Are you finding Duolingo to be easier than a 1st grader’s math test?
I’m sorry to hear that! A big part of staying motivated while learning a new language is feeling challenged and entertained.
I can only imagine how annoying it must be to get the feeling that you’re not making good progress anymore due to how easy your lessons are.
But don’t worry, you came for answers and that’s exactly what you’ll get. Below, you’ll find a list of some easy ways to make things a little harder.
The 6 main ways to spice up your Duolingo sessions are:
Keep reading to feel motivated again!
The first thing I want us to discuss is the possibility of accepting challenges when the platform presents you with them. If you’ve been studying a new language for a while, you’ve probably been given the chance to take on more difficult lessons for extra XP.
Accepting these challenges is not only a great chance to test what you’ve learned but also a way to prevent Duolingo from becoming too easy. Normally, these will have more complex sentences, time limits, and words you might have only heard once or twice.
Challenges are sure to put you to the test and keep you entertained, but beware, as you might lose hearts faster than you’d like.
The trick is to find a balance between challenging yourself and getting enough right answers to keep you from running out of lives too soon. After all, what’s the point of taking on more difficult lessons if your study sessions will be cut short by a loss of hearts?
Now, let’s talk about crowns and how they can take your learning to the next level.
Everyone learns differently, and Duolingo knows this, which is why sometimes you can advance to other levels or sections after completing the first level of a course. This allows every student to learn at their own pace, but can also be counterproductive, as people may move on to another lesson without being truly ready.
Usually, every level requires you to earn 5 crowns before it goes gold. Once this happens, it means you’ve successfully finished that level and are much more prepared to move on to the next one.
As you can imagine, every crown gets a little more difficult to earn, since new words will be introduced and more complex sentences will put your knowledge to the test. So, if you find Duolingo to be too easy right now, going for a “golden star” in every lesson will surely spice things up for you.
Here’s where to look for your crown number:
Moving on, I’d like to know where you practice Duolingo the most.
If it’s on your smartphone, that’s ok. I get how hectic life can get, and sometimes the only way to get a few sessions in is while on the move. However, if you have the chance to study on your PC, I would strongly recommend going for that option.
Why? Simple.
Using Duolingo on a PC has many advantages, such as unlimited hearts, limited or no ads, a reduced chance of making typing mistakes, and faster learning. Not to mention that it might be easier to get into a learning mindset when you’re comfortable in the quiet of your own home.
Additionally, using the platform on PC can help make the service feel a little harder, as you’ll get challenges more often and will be given the chance to take on more difficult sessions frequently.
Just make sure to use this tip responsibly, as taking on challenges that are too difficult or advanced for your level might leave you confused or learning things the wrong way. Duolingo’s courses are designed to take every learner through a specifically designed structure that ensures adequate learning.
The ideal scenario would be to find a balance between spicing things up without jumping too far ahead.
Oftentimes, using more than one of your senses to learn a new language can be beneficial.
Many people would argue that Duolingo is strongly dependent on sight and hearing. The problem is that most of the time, we tend to use both during study sessions. If you’ve been at this for a while, you’ve likely already encountered several lessons where you hear a sentence, and you have to write it down or choose certain words.
These lessons are a challenge in and of themselves the first couple of times you have to take them. But as time passes, you get used to the system and Duolingo can start to feel too easy.
My recommendation here would be to try to take these lessons without looking. Simply press the speaker button to have the sentence repeat over and over again until you get it right, and then translate it in your head.
Having some word options at the bottom of your screen can be a crutch that is not always necessary, and it certainly makes things easier, so avoid reading them as often as possible.
You may or may not know this, but Duolingo has 1-1 classes that can help take your learning to the next level. These are usually hosted by native speakers of the language you’re interested in and can cost anywhere between $10-20.
They’re one of the easiest and most interesting ways to spice things up on Duolingo and make everything feel a little more like a challenge.
As I said before, Duolingo’s courses are well-structured. But sometimes, your learning process needs the opposite of that. Oftentimes, having a conversation with a native speaker will improve your fluency and confidence, not to mention that, since it can take any direction, you’ll need to be on your feet all the time.
Talk about keeping things exciting, huh?
If these classes are something you’re interested in, we have a full guide on how to join them. I know the price tag per session might make you doubt whether they’re worth it, but hey, the cost is equivalent to a couple of Starbucks coffees!
Lastly, let’s talk about all the doors that Duolingo stories can open for you. This is a recent addition to the platform’s learning catalog, and it’s one of the most interactive and entertaining ways to get your daily sessions in.
Stories will take you through a conversation between two people, and occasionally, you’ll be asked to fill in the blanks of a sentence after listening carefully. This will not only pose a challenge to newcomers, but also keep more experienced learners engaged.
Sadly, though, not all languages are available, and you might only find the most popular ones right now. But don’t panic. As I said before, this is a recent addition to the platform, so I wouldn’t be surprised if down the road more languages are added and the experience is improved greatly.
If you feel like you’re in a rut, trying out the platform’s Stories is a great way to stop everything from becoming tedious, and one of the most efficient solutions for when you feel like Duolingo is too easy.
That about covers it!
Learning a new language is always a challenge. So many words, expressions, accents and different pronunciations, can rather easily overwhelm anyone’s brain. But when you’ve passed the initial learning curve, sometimes things can start to feel a little boring or simple.
I hope the tips I’ve provided you with in this article will help you shake things up and restore the excitement to your daily study sessions. Remember that feeling engaged and motivated is one of the most important parts of acquiring new knowledge, so, whatever you do, always prioritize this.
Thank you so much for sticking with me all the way to the end. If this article proved useful and interesting to you, it’ll make you very happy to know that we upload new content every week. While we put the finishing touches to our most recent release, I encourage to check out our other resources below to become a Tech Detective yourself!
I wish you nothing but the best.
Detective ‘Gerry’ Molina is one of the most prolific detectives on our TechDetective team. He’s known for his ability to crack down on multitudes of tech crimes on behalf of you – the citizens of the internet. Molina is often the first point of contact for many cases, working to help free victims from the tyranny of tech issues.
