So, You Spent Years Using Duolingo But Still Can’t Speak French — Here’s Why And What to Do

Imagine a world where aspiring pianists believe they can master their craft by simply tapping keys on a colorful app, or where budding chefs think they can become culinary masters by merely clicking through virtual recipes. 

Sounds absurd, doesn't it? 

Yet, this is precisely the illusory reality that many gamified language-learning apps sell to their users.

Apps like Duolingo have popularized the notion that acquiring a new language is as simple as completing daily streaks and racking up virtual points. 

However, this approach fundamentally misunderstands the nature of language and downplays the complexities of genuine communication — and leads you, the learner, to waste time and energy on learning methods that don’t work.

Language (and especially French) is not a game to be won or a set of finite levels to conquer.  The French language reflects the richness of human culture, history, and philosophy.

Attempting to reduce French to a series of decontextualized drills and superficial rewards does a great disservice to both the language and you, the learner. The consequences of this gamified approach are all too evident. 

Just like you, countless French enthusiasts find themselves trapped in an endless cycle of streaks and badges , investing hours upon hours into these apps without ever developing the ability to effectively communicate in real-world situations. 

The typical scenario is that you accumulate an impressive collection of virtual achievements , but when faced with an actual conversation, you struggle to express yourself or understand native speakers . 

Hence, the never-ending complaint that goes, " I can understand, but I can't speak. "

Language learning is a rich, immersive process that demands patience, consistency, and a willingness to engage with the messiness of authentic human interaction. 

And in this opinion piece, we’ll cover the limits of gamification and how to address them.

Three reasons why learning French through gamification apps like Duolingo isn’t helping you achieve fluency

Here are three reasons, with scientific evidence, why Duolingo isn't an effective way to learn French.

Reason 1: Duolinguo oversimplifies the French language and makes you believe that it only takes a few minutes of daily practice to master

• “The bride is a woman, and the groom is a hedgehog.”

• “The man eats ice cream with mustard.” 

• “I am eating bread and crying on the floor.” 

• “Today I will gaze into the distance and cry as well.”

These are just a few examples of the bizarre sentences Jane Hu from Slate encountered while using a popular language-learning app. 

And there are similar examples across various gamified language platforms, where they provide you with disconnected vocabulary words, decontextualized phrases, and often nonsensical phrases.

This oversimplification fails to capture the true complexity and nuances of how languages are actually used in the real world.

Just as a pianist needs to practice playing complete pieces to develop their abilities, you, as a French learner, must engage with authentic, contextual language to truly master your skills.

Research shows that mastering a new skill (and language) requires going beyond the rote memorization of individual words and rules. 

• Historically, studies (Celuch & Slama, 1999; Daz-Iefebvre, 2004; Kang & Howren, 2004 ) found that lectures and memorization do not lead to long-term knowledge or the ability to apply that knowledge to new situations. 

• Even recent studies (Anggarista & Wahyudin, 2022) suggest that solely relying on memory strategies may be insufficient. Other strategies beyond memorization are likely needed for successful language acquisition.

In plain English, this means that, as a beginner French learner, focusing exclusively on vocabulary and grammar drills will lead to significant difficulties in understanding and speaking French in context, compared to those exposed to authentic and meaningful French conversations from the start.

Learning new words by seeing them in real-life examples helps you understand them better. It allows you to connect the words to their meanings and uses more easily than just memorizing definitions.

When you link new words to the way they are really used, it's easier to remember them later. You'll also have a more complete grasp of the language as a whole.

I experienced this firsthand when I began learning English. Initially, I relied heavily on gamified apps, but I struggled to apply what I had learned in real conversations — just like the gazillion of people online complaining about wasting time on these apps . 

I only really started to understand the small details and subtle meanings in English when I surrounded myself with real English media and talked with native English speakers.

Yet many popular language learning games take an extremely deconstructed approach, feeding you individual words and grammar concepts as disconnected puzzle pieces to be linked together. 

Now, don’t get me wrong. 

We do understand that making language learning into a game can be a good way to keep people interested.

But my main point is that there's more to learning a language than just memorizing a bunch of unrelated words and sentences.

To truly master a language, learners must seek out opportunities for contextual learning and authentic language exposure.

Reason 2: Duolingo’s gamified methods reward the wrong behaviors

Although gamification elements like points, streaks, and badges aim to increase your motivation and engagement, they also prioritize these artificial rewards over a true understanding of the language . 

This misaligned focus can lead to several detrimental outcomes for you, the learner.

• Focusing too much on scores, streaks, and leaderboards can make people care more about getting rewards than actually learning. 

Learners become obsessed with earning points and keeping streaks going, rather than fully understanding and remembering what they're learning ( Isaacson, 2022 ). 

This outside motivation can overpower the inner motivation that's necessary for really taking in a language.

• This reward structure incentivizes rushing through lessons quickly to "level up" and claim rewards, rather than pacing for comprehensive understanding before advancing (Munday, 2016 ).

I believe that mastering the French language requires practice, reinforcement, and patience — which are qualities that blazing through gamified content may undermine. Another side-effect of rushing to score XPs is that you end up exhausting your motivation and excitement about learning the language you were so excited to start learning in the first place. 

