How to Make Learning as Addictive as Social Media | Luis Von Ahn | TED

When technologist Luis von Ahn was building the popular language-learning platform Duolingo, he faced a big problem: Could an app designed to teach you something ever compete with addictive platforms like Instagram and TikTok? He explains how Duolingo harnesses the psychological techniques of social media and mobile games to get you excited to learn - all while spreading access to education across the world.
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[@keithws2779]

Something no one is talking about - his story of being from a poor country and his mother doing her all to give him an opportunity - and then he went on to massive success. She must be so proud, and I hope he takes great care of her as a thank you.

[@Gourhard123]

yeah, thats also story of elon musk and so on.

[@jyhina]

​​@@Gourhard123Elon's dad is quoted with saying that they had so much money they struggled to close the safe. Elon reportedly walked around with legit emeralds in his pockets as a teenager

[@xbeast1ny0m4m4]

well thats south africa baby@@jyhina

[@manofthejacuzzi463]

@@jyhina according to wikipedia Luis Von Ahn grew up in a wealthy family many rich people like to lie about growing up poor I can't confirm that the source is correct since I don't have a subscription to the site

[@1026JMS]

​@@manofthejacuzzi463a subscription to Wikipedia? All information is free there, you can check any article's sources. If you mean Duolingo, what does a subscription has to do with a source of something you read on Wikipedia?

[@ChrisFoli]

His delivery skill is just brilliant! The intro, storytelling, humor; everything was just on point!

[@unfocusedshow]

Right? OMG, he needs to speak more!

[@kentuckyfriedegg3409]

Any sort of missed joke or stutter was carried with confidence, don't think anyone could watch this and not think that this guy isnt cool

[@LionelBercovich]

But hey, we’re fun!

[@jamese.jonesjr.1751]

Absolutely!

[@popsiclette]

You can see where Duo gets it from :P

[@marisolvalerin3994]

I have received a bilingual education for over 20 years - I am 100% fluent in both Spanish and English. On the other hand, my dad never had the opportunity to learn English. He used to stay up late playing solitaire on his iPad, now I hear the Duolingo app sounds coming from his room all the time. He doesn't really talk about it but I am not exaggerating when I say I hear the sounds at all times of the day, literally, so I KNOW he uses it and I know he enjoys it... and that's what gets me and brings tears to my eyes: he's so consistent with the app because he's happy with his results. So thank you, Luis! For giving my 71-year-old Latino father the opportunity he lacked in his childhood.

[@Mcouey2]

I immediately choked up when he said Duolingo. I love Duolingo, though the past year I’ve had my frustrations with company choices. But anyway, now I have two big tears blurring my eyes reading your story. I love that it was his quiet hobby, bringing joy and better conversations along the way. Thanks for sharing, you really made my day. 💜🖤

[@LA-lq1zf]

I’m stunned at your fathers willing and determined mindset to further his education, it must be very encouraging for you ❤

[@staninjapan07]

That's a heart-warming story right there :)

[@teamhop]

Hey I’ve got some really great news to share with you, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died on a cross and resurrected on the third day so you may all have eternal life. If you believe and repent of your sins and put your faith and trust in Him as you would a parachute jumping off a plane at 25000 feet up in the air, He will give you eternal life in heaven as a free gift and I promise you, He will change your life forever as He did mine. He is the ONLY way to heaven and He loves you all. Please think deeply about this with urgency because this is your eternal life and soul, you don’t know when you could die, meaning you could die at any moment, so please consider this with all your heart. If anyone tells you that Jesus isn’t the only way, they are lying to you and they don’t care about your future.

[@luana2982]

🥺💖

[@andreandy5322]

I'm Brazilian, I'm learning English on my own and I understood this video almost completely

[@ThiagoinEnglish-hc3pr]

same here

[@nasimmirzaee]

That's awesome 👏

[@liviaportes9420]

Your writing skills are great! Congratulations 👏

[@Night_owl05]

Great job! Keep it up you can do it ❤

[@lupemerrit]

I grew up bilingual. Read and write Spanish and English. Love it!

[@tobypark2045]

Didn’t realize he was the duolingo guy. Thank God for this man. I’m a Korean American who’s struggled to relearn his Mother tongue his whole life. I’ve got 145 days strong on Duolingo Korean and no intent of stopping

[@paulomoniz]

Is it working?

