Remember when Duolingo promised language learning would be fun, fast and free? Those days feel long gone. Now, just as you’re mastering how to tell someone in French that “the giraffe drank a lot of orange juice,” your lesson grinds to a halt with a cheery slap in the face: You ran out of energy! It’s a change that’s left loyal learners questioning whether the once-beloved owl is still cheering us on or just shaking us down.