A study from the University of Tohoku Fukushi (Isaacson, 2022 ) found that students experienced "app fatigue," prioritizing point scoring over deeper understanding once the novelty wore off. 

As a language learner, your eyes should be on the sole prize, which is achieving fluency and becoming a proficient communicator of that language. 

Chasing badges and streaks provides temporary gratification, but it is no substitute for the genuine dedication and engagement required for long-term success.

Reason 3: Duolinguo’s French content lacks of meaningful application

Another major problem with treating French learning like a game is that you end up doing practice exercises and sentences that are separate from how the language is actually used in the real world. The learning happens in a bubble, disconnected from authentic, real-life French.

As Nushi and Eqbali (2017) highlighted in their analysis of Duolingo, a glaring limitation of the app is "the lack of human interaction and real conversation" (p. 96). 

With the likes of Duolingo, you're limited to call-and-response style exchanges, which are completely disconnected from the everyday reality of natural speech. 

To illustrate this point, consider the experience of a learner who has completed a series of gamified Spanish lessons. 

They may have mastered the app's translation exercises, but when faced with a real-life conversation with a native Spanish speaker, they struggle to keep up with the natural flow of the discourse. 

The learner's inability to apply their knowledge in this authentic context reveals the limitations of the app’s approach.

To add some humor to this, just because you read a book on how to swim doesn’t make you a swimmer.

Practicing pre-set phrases and sentences alone doesn't help you learn a language the natural way. When you learn a new language, you need to see and hear it used in real, meaningful situations. 

This helps your brain unconsciously recognize, take in language patterns, and build instincts, which is essential for truly mastering the language.

Effective language acquisition requires exposure to authentic materials, such as books, films, and podcasts, as well as opportunities for open-ended production through writing and speaking activities. 

Moreover, the translation-based exercises that form the core of many language learning apps have limited transferability to real-world language use. When engaging in authentic conversations, people rarely render everything through translation in their minds. Instead, they rely on spontaneous language generation and processing—capabilities that most gamified apps' core mechanics fail to cultivate.

What to do after spending months on Duolingo in vain and how to learn French effectively

This is what you can do to gain back all the time you wasted on Duolingo.

You need to expose yourself to contextualized examples of French conversations

To really become fluent in a language, you need a lot of experience with real-world examples of how native French speakers normally use the language in context.

For instance, let’s assume you’re learning Spanish. 

You might spend a lot of time practicing vocabulary and grammar using language apps, but if you don't also experience authentic Spanish media and conversations, your understanding of the language will be incomplete.

It’s true that you’ll have a hard time understanding native speakers when they talk fast and use everyday language. You'll also likely miss the small cultural references and jokes that are an important part of real communication.

On the other hand, learning through context allows you to take in the detailed cultural nuances that make a language vibrant and alive.

Things like idioms, slang, and implied meanings can't be effectively taught just through repetition and drills. Instead, you need to be exposed to how native speakers actually communicate through movies, books, music, podcasts, and other authentic materials.

For instance, if you’re learning English, you may encounter the idiom " it's raining cats and dogs " in a movie or podcast. 

By hearing this phrase used in a natural context, you not only understand its figurative meaning but also gain insight into its appropriate usage and cultural significance. 

Such contextualized learning accelerates the acquisition of vocabulary, speech patterns, and the subtle cues that characterize fluent proficiency.

Moreover, witnessing how words and grammar organically interplay within a language's cultural context is vital for proper fluency development. 

You may practice the future tense through simple translations like " I will go to the park. " 

But to achieve natural fluency, you need to observe how native speakers authentically use the language in different situations. This includes when they use the future tense instead of other forms, how it changes based on the context and personal relationships, and so on.

Through these methods, learning French changes from a rigid set of rules into a natural, living experience.

By focusing on authentic exposure that is rich in context, you can develop a deep cultural understanding and the ability to speak fluently. These are the true signs of real French proficiency.

You need to practice daily and accept corrective feedback (from a native speaker or tutor)

While understandable French input (like French audio, podcasts, YouTube videos, and books) from real-life contexts is very important, truly effective French learning also needs active conversation practice and corrective feedback from skilled teachers or native speakers.

Input alone, no matter how contextualized, can only take you so far. 

As renowned linguist Stephen Krashen highlights in his Input Hypothesis, you acquire language best when receiving copious, comprehensible input just beyond your current level. 

However, Krashen's theory also stresses that comprehensible output — actually speaking, writing, and reading the language — is the other essential component for progressing from one proficiency stage to the next.

To illustrate this point, consider the experience of a learner studying Mandarin Chinese. 

They may spend hours listening to Chinese podcasts and watching Chinese films, which provides valuable contextualized input. 

However, when they attempt to speak Chinese themselves, they will struggle with proper pronunciation, tone, and sentence structure. 

And even if they can speak, it exposes blind spots—struggling to select the right auxiliary verbs, make subject-verb agreement, apply the correct aspect, and so on. 