[@teamhop]

Hey I’ve got some really great news to share with you, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died on a cross and resurrected on the third day so you may all have eternal life. If you believe and repent of your sins and put your faith and trust in Him as you would a parachute jumping off a plane at 25000 feet up in the air, He will give you eternal life in heaven as a free gift and I promise you, He will change your life forever as He did mine. He is the ONLY way to heaven and He loves you all. Please think deeply about this with urgency because this is your eternal life and soul, you don’t know when you could die, meaning you could die at any moment, so please consider this with all your heart. If anyone tells you that Jesus isn’t the only way, they are lying to you and they don’t care about your future.

[@quinnh3553]

Yes! Japanese American here, my little brother has a 700 day streak! I've got 70 XD, but I'll get there some day. Right now I use it mostly for the writing system. How is your journey going?

[@user-jc7zn1ld5l]

멋져요~

[@marsh346]

you are better off picking up an actual textbook on the language you are trying to learn. duplingo is an app like any other and is meant to waste your time under a veil of making you feel like you are learning something.

[@ste5402]

The world needs more CEOs and leaders like this! Inspiring, value-driven, and intelligent. Good job Luis and the Duolingo team!

[@karat518]

He is a CEO?

[@WestOfEarth]

I wish more entrepreneurs were like him. I thought Musk was like this for awhile, and then I was slapped in the face.

[@adityamwagh]

@@karat518Yes, founder and CEO of Duolingo.

[@ste5402]

@@WestOfEarth we were all fooled.

[@user-fk8zw5js2p]

According to what he said in this video, he started with nothing but his single mother's love and income in a poor country. I'm sure that he has seen all of the problems the world has to offer and has overcome many himself. These hardships have exercised and strengthened every part of his mind to the extremes and i am guessing within the framework of an ethical education, he has used his abilities to do good. By contrast, most CEOs in my country start rich with nannies, tutors, private school educations, and absent parents who are borderline abusive when they are around. Then the future CEOs get into super selective colleges by knowing other rich people and get their first jobs near the top of a company because of their connections and money. The only problems they have encountered are how to keep their greedy motivations going and how to exploit others within the boundaries of the current laws.

[@nath7196]

he nailed it when he said that its imposible to make learning as engaging as social media he is right about that because when you learn you are using your brain you are thinking but when you are just being stimulated with tiktoks or reels you arent thinking you are just getting stimulated thats why social media decrease concentration

[@user-ky7fc8kl2y]

Short, concise, engaging, smart, genuine, not following the same script as you learned in high school, and funny with a very short introduction in the same theme and not too much "oh wow, look at me, I am so good". Great Ted talk. More of these please! One of the few talkers I wouldn't mind getting stuck beside on a train.

[@karaoke_kaushal]

Impressively, his 12-minute Duolingo ad held the audience's attention, highlighting his mastery of communication and English. Well done! 👏😄

[@beemo9]

I didn't really learn practical steps for making learning as addictive as social media.

[@sauravmishra3878]

you just need to use these methods to tame yourself@@beemo9

[@Gameboob]

Yea as soon as I recognized him I started to worry about this just being an ad or something self-congratulatory

[@coprilettodelnapoli5466]

​@@beemo9fr. He could atleast do a list and explain the "same social media and mobile games techniques" to make us engage.

[@MelissaReyes-ls6dz]

it worked im downloading doulingo rn

[@khadigakhashaba7362]

I opened this video randomly and i didn`t expect to see duolingo founder and this was great you are brilliant.

[@TheRedMenace12]

If he is brilliant why is he not in Mensa and hides his grades and IQ scores? He's another spoiled brat grifter in the mold of Elon Musk, Salmon Kahn, and Donald Trump.

[@jaydeshmukh2050]

There's no trick or tip in this video if you came after reading the title. He just explains how he used the social media to make students learn from Duolingo.

[@utkarsh2753]

thanks for saving my time

[@user-if2bp4mt6h]

😂😂😂

[@fay-hw2oi]

always said the inventor of duolingo is so smart, turns out he is humane too, the story behind why he did the application is just amazing. we need more people like him. gonna restart my lessons again

[@oluwasegunnicholas9879]

Because of this man's vision, I can speak German and Russian language without paying what would have been thousands of dollars. Thanks Luis ❤

[@ramziabirsabil5200]

Hey... Are you just Learn those languages in doulongo

[@oluwasegunnicholas9879]

@@ramziabirsabil5200 I also got some study books to work with.

