30+ Ultimate Duolingo Tips That Will Make You A Pro

If you have read my previous blogs, I am sure you know how much I love Duolingo. There is no such feature left unexplored by me. However, it took me a lot of time to become a pro on Duolingo. I always looked for different ways to do my best on Duolingo. Most of them worked for me pretty well.

If you also have just started using Duolingo, you may also want to know them. Being a daily user of Duolingo, I will show you the Duolingo tips that will make you A pro.

Duolingo Tips That Will Make You A Pro

There is no doubt, that, I love using Duolingo to learn a new language. It is always my first step in learning a new language. I have found out so many ways by which I have become a pro in Duolingo. Below I have discussed the ways that I have used Duolingo–

1. Think about the crowns more

When you go through the Duolingo tree which is currently updated to the new learning path, you unlock new crowns. It means that you will not need XP or gems to unlock new crowns. 

• When you earn XP, it helps you in leagues but not in crowns. Thus you will have to complete the lessons to unlock a new crown. 
• When you have more crowns, it shows you have a lot more knowledge of your target language.

Update: With the new learning path, there is no crown system on the platform.

2. Do not stress about the league

One of the biggest mistakes that I made was, taking more stress off the leagues. Trust me, you must not do it. It will diverge you from your main aim of learning the language. 

• You will focus less on your target language, and focus more on competing in the league.
• Although leagues help you get committed to Duolingo, it also becomes one of the reasons why you get diverted from learning the languages. 

• When you take leagues, maintain your position by collecting the XP. Due to this, you may repeat the easy exercises again and again. Thus, you must not make it your primary concern. 
• Always remember leagues are just for fun and do not give much when it comes to learning the target language.

3. Study a little each day

The lessons on Duolingo are too short. It is to make you stay engaged with the lessons. What most people do is to use it 1 hour a day. According to the official statement given by Duolingo, giving 20-30 minutes each day is enough to complete the whole course. Thus you must avoid giving much time to Duolingo.

• With the help of it, you will study on a proper schedule. When you study each day, you get more effective learning. 
• Further setting up little targets will also help you to focus on your targeted languages easily.

4. Maintain your streak score

Your streak score represents the number of days used on Duolingo to complete the lessons. Try to complete each lesson in a single day. You may take up the old lessons that can be finished easily. It will also increase your streak score. However, it will not add much to your final goal. If you really want to learn your target language, be sure you are not repeating the old lessons.

5. Do not use streak freeze

As you go through your course you will start increasing your streak score. To save you from losing your streak, Duolingo provides you with the option of streak freeze or streak repairs. With the help of them, you can save your streaks from breaking. 

• However, if you really want to learn your targeted language you must never use them. The biggest reason for this is when you start using it to maintain your streak you will be less concerned about going on Duolingo every day. 
• It will result in getting the bad habit of using streak freeze and not actually getting active on it. As your streak score will only help you in developing the habit, let it break if you were not active on the platform. 

6. Use practice to unlock more hearts

Duolingo is a platform that uses the heart system to go through the course. You will have to get hearts which are the lives to participate in the lessons. When you make a mistake you lose one heart. If you want to regain your heart, you will find different ways to get them back like using gems or watching ads. 

• However one of the best ways to beat the heart system is by doing a lot of practice for the previous sessions. This will not only help you to refill more life but will also help you to practice your earlier mistakes. 
• You can take as many practice sessions as you want to without worrying about the hearts on the platform. 
• When you complete your practice session you will regain your life. With it, you can again complete the lesson from where you lost your life. Thus it is one of the best features if you are really looking to excel in your targeted language. 

7. Make manageable goals

Remember when you set up tough goals for yourself, but, were unable to manage them? Obviously, it feels disheartening. Thus, you must avoid that mistake over here. When you are on your language learning journey, you need to make small, achievable goals. Now, if you make goals that require much more time then there is no sense. Thus make sure that you are only making the goals that are practically possible. 

• Although many believe that setting up a goal to get a high XP is a great goal, it is not always true. It may be a good as well as a bad goal to set. 
• If you are really getting more XP by completing the new lessons, it will help you gain knowledge of your targeted language. 
• On the other hand, you may take up the old lessons to complete your goal, which restricts you from the higher-level lessons. Thus, keep the goals realistic and will help you gain more knowledge. 
• It is better to get 15XP each day, than getting high XP one day and not getting back for 2-3 days.

