BETA YOURSELF DUOLINGO

Drop the textbooks and grab your phone: Craig Grannell shows how one app can turn learning a new language into an enjoyable adventure squeezed into your spare moments

- Craig Grannell

THE BASICS

Have a heart Duolingo claims its hearts system stops people bingeing: you lose one on making an error, so be precise. Naturally, you can buy gems to increase your hearts count. Or go 'pro', which bins the hearts system and ads. You can invite up to five others to a paid plan - and they needn't live with you.

Be wary of leagues

Duolingo uses gamification to keep you engaged. But its league system is based on XP, which may lead to grinding rather than meaningful usage and learning. If the leagues work for you, fine. But if you find yourself repeating quick review exercises to boost XP, ignore the leagues-bar the daily games, which can be fun as memory tests.

Take it slowly

Even beyond the leagues, Duolingo's game-like nature can tempt you to burn through exercises. That won't help you commit languages to memory. Unless you have total recall, let what you've learned soak in before continuing. Avoid skipping speaking and listening exercises... and focus on a single language, rather than juggling a dozen.

Know its limits

Duolingo can only take you so far. Language experts say it's a good starting point, but won't make you fluent.

Also be mindful of regional differences: if you're a native English speaker, it will teach you Latin American Spanish, which differs from European Spanish-in much the same way that US and UK English aren't the same.