[@Dave.-.]

Nicht schlecht, warst du schon in Deutschland?

[@mr.satanas206]

I'm learning french! I tried russian but it's a bit too much for me right now

[@oluwasegunnicholas9879]

@@Dave.-. Oh nein, ich bin nicht in Deutschland, aber ich hoffe to visit someday 😊

[@emirhandemir3872]

The "making rich people pay for the education of rest of the people" was absolutely amazing. Thanks for mentioning the inequality in education.

[@keremgobekcioglu4686]

Don't agree.

[@thatsalot3577]

​@@keremgobekcioglu4686 yeah so you must agree with how universities work now like charging 100k for no matter who you are the rich kids can just drop and continue the legacy of their family while those who take student loans get crushed doing 2 jobs while learning ?

[@keremgobekcioglu4686]

@@thatsalot3577 he s my friend and it s an inside joke

[@anotherone8772]

yeah billionaires dont use duolingo. what he actually meant is that middle class westerners fund students from 2nd or 3rd world countries

[@sourabhsharma6113]

Actually everyone is paying. If you're "rich" you pay with money and get the ad disabled. If you're "poorer", you pay by watching an ad and giving it your time; this generates money for dualingo paid by ad companies. Although, it's a win win for both dualingo and the "poor" person.

[@Julia-qi8ti]

I will finally land the job of my dreams if I can take just a 10-minute interview with mr. Von Ahn. Please, I beg you, give this comment a like, so that it has a 1.11% chance to be noticed🙏🙏🙏

[@nnschscrvr3]

Congratulations to this man and to the whole Duolingo project, it is so important to improve education all over the world and to get people to enjoy while learning

[@julioareck]

I'm a Guatemalan and I wrote my PhD dissertation on games and foreign language learning. What Von Ahn said is not only very well supported and corroborated by recent research, but it's very inspirational: some teachers and parents see mobile phones as enemies who keep children wasting their time, while in fact these devices are only tools, and it's up to us to use them for something good instead. Duolingo is a very successful example of how to use modern technologies and techniques to foster learning for everyone.

[@TeKeyaKrystal]

oh wow

[@TeKeyaKrystal]

oh wow

[@Vi_k_torija]

but has anyone truly learned a language with Duolingo? What I've noticed it doesn't really happen. I know 2 people who played it for more than a year.

[@marjamerryflower]

​@@Vi_k_torijai am learning a lot

[@arizotje]

@@Vi_k_torija Well i use it as an added help in learning spanish, togheter with speaking it. I would say it can!

[@demirdemirgil4604]

My father, 67, last year before going into a heart surgeon, reminded me to continue his Duolingo streak which was 1.137 days :)

[@anelija3172]

How is he now? Did everything go okay? 😊

[@ashihtaka]

​@@anelija3172it means he died

[@user-fy2go7kl5d]

What an absolute genius! I never knew you were one of the masterminds behind Duolingo. The app really is designed to make learning addictive; great job to the whole team behind it all!

[@TheRedMenace12]

Genius? What's his Mensa number? Oh, he doesn't have one.

[@yadoog]

literally just an advert for duolingo

[@user-su2yr2sq6w]

As a current user of Duolingo, i got so happy knowing that he is the founder and what his intentions are. I related so much when he mentioned the passive aggressive approach of reminders cause when i recived those notification, i felt like damm! the whole crew of Duolingo is judging me now.

[@MaxwellNaradd]

Yeah likewise. I’ve been using the app since 2017 and the way the different characters talk to you through notifications is truly commendable

[@LUCKYYTHR]

😂

[@armyforlife3191]

Imagine how different the world would be if the same addiction we all have experienced because of social media, to be be channeled into acquiring knowledge. Furthermore, to *want* to keep on learning, it would be a blessing. Me emociona y me intriga como se logrará pasar esto, de teoría, a la realidad

[@Chris-hw9vv]

It will happen, maybe not in 1 year, maybe not in 10 years. But it will happen. Each day more and more people decied to change.

[@laimaravillon895]

Exacto! Pero no creo que las corporaciones dejen qje eso pase. Porque la gente sería libre y entonces insurrecta ;)

[@m5dznr]

@@laimaravillon895 Las corporaciones están perdiendo su poder - Day after day we see cases of completely regular people becoming millionaires/billionaires through entrepreneurship and teaching it all for free (basically exactly what duolingo does - providing value to everyone and letting those who can pay for it - which makes all the sense in the world if you take into account the 80/20 rule) This was Steve Jobs' vision - a time where the individual could compete on almost equal grounds with any corporation. The internet made it all possible because at the time, only corporations could afford public speaking and advertising. Today anyone can create a complete authentic value creating company on his smartphone!