8. Use Duome

Duome is a website on which you can track all your progress. Although it is an unofficial website, there are a lot of people who use it. I am a big fan of this platform.

• If you are really serious about using Duolingo, this website will help you know about your progress. You can check your XP score, streak score, etc. 
• To use it, you may need to get the minimum number of XP. As the website is unofficial, confirmation about the number of XP needed.
• To check your progress all you have to do is to search the website on the chrome and have to add your user name after it. When it will be open, you will see the screen with all the languages that you have. 
• Now to check at which level you are and how much more XP is needed to unlock the next lesson you have to tap on the language of which you are looking. 

9. Try to reverse the language learning progress

Now suppose you are a native English speaker and are looking to learn the French language, you can think of taking the reverse course. It means you can reverse the language learning tree, i.e. taking up the English language from the French language.

Also when you are done with the course and have achieved a higher level, you must try to learn the new language by taking the French course as a base course. For it, all you have to do is to add the course by clicking on the add course button. Now you have to scroll down to look for the course which is not your native language. As there are a lot of different languages and many languages are not available, you must check for them before.

10. Super Duolingo

Super Duolingo (earlier known as Duolingo Plus) is the subscription plan that you have for Duolingo. You will get more features with Super Duolingo like unlimited health or zero ads. However, if you look to practice more on Duolingo, super Duolingo will provide many practice sessions like mastery quizzes, pronunciation reviews, etc. 

• When you are taking it, you will generally find two subscription plans which are Individual and family plans. The cost of it depends on the type of plan you are taking up along with the duration of it and the area of living. 
• Although you can do a lot of practice without the fear of losing your heart in the practice session, taking it up is a waste. I don’t like it much. Instead, I used my money for other platforms.
• So if you are a beginner and bound with the budget, you must avoid buying the subscription plan. You can also try to use this money on other sources.

11. Take maximum advantage of the Tips section

When you take up a lesson, you will find the tips section on the platform. Do not forget to use the tips section, which will help you to find the meanings of the words in the lessons. It will not only help you to learn new words but will also help you to grow your language knowledge. Whenever I am stuck somewhere, the first thing I look at is the tips section.

• When you start with the language, you get words you are unaware of. Taking help from the tips section will make it easier for you to understand them.
• Remember that not all the courses have a tip section.

12. Desktop version

The biggest obstacle in my language learning journey with Duolingo was the heart system. If you are using the mobile app, you must be well aware of it. When you make a mistake you end up losing one heart. If you lose all the hearts, you will not get to practice in the next lesson. To help myself with it, I switch to the Desktop version.

• In the desktop version, there is no heart system and thus you can easily complete your lessons without having the tension of losing your life.

(UPDATE: At present, there is no heart system on the Android mobile but on the desktop version and iOS device).

13. Podcasts

To understand, how the language works, I believe it is important to listen up the native speakers. Podcasts and audio lessons are the best way of increasing your communication skills. In podcasts, you will hear two native speakers of your targeted language that boost your listening skills. 

• Currently, Duolingo only has podcasts for French and Spanish courses. But Duolingo may add more and more for other languages. 
• So if you are taking Spanish or French, make sure to hear them. These podcasts are currently available on Spotify or Apple podcast app.

14. Use stories

Stories are again a feature that you will be getting for some specific courses. These stories are created to develop your reading and listening skills. 

• They are short stories that are usually of 5-10m minutes. With them, you will test what you have learned so far. 
• Thus when you are using the stories, you will get a lot of hilarious sentences that will keep you entertained. 

Note: Earlier, there was a separate tab for Duolingio stories but with the new learning path, you will get them in the course itself.

15. Use Duolingo offline

With the latest update of Duolingo, you can download the new lessons and take them offline. However, you must also remember that you must be able to get active on Duolingo before using it offline. Your lessons are updated by themself to get downloaded. You can not choose which lesson you want to get offline. You must take advantage of this feature while traveling.

Note: This feature was only available for Duolingo Plus members earlier. 

16. Using the forums

There are a lot of forums that you can use along with Duolingo. At these forums, you can discuss different things about the Duolingo. Every time, I have some doubts or get stuck in the lesson, the first thing I do is to post on Duolingo forums.

• When you use forums, you will find a lot of conversation between different users about Duolingo. 
• You can also post queries and get answers from other users. 
• So if you are stuck on a question, you can get help from such forums. 
• I was also able to find a person learning the same language. He became my partner in practicing the language, we were learning.

