I do it in bed, just before I fall asleep. Other times, I sneak away from my desk for a quick fix in the office bathroom. Occasionally, it’s during dinner with friends. And once, regrettably, right in the middle of a date. Though it’s bizarre to some, there’s pretty much no place that I won’t pause what I’m doing to fulfil the demands of an animated green bird, beaming out at me from my phone screen. The figure in question is the Duolingo owl, and it’s had its claws in me for years.
For the past 145 days, I’ve been committed to completing at least one daily session on the world’s most popular language-learning app, Duolingo. Instead of traditional Spanish lessons, I dedicate anywhere from two to 15 minutes a day to completing exercises that give me more familiarity with the language. From learning the basics, like how to ask for a glass of water, to the more complex job of describing the joke your grandma’s dentist told her last week, the app mixes written and listening tasks with multiple-choice games to expand users’ knowledge base. Duo, the app’s feathered ambassador, and a selection of diverse characters pop up to help learners through the course with little asides.
