From its official launch, which was more than 10 years ago, Duolingo has become a popular platform for learning different languages through fun and enjoyable methods. Duolingo now offers learning courses for more than 40 languages, and is used by millions of users worldwide.
But how is Duolingo able to attract more people and make the learning process more enjoyable? Using gamification strategies can significantly improve the user experience and encourage users to become loyal to this platform.
It’s true that fun activities are always able to keep users engaged and make them interested in testing different new features. And Duolingo is perfect for that, because using its easy-to-use interface, it is able to determine people who focus on learning different cultures, to use Duolingo every day without hesitation.
Gamification represents the process of integrating different elements that are specific to the gaming industry, such as levels, leaderboards, or badges, directly into other environments or platforms to make the entire process seem more like a game to attract customers.
This type of gamification is especially seen in fitness apps because it uses awards to stimulate users to achieve their goals. Also, these achievements are able to create a sense of progression and make the learning process feel like a reward.
It should be mentioned that in language learning platforms, gamification can also be integrated using challenges and quizzes, because it encourages the active participation of users, enhancing the user experience.
Even if this language learning platform seems to have a complex Duolingo design system for gamification, the reality is that this language learning platform has a simple and yet effective gamification strategy that attracts customers and keeps them engaged in content.
- Streaks: Probably the most engaging gamification element is the Streaks Duolingo design system because it tracks how many days in a row you use the app. This feature motivates users and encourages them to use the app every day to avoid losing the streaks collected, similar to a game.
- Levels: This language learning platform awards experience points when a lesson is completed. When enough experience points are earned, users will automatically achieve new levels, which creates an achievement feeling that brings them joy.
- Progress bars: Progress bars help users see more easily how much progress they have made in a lesson. Even if it seems an unnecessary element, the progress bar is more important than you might think because it creates the feeling that a certain lesson needs to be finalized to be proud of your achievements.
- Lives: also known in the Duolingo community as hearts, they are offered to users and they represent the maximum number of mistakes that users can make when learning a new lesson. Each user has 5 hearts, representing 5 mistakes, and if users lose them all, the app requires them to stop learning and come back later. This element is the perfect gamification example that can be incorporated into different designs because it will surely motivate users to keep using a specific website or app.
- Leaderboards: another important element that changes the gamification perspective is the leaderboard Duolingo design system. This can place users directly into leagues and display the global ranking for a certain language. This is a good gamification example because it encourages users to keep practicing more and more to improve their rank, and at the same time, it adds a social element because they can see their friends and family's scores and maintain a friendly competition.
Duolingo succeeds in attracting users and maintaining them engaged in the platform’s challenges. Through Duolingo's design system for gamification, users will always be interested in earning new achievements and learn new languages through various little games that keep the gaming spark present.
If you are a UI/UX designer who wants to create projects that efficiently keep the user’s interest present, make sure to follow Duolingo’s gamification examples because they are surely effective, as various reports state. Try and think about what you would like to see in a fitness tracking app, or in a language learning platform, what elements are likely to maintain your attention.
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