17. Reporting the wrong question

The courses on Duolingo are created by real people. As a result, it’s possible to get some incorrect questions on the platform.

Thus, you must report them, so that they can correct them. Another issue that you may face is your answers are correct but they are marking them wrong. You can again make a complaint about it by tapping on the flag icon.

18. Take the speaking exercises seriously

Many people believe that the speaking exercises on Duolingo are frustrating. That is because the AI in Duolingo is very strict with some of the world’s pronunciations. Thus when you do a wrong pronunciation, you lose your heart. But I will say the opposite of it. You are here to learn the language and not to take the stress of losing the hearts. Pronunciation is an important factor in learning the language properly. Thus, you must take them seriously.

However, there may be chances that you did the right pronunciation but Duolingo marked it as the wrong answer. In such a situation, you may not get them back. But report the problem so that you do not lose your life next time.

19. Attending the Duolingo event

Duolingo events are presently known as Duolingo classes. They are video calls on Skype in which users from various countries learning a particular language come together and communicate in their targeted language. These events are the best way to increase your communication skills. Further, they also help you to get 250 XP.

Important: Earlier these events were free to take up. But now you have to pay to attend them. Additionally, there are no gems for it.

20. Always move forwards

As we discussed before, you must not repeat the earlier lessons much. It is because they will give you extra XP but not develop more knowledge. Try repeating only those, in which you have some doubts. When you take hard lessons, the number of XPs you earn will also increase.

Taking up hard lessons helps to boost your confidence level in the targeted language. Moving forward in the course will make you learn new skills. It will help you to make your communication skills more strong.

21. XP Ramp-Up Challenge

XP ramp-up challenges are the timed challenges that you usually take during weekends. It was really hard for me to take this challenge, as I am a person who keeps my weekends free. These challenges are the ones in which you can practice the questions, based on what you have learned so far. 

• It also helps you to gain more XP. In this challenge, you will answer all the questions before the time ends. 
• Further to find this challenge, go to the league tab and look for the Ramp Up challenge. You will also see different challenges that are going on in Duolingo and you can take part in them.

22. Using more writing exercises

If you are in any timed challenge, you must try to turn off the speaking and listening exercises and focus on the writing exercises. It takes less time than hearing the speaker. This, further will help you in the timed challenges.

If the questions are small it will barely give you any advantage. However, if the question is large there will be a huge difference. It is because till you listen to the long questions, you will read them. With the help of it, you can save 3-4 seconds from it, which can make a large difference.

23. Get familiar with your settings

Duolingo is a platform that has a lot of cool setting options on the platform. You can revise your daily goals, manage your courses, or connect with the help center. Additionally, you can set a time to get the owl’s notifications. It means you can change your settings when Duo should remind you about Doing practice.

When you change your settings, you must remember that you kept the reminder timing according to the time that suits you. It will help you to make a daily routine of using Duolingo.

24. Take the owl seriously

If you really want to excel on Duolingo, it is important to use Duolingo and complete the lesson each day. Thus, when setting up reminders for your daily practice, you follow them.

• Whenever you see the reminder from the owl, and other characters you must try to go on Duolingo and complete the lessons. 
• It will not only help you to complete the lesson but will also help you to maintain the streak score on the platform. 
• Therefore always take the notifications from the owl seriously. If you are unable to go to Duolingo at that time, make sure to open up after the work you are doing. 

25. Check for capital letters

When I was doing translations, I noticed only 1 word starting with a capital letter was there in most sentences. It’s a simple grammar rule that the first word always starts with capital letters. So, I just make a guess and mark it as the first word of the sentence. It was the correct guess. I tried it with other sentences, and I got all of them right. You can also do the same while doing the translations.

• However, always remember, there are fewer chances of getting such words in the option. But whenever you are in such exercises, look for such words. 
• Remember, you may find capital words in the translating language and not in your current language or vice versa. So suppose, if you are translating English into French, you may see capital words in French and not in English or vice versa.

26. XP boosts

If you are a person who is in the league and is interested in gaining more XP then XP boosts are for you. They are the boosters that help you to double your XP. 