[@bex8937]

Espero que un día todos corporaciones son como Duolingo. A better world if all people with power were people who deserved it.

[@TheRedMenace12]

I'd rather imagine a world without addiction. Or grifters.

[@annefern5585]

You are my hero!!! Thanks to your app my Spanish improves every day. Level 5 almost at 6. 865 days without stopping. Australian born living in Mexico. It's my plan to finish Spanish and keep learning. To my English students it's your app that I always recommend! Muchas gracias 😊

[@juliochavez308]

865 días sin parar? así que puede entender y contestar what I'm saying right? :)

[@jasminealiara3257]

Believe it or not, I'm on day 865 too!!! I'm learning Russian.

[@annefern5585]

Yes I am 99.99% bilingual. Now over 900!!!

[@victorsirkoi1468]

How long on average do you spend learning in a day?

[@nemfreudexplica8021]

girl, congrats!!!!! My mother is learning english on duolingo and it is probably 600 days hahahah...

[@user-yi7ro7dy5m]

Such a great talk! And also explains why KZbin is one of my favourite platforms. Similar to the point made at 10:39, I can spend hours on KZbin, but I actually feel like I've gained something once I close the app or the browser window. KZbin also helps me be productive by housing creators of productivity, "in-a-cafe" soundtracks, or, let me listen to great TEDTalks while I'm doing my work. Well done DuoLingo (and KZbin!) for showcasing the non-toxic side of social media, online communities, and digital platforms.

[@dvorak2676]

youtube did us dirty by adding shorts and promoting them heavily

[@Taicrozeta]

​@@dvorak2676yes AND if you subscribe to education channels of some sort, their shorts also have something to learn from, at least in my experience ☺️

[@oodark_ninjaoo9775]

Fr man

[@matthewswanson2707]

Very true. ​@@dvorak2676

[@sarfarazmazgaonkar1266]

As an active Duo Lingo user learning French with a streak of 546 days I can totally relate to how streak works😊 I keep coming back everyday for at least one lesson because I do not want it to be reset😅 Thanks DuoLingo team and Luis

[@JesusMunoz94]

I think that can at times backfire, though. I found myself sometimes just logging in to the app repeating old lessons just to get my streak extended, simply because I did not want to lose a streak of a couple hundred of days. Those days I had not opened the app not because I had become demotivated or had spent hours using social media, but because I was extremely busy. I suppose leagues exist for the same reason, and you see there people testing out of languages they already know or doing lessons without paying attention just to rack up more points (this is obvious from the crazy races that you see specially as people progress through leagues, but I also saw my partner doing her English lessons just for the points). I eventually left Duolingo because streaks became annoying to me. Unfortunately you cannot disable them as you can do with leagues. The reminders were also annoying, particularly when they started with passive aggressive sentences. I think the app is great for learning vocabulary and picking up some basic grammar, and I may come back to it if I ever want to learn specific languages for which there is very little material available (ex: Guaraní), but for mainstream languages I think I am done with Duolingo.

[@bruhmomento9093]

Are you good at french now tho 😮

[@GMMoreti]

Duolingo taught me a lot of things. It taught me discipline.

[@sarfarazmazgaonkar1266]

​@@bruhmomento9093yes yes, but it's slow progress😊

[@ispeakmucho]

Mais pourquoi vous ne parlez pas avec la lang. I've learned it too! It's amazing

[@djinn4895]

What makes education simply addictive to me, is pure raw Curiosity. The intellectual satisfaction it provides is so unmatched for me. Thank you for this Ted Talk! Super interesting.

[@SreelakshmiSaseendran]

Sadly in school, most of the time, syllabus wise education doesn't satisfy curiosity

[@anuvindm2092]

@@SreelakshmiSaseendran It's because in school most of us don't want to learn. Even if the syllabus is interesting, we are off to school to meet our friends and have fun. But once we understand the necessity of education, the learning becomes more sensible. That's why learning from tuition centres makes us feel that the teachers at tuition are more talented than the ones at school. It's simply because we're going to tuition on our own will, we take the decision here. It's not about the syllabus, it's about the need. This is exactly how Duolingo works too. I am malayali too and I hope you would also know how the tuition centres feel way better than the school at teaching.

