each lesson is estimated to take about five minutes, and Duolingo recommends doing about three exercises per day.

You can maintain a daily “streak” by doing just one exercise, or a shorter and easier “exercise,” but you usually have to complete two in order to claim the prize. Reading comprehension is a combination of matching words with their translations and translating sentences.

Some of these sentences are practical, common phrases. Others are insane. According to Duolingo, awkward sentences “make learners think carefully about the language they’re learning.” To learn more about how Duolingo works, select the megaphone icon from the toolbar at the bottom of the screen to access the Duolingo blog.

When you complete enough lessons, you earn a crown in that skill. This unlocks more skills as you progress through the lessons. To complete the language skill tree faster, start a new skill as soon as you unlock it, or from the same lesson until you max out your “crown level” to ensure maximum proficiency Keep passing

Different languages ​​have different numbers of skills and different crown levels for each skill. For example, French, one of the first three languages ​​offered, has over 250 skills and most of them have six Crown levels. On the other hand, the Latin curriculum, a new addition, has only 22 lessons with five crown levels each.

How Duolingo keeps learning fun

This whole process of learning is gamified. Each day, you have five hearts to complete your lessons. Mistakes cost hearts (though you can earn more by “practicing”). Experience helps you advance in leagues and leader boards, while rewards called “Gems” allow you to purchase bonuses such as streak freezes, extra lessons, and outfits for the app’s mascot.

To see how many gems you have and what you can spend them on, select the gems icon from the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. Select the shield icon from the toolbar to see where you stand on the weekly league leader board.

You can also unlock perks like extra experience gained per lesson by completing more lessons in a day. In addition, a recent update to Duolingo features monthly challenges that you can beat by earning that much experience per month and which may require completing more lessons.

To track your progress in the Monthly Challenge, tap the button near the top right of the screen. The button looks different every month because there is a new badge every month that you earn for completing. From the Challenge menu, you can preview the badges you earn for completing challenges and view badges you’ve already won.

There are a number of achievements that you can unlock for completing specific language learning goals. When you reach streak milestones Duolingo creates shareable banners so you can let your social media networks know how far you’ve come. To view your achievements, click the face icon in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen and scroll to the bottom.