Duolingo

Objectives

• Primary KPI: Increase user retention by fostering sustained engagement through personalized, culturally resonant, and meaningful learning experiences.

• Secondary KPI: Enhance user engagement by increasing time spent and frequency of app usage, while aligning with educational objectives and promoting culturally significant content.

By integrating targeted goal-setting, Duolingo can empower users to develop a stronger sense of agency and intrinsic motivation, creating a personal and impactful language-learning journey that supports long-term success.

Value Proposition and Impact

Duolingo users value agency over their learning journey, as revealed by literature, informal user research, and product reviews.

With diverse cultural backgrounds, learning styles, and motivations, learners seek a platform that adapts to their unique needs.

Key Question: How can Duolingo improve learner-centered goal-setting and personalized notifications to increase retention and engagement while driving educational efficacy?

Research on self-efficacy and motivation underscores the importance of specific, measurable goals in:

• Promoting long-term retention.

• Strengthening user commitment to their learning objectives.

• Fostering a growth mindset that encourages persistence despite occasional setbacks.

Proposed Solutions

• Weekly Goal-Setting: Encourage incremental progress by prompting users to set realistic, weekly goals that inspire consistent app usage without penalizing occasional lapses.

• Personalized Notifications: Utilize prior user activity to deliver tailored reminders and recommendations, aligning with their learning progress and goals.

• Growth-Oriented Learning: Frame progress in a way that reinforces incremental achievements, motivating users to continue building skills over time.

Target Users

• New Users: Encourage early engagement by prompting users to set personalized goals during onboarding, fostering a sense of ownership and commitment.

• Existing Users: Re-engage users with reminders to revisit and refine their goals, reinforcing accountability and long-term progress.

Goal-Setting

Set weekly goals in terms of the number of lessons learned per week

In this use case, new users choose the number of lessons they aim to complete each week during the onboarding process. Unlike daily time-based goals of 5–20 minutes, these weekly goals are more tailored and meaningful to the learner’s needs. Setting specific and relevant goals fosters early user investment, encouraging consistent interaction with the app and enhancing the overall value of their learning experience.

Customizing notification frequency empowers users to take control of their learning journey. With a soft opt-in, users can decide how often they receive reminders based on their personal goals. As users continue engaging with the app, future iterations could prompt them to increase their goals incrementally, starting with small, achievable milestones and encouraging steady progress over time.

Long-Term Retention Strategies

While the novelty of earning game rewards diminishes over time, reminders of personal goals can sustain motivation and foster long-term retention. Notifications that reference a user’s prior goals create meaningful connections, reinforcing their commitment to learning.

The Power of Personalization

Applying the personalization principle from e-learning design, using a conversational and informal tone in notifications enhances the learner's sense of social presence, prompting deeper cognitive engagement.

Content-Driven Notifications

Content-specific reminders can spark curiosity, re-engage users, and resonate deeply by acknowledging cultural diversity. For instance:

• Culturally Relevant Notifications: Incorporate culturally relevant holidays or events to encourage users to apply language skills in real-world contexts. For example, a message about preparing for Lunar New Year could prompt learners studying Mandarin, and incorporate enriching stories to inspire cultural immersion. This approach promotes knowledge transfer while fostering cultural connection.

• Goal-Oriented Prompts: Tailor notifications to reflect the learner’s progress, upcoming challenges, and culturally resonant themes. For example, referencing local idioms or cultural references in the target language can enhance engagement and deepen learning.

By integrating cultural sensitivity and resonance into personalized notifications, these strategies not only sustain user interest but also strengthen the connection between the app’s content and the learner’s aspirations, creating a more meaningful and inclusive learning experience.

What’s Next?

Tailoring goals and notifications effectively requires addressing the diverse motivations and learning objectives of Duolingo users to create a more personalized experience.

Gamification and Motivation

This proposal emphasizes the importance of blending gamification principles with personalized goal-setting to enhance both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is nurtured through goal-setting that empowers users to feel agency and progress in their language-learning journey. Extrinsic motivation is supported by timely, engaging notifications that serve as external triggers, reinforcing learning habits.

Next Steps

• Research-Based Personalization: Conduct user research to refine the understanding of how different user groups set goals and respond to notifications.

• Testing Variations: Explore and test variations that balance intrinsic motivation (personalized goal-setting) with extrinsic motivation (gamified reminders).

• Onboarding Enhancements: Use onboarding to help users articulate their learning goals, providing a strong foundation for personalized experiences.

Key Impact

Duolingo should continue to refine its personalization strategies to:

• Foster intrinsic motivation by empowering users to set meaningful, culturally resonant, and achievable goals that reflect their unique learning journey.

• Leverage gamification through engaging, non-intrusive notifications that not only align with user preferences but also provide extrinsic motivation to reinforce consistent learning habits.

• Encourage user agency by guiding learners to take greater control of their progress, creating a rewarding and sustainable language-learning experience that resonates across diverse cultural contexts.

By enhancing personalization, incorporating cultural relevance, and balancing intrinsic and extrinsic motivation through gamified engagement, Duolingo can strengthen retention, boost user satisfaction, and ensure long-term success in language learning.

References

Aleven, V., Myers, E., Easterday, M. & Ogan, A. (2010). Toward a framework for the analysis and design of educational games. In Proceedings of the 3rd IEEE Conference on Digital Game and Intelligent Toy-Enhanced Learning, IEEE, Washington, D.C., pp. 69-76.

Dweck, C. S. (2008). Mindset: The new psychology of success. Random House Digital, Inc.

Keller, J., & Suzuki, K. (2004). Learner motivation and e-learning design: A multinationally validated process. Journal of educational Media, 29(3), 229-239.

Locke, E. A. (1996). Motivation through conscious goal setting. Applied and preventive psychology, 5(2), 117-124.

Mayer, R.E. (2014). Principles based on social cues: Personalization, voice, and image principles. In R.E.Mayer (Ed.), Cambridge handbook of multimedia learning (2nd ed., pp. 345–368). New York: Cambridge University Press. Summarizes how social cues such as conversational style, human voice, polite wording, and human‐like gesture can promote deeper learning.