Frequently asked questions/Courses

This page contains questions about courses (often referred to as "skill trees").

What's a language tree?

Main article: Language tree

The way Duolingo teaches requires users to finish a skill or set of skills before moving on to the next set . The skills are displayed in a way that makes them look slightly like a "language tree ". Users must complete all the skills on each row of the tree before moving to the next row. 

Will I be fluent when I finish Duolingo?

As of July 2015, one of Duolingo's goals is "helping students become fluent". It shows an estimate of your fluency in some courses (e.g. Staff made courses)  based on :

Words you know, how important those words are, how well you know them, and how likely you are to forget them.

Most users that have completed trees say they are not fluent, but conversationally fluent. If you want to come fully fluent, we recommend you use other programs after completing the Duolingo tree.

Why doesn't course X have bonus skills or words?

Some features are not available in all courses. As of January 2023, there are no more bonus skills/words due to the new path update.

What is the recommended learning routine?

Because of the new path, there is still no recommended learning routine.

Is there a standardized language proficiency test​?

Duolingo Test Center provides a verified assessment the language proficiency.

Where are the grammar explanations (tips and notes)?

There are some grammar notes (tips and notes) available in some skills within some courses . However, not every single skill, course or platform (e.g. mobile) has tips and notes .

As of January 2023, when a unit is available, the guide (located at the header of the unit, as a notebook icon), will display. You can click there for an accurate guide of the unit. Most people also revisit this when they are ending a unit.

How many people have completed courses?

As of October 2013 more than 100,000 people have completed a course.

In which courses do students make the most progress?

According to Duolingo, students make more progress in courses that teach English.

When are typos accepted?

According to CEO Luis von Ahn:

We accept something as a typo if it is one letter off AND is not a valid word. So for example, we accept "te" as a typo for "the" but we don't accept "he" as one.

Do lessons focus more on Recognition or Recall ?

The exercises have a careful balance between maintaining user motivation and teaching effectively. According to Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn:

The issue is that every time we try to give more recall exercises (where you translate from the language you know to the new language), people use the website less!

What are streaks?

Main article: Streak

Your streak is a measure of how consistently you use Duolingo. Your streak increases by one for each day you meet your goal and resets to zero when you miss a day unless you buy a streak freeze ahead of time.

Will the courses ever be expanded?

Yes, there are plans to expand the current courses. Most courses are nearly completed, some even reaching 200+ units!

Why aren't there human voices in all lessons? 

This is due to financial and technical reasons .

How do I change what course I'm taking?

Change course. Duolingo 2015

See this discussion with several methods to switch between courses among them some quicker than the one described by the following (official) link.

1. Here is the official link.
2. From the Home tab , click the language portal-badge (flag icon).
   
3. Choose the course you want from the "Learning Language" options.
   
4. Click "Save changes".

Notes: Changing to a course with a different base language (e.g. English in the example image) will also change the Duolingo web interface to that language. However, your progress in the courses from the original language will not be deleted.

Where is the vocabulary section?

See Words.

How do I reset or remove a course?

See Reset or remove a course.

How do I report an error in an exercise?

You can report an error in an exercise using the "Report a Problem" button that appears below the exercise after you've entered your answer. Check the checkbox(es) next to the error(s) you wish to report and click "Submit".

Image Report a Problem in Lesson

Why aren't serious errors in sentences fixed quickly?

A "large fraction of the user reports are erroneous" so it takes considerable time for contributors to find and correct mistakes. Problems with audio are generally a result of connectivity issues or audio generated by TTS engines.

Where can I get help on an exercise?

• If you are doing a lesson (as opposed to a practice), look for the "Tips & notes" (or Grammar explanations) button near the top right of the exercise area. 
• Use the "Discuss sentence" button that appears below the exercise area, and see if your question has already been asked and answered there. If it hasn't, go ahead and ask.

Image Discuss Sentence in Lesson

Note: Do NOT use the Sentence Discussion area to report an error of translation (e.g. that a correct translation is not accepted) that you are reasonably sure about.

Image Sentence Discussion Don'ts

How can I help others learn my language?

You may answer questions in the discussion or sentence discussion section. When answering a question try to back up your answer with dictionary or grammar references.If there is no section for the language you want to help with visible in the discussion area you will have to change to a course teaching that language to see it. Instructions for doing so are available here.

Can I change the voice in the lessons?

As of September 2014, Duolingo does not support that. However, some courses may have multiple voices.

How effective is Duolingo at teaching a language?

One scientific study found that "a person with no knowledge of Spanish would need between 26 and 49 hours (or 34 hours on average) to cover the material for the first college semester of Spanish." Duolingo has also several positive reviews and awards for their teaching methods.

What dialect does Duolingo teach for language X?

You can find out which dialect a particular course teaches by clicking on it in the course listing page and reading the "About the course" section.

Why does the course for language X use the flag for country Y?

For most languages, the flag corresponds to the country where the dialect Duolingo teaches is spoken. In some cases, however, the flag is chosen by the country that uses the language and is the most popular.

Should I learn multiple languages at the same time?

This really depends on personal preference and ability. You may refer to this article (archive link) or this for a more detailed discussion.

What are XP?

XP (short for "experience points") are a reward you get for finishing lessons or practicing. As your XP increase so does your Duolingo language level. 

What is the highest level?

The highest you can reach in a language course is 25 and requires 30000 XP .

How can I see number of XP left until next level?

1. Go to duome.eu/(your username) [in the your username box, type your duolingo username].
2. Check the right side of the page, next to your profile, to see the level you have and how much XP you have until the next level. This shows the level of the course you most recently made a lesson in.
3. If you want to check another language's level, scroll down to the "Languages" tab and check there.

What does my level really mean?

It just means that you've accumulated a certain number of XP from doing lessons & practices. Some correlation has been found between XP and word "peeks" on the one hand and standardized language test results on the other but the correlation isn't perfect. The correlation may also change as Duolingo changes how much XP is awarded for each task.