[@onlytolearn]

​@@anuvindm2092to be honest I felt studying was boring in both school and tuition. Only KZbin has made it more interesting in the recent years but alas I'm already out of school and college.

[@anuvindm2092]

@@onlytolearn yeah, I am out of college too. And I learnt coding through KZbin in my college days. KZbin is basically the best out there if you use it in the right way.

[@randiruhn657]

You are so right!! Endless hours spent down rabbit holes just to learn more about the topic 🎉🎉

[@BenzOzil]

This wasn’t a “TED Talk”. This was a Duo Lingo ad - a 12-minute ad.

[@TheRedMenace12]

Ahn is an all around con man. His bio varies every time he tells it. Duolingo is rated poorly throughout the linguistic world. It's not a good ad platform, either. It's part of Google and Google Ads, and they are easily blocked.

[@user-sq5kt7xk8w]

I agree lol😂

[@TheRedMenace12]

@@user-sq5kt7xk8w It bothers me that too many elementary school teachers are being sold this crap because it's free. Children love the cartoon characters and hate the 1950s translation exercises. Duolingo has a nearly 100% dropout rate.

[@aniksamiurrahman6365]

Basically, most TED talks today.

[@user-pj3gf1vf3o]

Cannot agree with u anymore!

[@jannaman-on2531]

i love how he's moving so much when asked a question at the end, it's his way of processing the information

[@ThaiOdessy]

This is not an ad for Duolingo but how educators can motivate their students to learn without "nagging" them. As and educator, I found this most interesting and plan to use some of these techniques to help my students learn more willingly but enjoy the learning process at the same time.

[@47tigger52]

My friends use Duolingo and they love it. My best friend has at least 3 languages pretty much down. I don't care much for languages, I'm a big fan of numbers and puzzles so math and science were my thing. I found Elevate as my favorite. It has a well rounded set up for learning in a game like setting. It challenges you too read faster by actually giving you 2 or 3 lines at a time and scrolling through at different paces or it'll go word by word at a different speed. It always starts slow then speeds up each level. It also goes over vocabulary, Grammer, etc. It has reading, writing, math, and memory categories. It has sounds, it looks and often acts as a game would. It's fun enough that teenagers would like it and sophisticated enough that adults enjoy it. I like it so much that I pay an annual premium, so I don't remember what the free version was like, but I had the free version for a long time before deciding it was worth paying for. In the case of our minds, use it or lose it. Make strong, enjoyable memories and your view on life will begin to look brighter. Learning new things, challenging yourself, and exploring are all great ways to better your life in so many ways.

[@47tigger52]

That's also not an ad or anything, I'm a 31 year old surveillance officer. I just really like the app.

[@isaacsundarsingh2061]

Well said

[@melanievans]

🔥 I think that the problem with formal education is that they obly students to learn subjetcs that they really don't care. It's different when you learn something (language, subjetc, book, etc) that you are intrinsic motivated to learn about. It'd be great if in the future each student can create their owns study pensum. "La curiosidad es el motor del aprendizaje" 😉

[@Roberto-gw9um]

Proceeds to download Duolingo again*

[@sheikhxenos]

I'm so close to my 1000 day streak, at 981 rn 😭 Thank you Luis for this amazing app and I really do hope we get more apps like this on other subjects. 🖤

[@ensenadorjones4224]

I want a guitar app that teaches me chords and how they sound. Notes on the fretboard and then how to play famous songs.

[@chriswarfs3244]

My native language is English. I started learning French in highschool, but it never stuck. It's a relatively easy transition to go from one latin language to another, but it never held my attention. Today is my 201st day streak on duolingo, learning Arabic. I'm certainly still a beginner, but I actually remember and retain the things I have learned from it, because it's *properly engaging*. Duolingo has made something that is extremely difficult, so accessible and without causing frustration or losing motivation. I absolutely loved this ted talk, and just like Luis here says, I hope we culture a world where learning becomes as engaging as social media.

[@EntrepreneurHomage]

i believe that with VR and AI and all the crazy stuff that's coming, a new desire will awaken to learn with these new gadgets.

