How Duolingo has committed an absolute h-owl-er!

I remember when language learning was fun, fast and free. Now, there's a moment every Duolingo learner dreads.

You find your seat on the train or bus, keep-cup in hand, ready to knock out a quick lesson. You open the app and select 'can't speak now' to respect the quiet carriage or embarrassment you may feel from your northern pronunciation of French (speaking for myself here)! You're halfway through learning how to say "the giraffe drank a lot of orange juice", a common expression I'm led to believe, and your progress is frozen with a cheery slap in the face: "You ran out of energy".

(Splurts out coffee)

Energy. Not hearts. Not a polite "try again tomorrow" reminder. Energy.

I'm caffeined up, raring to go but that green owl has other ideas...

It's like signing up to a marathon (which I've sillily done for April next year) and discovering the organisers have replaced the water stations with toll booths. You don't get to finish unless you're willing to add another subscription to your endless list of monthly subscriptions. And you don't even get the option to watch a Temu ad for a free toolbox with 420 screwdrivers you didn't even realise you needed.

And here's the thing, it's not just frustrating, it's poor design and poor user expectation management. Nobody enjoys starting something they used to complete fairly smoothly, only to be held ransom halfway through. Whilst appreciating the improvement of not punishing mistakes (as per the old ways), the answer isn't to disincentivise progress or punish getting things right.

Here are three reasons why this change feels like poor design and poor expectation management:

1. If you don't have enough 'energy' to complete the lesson you are embarking upon, the option to spend gems or subscribe should appear upfront so the learner doesn't feel like their earnt XP is up for ransom

2. If you get different levels of energy for getting an answer correct, you're adding confusion that distracts from the learning experience. I've spent more time questioning why one correct answer is worth 2 energy points and another one is worth 4 than I have on the lesson itself

3. If you are going to change the learning mechanics so drastically, more communication and engagement are needed to support understanding of the changes than a once and done. As there is such a strong and loyal community of users (I know from the countless friendship streaks I cannot afford to break) who have been used to the heart mechanism from the beginning, reminders of what this change means for me would have helped me buy into what currently feels like a user-limiting experience.

As someone who has a big thing for culture, values and mission, I was sad to read that Duolingo's mission has been subtly watered down. Its mission used to promise that learning languages would be "free forever". And whilst you can argue parts are still free (and that they do need to make money), for meaningful language learning, you're heavily forced into one of their paying models. That original promise the owl made allowed you to stomach the sad and changeable face of the app icon and the incessant nudges to not let your streak fade. Not anymore. Whilst "free forever" has morphed into "universally accessible" (a principle i'm 100% behind, meaning barriers are removed so that everyone can achieve the same results independently), the new experience isn't universally enjoyable. The reality is that instead of having an owl cheer you on, it's shaking you down.

The irony of all this is that the new approach risks breaking the very habit Duolingo has been famous for creating. The streak mechanic worked because it rewarded small, consistent, daily wins. We showed up, we learnt a bit more, we reinforced our learning, and we left feeling proud of ourselves. But here's the harsh truth. The first time I saw the "out of energy" screen, I didn't feel motivated to pay to continue, I felt done. It was the first time I seriously considered letting my streak die. Not because I couldn't be bothered, but because the app told me I wasn't allowed to finish. That's no longer encouraged learning, that's gatekeeping and feels somewhat contrary to the mission of universally accessible.

So in short, I'll keep practising my French but I'm in the market for a less passive-aggressive owl. One that helps me wrestle with tricky verbs, not confusing energy meters.

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References

Author: Rob Anderton

Editorial: Rob Anderton / OpenAI. (2025). ChatGPT 5 [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

Images: OpenAI. (2025). ChatGPT 5 [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat