u/Good-Ambition8247

I’m writing this on my 1561st consecutive day on Duolingo. Not a single day missed. I started in 2012 and I’ve been a fan since.

A few months ago, like a lot of users, I got tired of the over-gamified experience. My fix was simple: I turned off the features designed to drive engagement. My commitment didn’t need the support.

When Luis von Ahn said he prioritized retention over learning, I actually agreed. People need a reason to come back or they never learn anything. I was over that hump. I also wasn’t as bothered as others when they started leaning on AI. What bothered me was the quality drop as a paying family plan customer. But I’ve watched Duolingo break things and fix them before, so I gave it time.

Then someone posted a Spanish proficiency test from the Instituto Cervantes. I took it expecting a confidence boost. It placed me well below my Duolingo level.

That sent me digging into learning science. Here’s what I found. Duolingo uses spaced repetition, which is legitimate and effective. But their hinting model, where the app nudges you toward the right answer instead of making you produce it, follows a pattern called scaffolded feedback. Research shows it improves short-term performance. It does not build long-term memory. You feel like you’re learning. You’re not.
That’s the line. Prioritizing retention to get people back so they can learn, fine. Hurting learning to protect retention numbers, that’s what Duolingo is doing now. And it explains why my vocabulary is decent but I cannot explain a single grammar concept. The harder things never stuck because I always had an easy way out.

Why not offer a hardcore mode? Like in games. It would never appeal to the masses but it would keep the core audience.

I still have time on my yearly plan. I’ll finish it. But I won’t renew.