[@hassaniq0777]

Damn dude! My native language is Arabic 😅 And I learned English to a native level, and fairly good in French, and currently studying Kurdish and more French. I can also read German, Spanish, Italian, Korean, Persian, and the languages I mentioned first. Best of luck for your journey ❤

[@melid4162]

English is a Germanic language. very different from being a Romance language like French. the history of English does include that it borrowed literal thousands of words from French, but it isn't a Romance based language such as French itself, Portuguese, Romanian, Italian, Spanish, Catalonian, Galician etc

[@jyhina]

English is a germanic language mate

[@khadijachaibi7183]

@@hassaniq0777 I lost the count when you talked about your reading languages. I am native in arabic as well, and I learned french and english to a native level but that's it. keep it up!

[@GetNotableDotAI]

I was fortunate to study at Carnegie Mellon and met Prof. Luis Von Ahn. What he had done inspired me to pursue building products to help improve learning and productivity for people. It's good to see him on TED. 00:51 - Education can perpetuate inequality 01:39 - Duolingo's mission is to provide equal access to education 03:49 - Smartphones as a tool for education 04:13 - Freemium model and wealth redistribution 05:18 - Making education engaging like social media 07:30 - The power of notifications and streaks 11:34 - Screen time can be meaningful 12:24 - Gamifying education through repetition

[@growwithmetips]

Thank you 🤗 so much!

[@raffayahmad4202]

This video doesn't need to summarised, it justifies its duration

[@GetNotableDotAI]

@@raffayahmad4202 agree. The talk is fun to watch and contains insights from start to end. Taking note does help retain the key takeaways though.

[@StayyyFrosty]

love this method you have, literally sitting here wondering best way to summarize as i consume educational youtube stufffs @@GetNotableDotAI

[@kellyiprado]

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us. I'm brazilian and my duolingo streak is on 1263 days (studying french) and I finished the english course few months before starting the streak on french. My mom also uses it to study english, she has doing it for almost 3 years starting from zero but now she knows a loooot of things, so thank you one more time 😁😁😁

[@ipekdemirbey2447]

I'm on my 77th day on Duolingo learning Italian after watching this. Thank you so much! Sucn an inspiration 🎉❤

[@andycordy5190]

Because I could pay. I paid. Knowing that paying is helping someone who can't afford to pay made me feel good. Duo Lingo Greek isn't very comprehensive nor is it responsive to my needs any more but it's a minority language and even though it wasn't very useful after six months of intensive work, I had become addicted and after 18 months I am beginning to have a more useful understanding of the language. Thanks Duo

[@davip116]

Paying is keeping the platform working so they can put adds inside the house and minds of poor people.

[@davip116]

Considering its widely perceived failure as a tool to really learn a language, it is just another game like every other with the main purpose of generating revenue at the expense of mental health. Addiction is not good in any way. If you do something for the reward in the addiction framework, it is not being done to learn. These are different tasks that bring different results.

[@davip116]

and they even promote this big video add as well

[@maverickmic]

Sadly you do need to pay to get some proper results and this app isn't strong enough. I used one briefly that connects you with ppl to correct spellings etc, language is very useful no doubt. But you also need to speak, live and listen to it to "acquire" it. This app is a good entry but that's all

[@EntrepreneurHomage]

The app kind of limits you with 5 mistakes. Learning Russian, I got 3/5 perfect lessons, so not an issue, but with Hungarian it's a whole different story. Without paid version I'd be quite limited, plus the added unnecessary pressure of making an error.

[@birbo599]

Love this lecture, in order to get immersed even in the most difficult concepts- you have to treat it like a game.

[@Nesyulett]

yeah

[@sankaranarayanan901]

Treat it like a game .- powerful.

[@tldw8354]

to treat something like a game you need to split any task that is too large or too complex in to smaller pieces and solve or practize them after another. For my understanding that's THE key methodology to success. And the gamification part could be to track your stepps to see that you grow over time.

[@prayagpatel5231]

Atomic habits 👁👄👁

[@fernandosantos495]

probably but wonder how the great minds has done, also like a game? How this CEO has done it, also like a game?

[@ArabicSpellingmistakes]

Hello, I am from the Middle East, specifically from Yemen. I did not know before that you were the owner of the idea and application before. I carried it in my phone and I am practicing it to learn the English language. It is a really wonderful application.

