Duolingo has been on my phone since 2015. I’ve used it a few times, managing a few days on the trot to log in and complete a lesson or two. But I’ve never been able to keep it going to make an impact. So what would happen if I used it a little bit every day? Would I actually learn something? It’s time to see if I can discover a love of chess.
The courses available
I first downloaded the app with the intention of revising my French language skills. Since then, I’ve added several other options to my learning journey. In a bid to get back to using the app, I decided to try my hand at chess. This was a game I played as a child. I was not a chess mastermind but I knew what direction the pieces are supposed to move. In my house, nobody really plays chess. But the thing is, chess is a great way to work your brain. However, if it is not your thing, there are plenty of other courses to choose from. Maths is one course which seems interesting but I ponder how they expect to teach you the advanced formulas that are found later in the course. And then there are the languages. Spanish is the most popular course, followed by French. In fact, there are over 40 languages for English speakers to choose from. I have dabbled in a lot of them, including Klingon. Yes, you can learn Klingon in Duolingo.
Keeping up my streak
I’m not going to lie, Duolingo can be very pushy and the notifications can be completely chaotic. At the time of writing this, I had a 166 chess streak that I broke yesterday because I was too busy reading and forgot. I’ve now got a frozen owl on my home screen for my sins. As a general rule, it has not been too difficult to remember to log in and complete at least one lesson. I have the widget to help remind me, plus they send you an email if it gets too late in the day. There is the added bonus of XP boosters which help you to move up scoreboards. In chess, you can play Oscar, one of the Duolingo characters, in adaptive Elo matches. The matches have been fun and I’m sitting around 488 ELO. For those of you who don’t know what that means, it’s the chess rating system which is out of 2,500. Although, I believe Grand Masters can rank higher than 2,500 ELO (but don’t quote me on that).
Has it worked?
Over the course of the 166 days (so far) I feel that I have learnt a decent amount about the game of chess. Am I ready to be a Grand Master? Not even close. The adaptive matches have been a source of fun and frustration. For example, I managed to hit 500 ELO but lost it when I lost a match to Oscar. I’m not sure if it will transfer to a real chess board and I have yet to try it out. However, the act of logging into the app once a day has been an interesting habit to form, especially as I am trying to cut down on my screen time. I have learnt some new terms such as pins and batteries, both important tactics in chess. Over time, I might be able to apply these moves on a real board. However, I think Duolingo should only be used as a support for whatever it is you are learning. Don’t get me wrong, it is a good support but it is not the only thing you should be using on your learning journey. For example, if you are learning French, use Duolingo, watch your favourite movies (movies that you know in English) in French, and read French novels. Really, I should be reading books about chess and playing real games against people too. But for now, it is a nice support that tickles my brain a little bit.
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