by Cindy Blanco and Bozena Pajak
Updated November 2022: This method of using Duolingo is so good, we made it the default! Check out this blog post explaining the science behind Duolingo’s new learning path.
Whether you’ve been using Duolingo for a little while or are just starting out, you might be asking yourself about what the best way to move through a Duolingo course is. Our introduction of Crown Levels earlier this year has provided many new opportunities for personalizing your learning journey, but many of you have been wondering about the best approach to take with it: when should you level up a skill (and get more crowns!) and when should you move on to start a new skill?
We’ll get straight to the point: our recommendation is to do both at once! “Hover” around several skills – spreading your time across a handful of nearby skills – and alternate between gaining crowns and doing new lessons. Hovering across multiple skills helps you maximize learning by practicing what you’ve already studied while continuing to learn new material.
The “hovering” approach works no matter where you are in the course. Since Crown Levels give you tougher exercises at higher levels, there’s lots of room to improve, even if you’ve already finished the course. By leveling up, you can get even better at some of the trickiest – but most important – ways to use language, like listening and language production (forming words and sentences in the language you’re learning).
When you start a new skill, work your way through all the lessons to get to Level 1. Those lessons work together as a group to get you familiar with the crucial features of the new material. This will help you start committing the new words and structures to memory right away!
Mixing older skills with new lessons will also help you remember the material for a longer time and will make it easier for you to recall it on your own later on. You’ll also add some more variety to your learning experience so you don’t see the same words and grammar too frequently.
Here’s a roadmap for the hovering technique:
Get to Level 1 on a new skill, so that you get a good overview of the new material!
Go back to a few previous skills to level them up and strengthen the connections in your brain between old and new material.
Now, get to Level 2 in the new skill from Step 1. Practice that new material before it gets the chance to escape its new place in your long-term memory!
Hover and repeat!
Try the hovering approach for a fun, engaging strategy to reach your own language goals.
Español: ¿Cuál es la mejor forma de aprender con Duolingo?
No importa que seas un ávido usuario de Duolingo o que recién descubras la aplicación, es posible que te preguntes cuál es la mejor manera de avanzar en un curso de Duolingo. A comienzos de este año introdujimos los Niveles de coronas, y eso les dio a muchos usuarios la posibilidad de personalizar su experiencia de aprendizaje, pero otros han empezado a preguntarse: “¿Qué sigue? ¿Cuándo es hora de subir de nivel una unidad (¡y obtener más coronas!) y cuándo es hora de empezar una nueva unidad?”.
Vayamos al grano: ¡Te recomendamos que hagas las dos cosas al mismo tiempo! “Pasea” por varias unidades (repartiendo tu tiempo entre las unidades disponibles) y alterna entre ganar coronas y completar nuevas lecciones. Pasear por las unidades te ayudará a afianzar tu aprendizaje, practicando lo que ya estudiaste mientras adquieres nuevos conocimientos.
El “paseo” funciona sin importar dónde te encuentres en el curso. Lo interesante de los Niveles de coronas es que, aunque hayas terminado el curso, te darán ejercicios más difíciles a medida que aumentes de nivel, así que no te preocupes: siempre hay posibilidades de mejorar. Al subir de nivel, puedes progresar en algunos de los más complicados -pero importantes- usos del idioma, como escuchar y producir en ese idioma (formar oraciones en el lenguaje que estás aprendiendo).
Cuando empieces una nueva unidad, completa las lecciones hasta alcanzar el nivel 1. Esas primeras lecciones te permitirán familiarizarte con los aspectos vitales del nuevo contenido. ¡Esto te ayudará a afianzar más rápido las palabras y estructuras que hayas aprendido!
Mezclar unidades en las que ya trabajaste con nuevas lecciones también te ayudará a fijar el contenido durante más tiempo, y esto te ayudará a recordarlo con mayor facilidad en el futuro. De esta manera, tu experiencia de aprendizaje será un poco más variada y evitarás ver todo el tiempo las mismas palabras y construcciones gramaticales.
Una guía para la técnica de paseo:
Alcanza el nivel 1 en una unidad para tener una visión general del nuevo contenido.
Vuelve a practicar las unidades anteriores para subirlas de nivel y reforzar el contenido viejo y nuevo.
Ahora, alcanza el nivel 2 en la nueva unidad del paso 1. ¡Practica ese nuevo contenido antes de que se escape de tu memoria a largo plazo!
¡Pasea por las unidades y repite el proceso!
Prueba la técnica de paseo, un método divertido e interesante para alcanzar tus metas de aprendizaje de idiomas.
The approach recommended in the article for effective learning with Duolingo revolves around what they term as "hovering." This strategy involves alternating between leveling up existing skills (earning crowns) and starting new skills. By hovering across multiple skills, learners practice and reinforce what they've already learned while continuously acquiring new material.
Crown Levels and Learning Progression:
1. Crown Levels and Personalization: Duolingo introduced Crown Levels to personalize learning journeys, offering tougher exercises at higher levels, thereby allowing continuous improvement.
2. Strategy - Hovering Across Skills: The recommended strategy involves hovering across several skills simultaneously, alternating between gaining crowns by leveling up existing skills and starting new lessons. This maximizes learning by reinforcing existing knowledge while acquiring new material.
3. Skill Leveling and New Lessons: Starting a new skill involves completing all lessons to reach Level 1. These initial lessons provide an overview of crucial aspects of new material, aiding in memory retention.
4. Mixing Old and New Content: Mixing older skills with new lessons helps in better retention, facilitates longer-term memory recall, and adds variety to the learning experience.
5. Roadmap for Hovering Technique:
- Reach Level 1 in a new skill for a comprehensive understanding.
- Return to previous skills to level them up, reinforcing connections between old and new material.
- Progress to Level 2 in the new skill to solidify learning before it fades from long-term memory.
- Repeat the process of hovering across skills for an engaging learning strategy.
This method aims to create a well-rounded learning experience by balancing reinforcement of prior knowledge with the acquisition of new language skills, facilitating better retention and recall while making the learning process more engaging.
The article emphasizes that the hovering technique is adaptable and beneficial regardless of where learners are in their Duolingo course, offering a flexible and engaging strategy for achieving language learning goals.
