In 1792, after years of revolutionary turmoil that began with the storming of the Bastille in 1789, the people of France formally established the First French Republic. Today, French citizens openly celebrate their joy for life and liberty—cultural values deeply rooted in what I've come to recognize as truly good things worth exploring.
This brings me to my personal journey. I've spent the last 365 days immersed in "Intro to French" with an owl companion on Duolingo. My mission? To understand and properly indulge in these good things that French culture offers. The digital future of language learning is indeed cool and wise. 🦉
While my feathered friend Duo is both cool and wise, every Duolingo journey eventually reaches its conclusion. Before putting a bow on this adventure, let me share some reflections on my year with Duo.
Duolingo masterfully keeps you consistent, engaged, and devoted through two major features. First, the "leagues" system, where learners compete for experience points earned through daily lessons, brings an addictive gamification element to learning. Second, those clever push notifications featuring our friend Duo serve as powerful motivation. I've lost count of how many times I've seen that sad owl face on days I pushed my lesson to the evenings. The app's formula seems simple: complete daily lessons, maintain your streak, keep Duo happy.
Before I knew it, 365 days had flown by in my Duo experience, bringing unexpected surprises along the way. Most notably, Duolingo, Inc. reached out personally and invited me to test interactive games—their first venture into lessons designed for visual learners. The developers are constantly innovating. Playing the final released mini-games after testing early versions was surreal, showing me firsthand how the company continuously refines visual engagement strategies to keep users like me coming back for more.
However, I do have some honest critiques. I don't feel Duo teaches me authentic, practical French. After exposing myself to French music and other learning resources, I discovered that many examples in the app feel like AI-generated translations. Sometimes the lessons themselves felt like flashcards created by an algorithm rather than a native speaker. This created occasional disconnects in my learning experience, with translation examples that didn't relate to my real-world needs.
Yet this frustration ultimately became a positive force. The eventual plateau you reach using Duo alone pushes you to seek more relatable, authentic lessons—to climb higher. This challenge actually helps fulfill the promise I made to myself when I started this journey: to truly learn a language, beyond just earning daily points and keeping a digital owl happy.
And that is where we are. 365 days in, a little wiser, and a little more French. For myself, I plan to keep it movin' with two new French apps: 'Easy French' & 'Easy Learn French.' Shout out to 'Easy French' specifically; they have an awesome YouTube channel. And of course, a special thank you to my friend, Duo.
Maintenant, excusez-moi, je dois pratiquer mon francais.
Allons-y,
- james