[@matthelton6637]

Some of the best officers I worked with in the military were those that came from the enlisted side of the field (non-officers to start). The worst, were the ones who went to ROTC. Some of the best managers I had in my years of work were the ones who worked from the floor to the office (started there as a regular employee and worked their way up). The worst, those who had a degree and came off the street with nothing but that degree. It's no wonder Dr. Luis von Ahn went into the creation of Duolingo with the attitude of "pay if you can." Not growing up with money, he could see the injustices and remembered where he came from. Just like officers in the military or managers at the store, the best people to lead are those who didn't start with a silver spoon. We need more leaders like him! Thank you for the video.

[@hengwaiwong6815]

‘I hope screen time in the future isn’t a bad thing’ I totally stand with this because it’s undeniable internet connects the world. And Duolingo 🎉🎉

[@stellafolwarska4216]

when he was talking about a language learning app the first thing I thought was 'duolingo already exists for that!' and then it turns out he's the founder 😂 😂

[@phoneix24886]

What an amazing educator and person. Really inspiring. I can listen to him all day and not get bored!

[@LaquanBlack]

One of the best TED talks I've listened to in a long time. As a professor, this has been truly amazing and gave me some thoughts about how to help students. Definitely sharing this in my class. Thank you!

[@ilduce5874]

I had a math prof who spontaneously broke into a rap style rhyming mnemonic for quadratic equations. He had met the renowned Jaime Escalante in real life (Stand and Deliver LA barrio AP Calculus high school teacher).

[@user-ih7ru3zm2u]

The title made me remember when as a kid, I found learning much more interesting so social media was so boring for me although I always had free access to it. But when school got much harder and demanding, I full on turned to a social media addict😅

[@ewuraamaetruwaasam7084]

Oww

[@serias4022]

If it was harder, means you didn't study enough.

[@user-ih7ru3zm2u]

@@serias4022 Yeah I lost interest

[@GabrielGamis2]

This man is a one of a kind! What a great storytelling and sense of humor! As a brazilian and a Duolingo Japanese student, I see that I was manipulated by this man, but in a good way. Differently than with TikTok or Instagram. Thank you for creating such a good app to learn languages, my girlfriend is learning french and my friend is learning spanish in your app, things that they wouldn`t do because they don`t have money and time now.

[@nupurnishant4197]

Glad to see actual achievers back on TED stage.

[@kme3894]

I am a polyglot (speaking 3 languages fluently, understanding a 4th at a mother tongue level, 3 more at a very good level and 1 additional language at an elementary level) and even with my natural inclination towards languages I tried and tried for years to learn Japanese, to no avail. Then, 872 days ago I started using Duolingo and I can proudly say that I am finally confident that I can learn this language too. It works. The trick is to trust the process and not get discouraged by the new words and sentences thrown at you apparently out of nowhere. It's learning like you would if you were suddenly catapulted in the country and had to figure out what is what and how it works in this language. My 77 years old mother has even learned some fairly good English over the past 2 years or so

[@DEFENDER1932]

what do you do after learning these languages

[@zsqduke]

I have to assume you were exposed to the other 4 languages when you were little and they are mostly indo-european. If you only spoke one language growing up and then learn a foreign language from a different language family to an almost native level through conscious deliberate learning, then you will have not only mastered the said language but also the learning mechanics so that you can learn any language

[@personnumber42]

@@DEFENDER1932does there have to be something done with it? Maybe there is joy to be found in simply learning the languages, and knowing you can now communicate with whole new groups of people and experience their cultures in a richer way

[@danaililiev1404]

900 days for you to get confident? did they pay you

[@yelkhan2002]

900 days to be confident that he can finally start learning the language. This very accurately describes Duolingo

[@icantfindnone]

I’ve been learning Korean for a while now, I’ve used duolinguo in the past I’ve stopped because I get discouraged due to nobody to practice with and this video is a reminder to go back. Imma restart today. Thank you

[@bztree80]

Thank you Luis, not only have I started using Duolingo after watching this, I've kept my other daily life habits going for over 2 months now. Once I understand the science behind it I talked myself out of procrastinating. Well done, you've nailed it. Please consider adding Taiwanese for Chinese Mandarin speakers.

[@byte1bit]

Nothing screams equal access to education like locking most features behind a paywall and only letting you make a few mistakes a day unless you pay. What a saint!

[@drtruth_health-love-bliss]

Not only how to make learning more addictive, but we can also learn how to make an excellent presentation through this video.

[@EntrepreneurHomage]

amazing character

[@life_score]

So, how to make learning as addictive as social media?