• You will only have it for 15 minutes. So, if you are using it make sure to complete your lessons within that time. 
• Earlier there was a similar Boost known as the Perfect lesson boost that helps you to get extra XP on completing the lessons without making any mistakes.
• However, if you are interested in learning the language, you may not find it worthwhile. It is because your XP is required to stay at the top of the league but not to get more content.

27. Happy Hour

Another way to earn more XP is by using Duolingo Happy Hour. Duolingo happy hour is the hour that gives you 5 extra XP when you complete the lesson in this hour. 

• As it is only active for 60 minutes, you must try to complete all the small lessons.
• Suppose you have taken the Russian language, and have completed a lesson that gives you 15 XP. If you have completed it in Happy Hour you will get 20XP for it. 
• Usually, it is available in the evening between 7-8 pm.

28. Vocabulary

Duolingo is an ed-tech platform that tracks the words you have learned so far. You can check the words that have come in contact with you. Remember, this feature is only available for users using the Desktop version. When you are at the Desktop version you get the list of the words on it. It will also tell you about when you last practiced these words.

Update: With the new learning path, Duolingo has removed this feature from the desktop. There is no way of getting them on Duolingo itself.

However, check our guide on how to Find Duolingo Vocabulary Lists.

29. Adding vocabulary to Flashcards  

As you now know that you can see the words you have learned so far, you must also know that you can add them to your flashcards. So if you are a person who keeps forgetting the words, you can always download the words and add them to your flashcards. You even do not have to write these words by yourself.

Update: There is no option to add them to flashcards.

30. Using the tap the pair exercise

In this exercise, you have to match the meaning of the words. On one side you will see the words in the targeted language. Whereas, on the other side, you will see the words in your native language. You will have to match the pair of the words and their meanings. If you are also weak in vocabulary, this is one of the best exercises to help you with the vocabulary part. I am sure you will enjoy this exercise.

31. Using translators

Although it is not the right option, sometimes it is helpful. It is extremely true when you are in your timed challenges or have only one life. Translators will not always help you but when you have a single life, try using it. It will stop you from making more mistakes. Make sure, you are not making it a habit of using a translator regularly. 

32. Combo bonuses

Again, if you want to level up your XP score, you must focus on getting the combo bonuses. They are rewarded based on the number of correct answers in a row. The maximum XP you get for the right answers in a row is about five. So if you can complete the exercise without any mistakes you will get 15 XP instead of 10 for a single lesson.

33. Skip levels

On Duolingo, you will get different levels while studying a course. There are both easy and hard levels that you can take up. When you find the levels too easy, skip them and go on to the next levels. 

• To do so, you can either take up the placement level to get on the higher level or take a test for a unit you want to skip. 
• If you pass the test you will skip that level. Remember, when you skip the levels, you will find the tests harder than the normal lessons. 
• If you are at a level that is easy for you then you can skip the level. 

34. Tap flags

If you have a lot of languages then you must tap on the flags to know your language break out. It will help you to know how many lessons are left for each of the languages taken. To look for these flags, all you need to do is to go on your profile. Now you will see a lot of different flags. You can tap on the flag you want to check for. 

35. Look for an incubator

Earlier Duolingo incubator was a voluntary program that the users took to develop the courses on a voluntary basis. However, with time this program was shut down. Currently, the incubator is used to know about all the current or upcoming courses that will help you stay updated. There are three sections of the courses on the platform – the upcoming courses, courses in beta level, and courses that have passed the beta level and are ready to take up. You can check if the course you are taking is fully developed or still making progress.

Update: Now there is no incubator on the platform. If you want to check whether the course is in beta version, then you can check the page of all the languages on the platform. It will help you to know which courses are in the beta version.

36. Comparing friend Profile

If you are a person who loves to compete with others, then this is what you should do. Go to your profile page and tap on the friend list. When you see the friends on your profile, tap on the profile of the person you want to check the status of.

Once you do it, you will see the graph that helps you track your friend’s streak and XP scores. With the help of this graph, you will be able to compare your stats with the others. I do this once in each month month. It not only helps in comparing the stats but also motivates me to work more hard.

Conclusion

Duolingo is a platform that has helped me learn several languages with the help of a gamified approach. It is a mixture of various exercises that helped me to understand the language properly. I started my Duolingo journey a few years back. Trust me, I have used several ways that have made me a pro at using Duolingo. In this guide, I have shared all the ways I used to get maximum out of Duolingo. From earning XP amount to beating up the heart system, I have discussed all the ways here.

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