Without opportunities to practice speaking and receive feedback from a tutor or native speaker, your productive skills will lag behind your comprehension.

An instructor can provide targeted corrective feedback in these practice scenarios — drawing attention to mistakes, modeling proper usage, and ensuring learners grasp the nuanced rules they are attempting to apply.

You need to push for cultural understanding beyond just vocabulary

Fluency in French requires going beyond learning vocabulary to develop a nuanced understanding of the diverse cultures that shape the language. 

And words alone provide a superficial entry point; so as a learner, you must internalize the rich cultural contexts and worldviews encoded within the language to communicate effectively.

A language represents the unique intellectual, historical, and social fabric of the people who speak it. The lexicon and grammar organize reality in specific ways that reflect cultural values, traditions, and patterns of thought. 

Memorizing vocabulary lists misses the deeper conceptual significance each term carries within its respective culture.

For example, the Japanese word " amae " describes the culturally unique concept of depending on another's benevolent care and indulgent love. 

Translating it simply as "dependency" fails to capture the positive connotations around emotional interdependence rooted in Japanese collectivistic values. 

Linguists Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf highlighted how a language's structure shapes its speakers' perception and construal of reality. 

To become fluent, you must absorb these cultural ways of thinking. If you don't, your ability to communicate will always be limited.

Furthermore, rules for politeness, turn-taking, indirectness, and humor vary drastically across cultures. And the French language is even more inclined towards cultural nuances. Failure to grasp these cultural scripts can lead to unintentional offenses.

You need to cultivate patience, consistency, and manageable goal-setting over instant gratification

Learning French demands sustained discipline and realistic expectations, unlike gamified apps that provide illusions of rapid progress. 

Language acquisition is not an all-or-nothing scenario where you become "fluent" after completing a finite set of levels or modules. 

Instead, it is an iterative process of actively building connections and implicit patterns over years of immersion and use. 

Each sub-skill, from pronunciation to pragmatics, gradually develops through a cycle of understandable input, productive practice, and refinement based on feedback.

Impatience or attempting to rush this process through intensive cramming tends to be counterproductive. 

Let’s say, for example, that you attempt to memorize an entire textbook’s worth of vocabulary in a week. 

While you may recognize the words on a superficial level, you will struggle to employ the words effectively in conversation without having developed the necessary contextual understanding and productive abilities.

Instead, you must adopt a patient, consistent approach — absorbing knowledge in manageable chunks while allowing time for consolidation between practice sessions. 

Research on spaced repetition, which shows that distributing practice over time results in more durable long-term retention compared to massed practice, supports this principle (Kang, 2016 ).

Setting achievable goals that fit your specific situation is very important for staying motivated and resilient during the long process of learning French.

A working professional with limited free time may need years of self-study to reach conversational fluency.

On the other hand, a student who lacks motivation and is forced to do repetitive drills will have a hard time remembering anything long-term. Your goals need to be manageable and match the time and resources you have available.

For instance, a busy college student aiming to learn Spanish might set a goal of dedicating 30 minutes per day to language learning activities, such as reviewing flashcards, listening to podcasts, and engaging in conversation practice with a language exchange partner. 

By breaking down the larger goal of achieving fluency into smaller, achievable daily tasks, the student can maintain consistency and make steady progress over time.

Practice French every day with a private tutor and French learning peers from across the world

Duolinguo falls short of replicating the complex dynamics of real-world French conversations. You may use it to acquire the basics, but if your goal is to really be fluent, you need to practice every day and put yourself through real-life scenarios.

At Get French Classes, that’s what we help our learners do. Learning French through our programs means:

• You'll learn through bite-sized, interactive lessons that focus on real-life scenarios and expressions used by native French speakers. Say goodbye to generic phrases and hello to contextual learning!

• You'll have the opportunity to practice speaking and get personalized feedback with your very own private French tutor. Our tutors are there to guide you, correct mistakes, and help you master nuances.

• You'll connect with a global community of French learners through engaging group classes and friendly debates. Not only will you improve your conversational skills, but you'll also make new friends who share your passion for the language.

• You'll stay motivated with fun challenges, achievements, and badges to mark your progress. Learning French doesn't have to be a chore – we make it an exciting journey!

• You'll have the chance to dive deeper into specialized French vocabulary tailored to your personal or professional goals. Whether you want to discuss art, cuisine, or business, we've got you covered.

Sources

• Gamified Enough ? : Student Reaction to the Duolingo Language Learning App in a University Setting

• Investigating the Effects of Mobile Apps on Language Learning Outcomes: a Study on Duolingo

• Why Are Duolingo’s Sentences So Weird?

• Spaced Repetition Promotes Efficient and Effective Learning: Policy Implications for Instruction

• Duolingo doesn't work

• Duolingo popularity addictiveness language criticism

• Is Duolingo a Waste of Time?

• The Harmful Impacts of the Gamification of Learning

• The negative effect of Gamification in E-learning in the eyes of University students

• Rote memorization has long been part of learning: but does it really have a place in education? Is it not better to learn the material instead of just memorizing it?

• Krashen's 6 Hypotheses