On user's product lifecycle

 

Ok, what's now? On Saturday, I celebrated my 2000th day streak on Duolingo. How long is that? Almost five and a half years using this app every day! But that Saturday was the last day I used Duolingo.

Yes, I am saying goodbye to Duo and thanking them for all the fun we had together. I still believe it's a fantastic product, especially to start a habit of learning a language. All the gamification techniques, communication style and memorable content are what make it so compelling for beginners. And it works too! I saw such different kinds of people, from children to advanced adults, who always struggled with keeping up a learning habit, trying Duolingo and sticking with it. I was one of them. Before Duo, I had multiple unsuccessful attempts to learn a language regularly, but only Duo made me do it consistently. 

So why am I stopping if it works so well? Short answer - I don't feel like I am learning a lot anymore. I reached that learning plateau a while ago, where I am comfortable with casual conversations, know most commonly used words and can go through Duo lessons with relative ease. However, every time I am interacting with native speakers, I struggle and stutter. And it seems no more Duo lessons gonna help with that.

A learning plateau is a known phenomenon and a usual stage in any complex learning process. And the solutions are also known:

• Set new goals: Redefine your goals to be more specific and challenging to regain focus.
• Vary your routine: Mix up your practice with new drills or exercises to introduce novelty.
• Seek feedback: Ask a coach, mentor, or peer for constructive criticism to identify weak areas.
• Use spaced repetition: Scheduling review sessions at optimal intervals can reinforce information and aid long-term retention.
• Target weaknesses: Identify and focus specifically on areas that need improvement, rather than repeating what you are already good at.
• Rest and reflect: Allow your brain to process and consolidate what you have learned by taking breaks.

So I'll be following some of these solutions and will seek to vary my learning routine, mix tools and methods, as well as take a break from what feels like a Duo job now. On top of a regular job I have. And the rest of life.

So what will I be doing instead of Duolingo?

Books

That was one of my main goals when I started learning - I wanted to read books in the original language they were written in. I tried a few years ago and struggled to go through a page without going to the dictionary multiple times. Now, I feel like I can get the meaning quite consistently, even if still struggling with some words. So I'll be combining book reading with vocabulary expansion.

Conversations 

Arguably, the trickiest part of any language learning. Here, there's no substitute for practice. I've been practising talking and listening for a while, and now need to focus on the natural conversation flow, in real time.

Tools

Books. The Kindle app is pretty good for my needs. I like that when I come across a word I don't know, I can select it and quickly see the definition in the language of the text. If it's not enough, the translation comes next.

Vocabulary. I searched and didn't find a simple, straightforward vocabulary app that would be pleasant to use. So I decided to create my own. Yeah, why not? In this blog, I have the whole series of posts on how, nowadays, almost anyone can create their own digital products. 

So I decided to put my money where my mouth is and create my own vocabulary expansion and language learning tool. Introducing - 3Smarter. It's a simple, web-based app to expand your vocabulary. I've been using it for a few months now and have developed a bit of a routine. I read my book, copy and paste the words I want to learn into 3Smarter, then practice them there to remember properly. Want to try it too? Visit 3Smarter.com and get started for free.

Conversations. Since I already pay for ChatGPT, I was testing it as a conversation partner and... it's pretty good, with some tuning. Like if you just initiate a conversation in the language you're learning, it will very comfortably start replying in that language and will understand you well. Too well. I found that even if you make a hundred mistakes - ChatGPT will still make sense of what you're talking about.

That's not super helpful for learning when you try to talk properly. So you need to prompt appropriately, explain to ChatGPT your learning intention and then it could turn into an incredibly powerful learning tool for you. Here's a prompt that elevated my learning experience considerably: "We'll have a conversation in this language. I want you to identify mistakes in my sentences and provide me with detailed feedback before continuing the conversation. My goal is to hold a conversation as a local, so I want you to mimic the tempo and slang common in this region."

Also, you don't need to use ChatGPT exclusively or have a subscription. Any major LLM with a voice mode can help you learn languages and practice conversations. 

Would vocabulary and speaking be enough to progress my learning to a fluent level? Not sure. I feel like I might need some additional grammar coaching that I missed the most in Duolingo. Like, even Duo Max didn't provide me with enough context to understand why I made the mistake. If I were a part of team Duo, I'd definitely advocate for more theory in the app, especially for advanced learners.

Should you also ditch Duolingo? The answer is pretty nuanced. If you haven't formed a learning habit yet - Duolingo is still one of the best ways to get started and let that habit stick. If you're somewhere in the middle of your learning journey and still enjoy doing Duo lessons while also noticeably progressing - keep going, maybe even try their premium features. However, if you feel like you've reached a learning plateau, maybe it's time to mix things up a bit and challenge yourself in new ways.

There's a lesson here for all product builders - be considerate about your users' product lifecycle. The value your product creates won't be equally distributed throughout your customers' lifecycle. And, sadly, you can lose product-market fit when your customers' context changes.

How to avoid that? Most importantly - keep learning about your customers. Don't be satisfied when "it works for most". Seek edge cases, seek evolving needs and declining engagement. And then, don't be terrified of losing some folks - it's part of any product life. Who knows, they might even return once they realise what they miss :)