[@asutoshstab2236]

😂I was here for that

[@abdallahfarooq]

This is an amazing evidence of not just caring about money but actually wanting to help people, beautiful

[@leannmaesanggalang132]

Saw this on my feed and clicked not knowing who the speaker was. I literally got goosebumps when he revealed that he co-founded Duolingo! 💚 That owl has a special place in my heart for a decade now. 🦉

[@casualmoose]

I was working through my daily Duolingo challenges when I started this talk, imagine my surprise when I realized what the topic would center on! We love language learning and the benefits of habitual practice

[@Misty.Buchanan]

You are my hero!!! Thanks to your app my Spanish improves every day. Level 5 almost at 6. 865 days without stopping. Australian born living in Mexico. It's my plan to finish Spanish and keep learning. To my English students it's your app that I always recommend! Muchas gracias

[@GeraldLawson-xi3cz]

I love how you take your time to educate your viewers we all strive towards financial stability and a better Life. It is easy to achieve this through the right investment, by living frugally and budgeting. I'm glad I learnt early in life to work hard for financial freedom.

[@ChrisCapehart-ng5bq]

Even though I engage in investing, I feel disheartened by my lack of expertise in assessing the performance of individual companies and determining the optimal timing for stock purchases. The erosion of my financial reserves due to inflation adds to my concerns. At this point, I require precise market trajectory information, but I find myself unsure about the appropriate course of action.

[@GeraldLawson-xi3cz]

Mr Sam Deymon One of the greatest inside information traders ever.

[@KyleHarris-dx9ns]

Don't just set your financial goals without consulting a financial advisor. Their expertise ensures a solid plan for success. Building wealth involves developing good habits like regularly setting aside money in intervals for smart investment.

[@ArthurOrtiz-qf7fo]

Thank to Mr Sam, I started trades in January on a 10 k account which has grown to 98 k, the broker I use capitalizes on trading which I have been taking advantage of Sam Deymon channel is also an inspiration.

[@purposefull]

The Duolingo is quite fascinating. I was sharing my progress story with a German student at a high school about my Duolingo German lessons. With the same addictive strategy that Luis presents, I have literally compressed her over 2 years of learning German into my 1 year dedicated to learning German on Duolingo.

[@wilmabrock6401]

This has become my new favorite channel on KZbin. Props to you for all the hard work you put into these projects and videos, I've been a member of this amazing society of investors for a while now, and I can't articulate how much it has transformed my life. We're not just here to earn money; we're here to uphold one another, grow collectively, and rejoice in every stride toward our financial aspirations

[@anwar.ashu524]

And Which One Is Your 1st Fev Channel ??

[@KeshigomuLife]

You know what’s the best tool to remind people to pick up a lesson again? Doing a TED Talk! I’ve stopped learning for more than a year and now I want to start collecting my streaks again 😂

[@tusharsondhi6046]

00:07 Education in poor countries can perpetuate inequality. 01:46 Equal access to education for everyone. 03:15 Duolingo uses a freemium model to support itself 04:57 Delivering education through smartphones requires making it addictive and engaging. 06:33 Streaks and notifications are powerful mechanisms to keep users engaged in educational apps 08:10 Duolingo uses passive aggressive notifications to get users to come back to learning. 09:43 Learning can be made as addictive as social media 11:21 Make learning addictive like social media

[@DimuthuYapa]

Amazing Ted Talk, this is exactly what's missing in the current education system that Duolingo fixes , passion and emotion.

[@learnindonesiantoday]

Right!🎉 Duo Fundamentals: Passion & Emotion, are commonly neglected in educational settings.

[@birbo599]

EXACTLY, and not just duolingo- but other educational apps like khan academy can be listed as well. Both are free, easy to access whenever it's convenient, and competitive for all levels

[@user-fk8zw5js2p]

The current education system in my country is more a daycare than a place of learning.

[@EntrepreneurHomage]

this is exactly the beginning of the end of traditional school system

[@JG-zt3cg]

WOW. Great work. My elderly mother, who never had access to a cell phone before but wanted to learn French is actually addicted to Duolingo and interacts with the green mascot and its notifications as of it were a real person talking directly to her. It actually works. I am impressed!!

[@MelvinRhodium]

This man is a life changer. We need more of these.

[@taokodr]

I've been searching for more on the idea of "Gamification of learning" for some time now, and this was a delightful find. Congratulations on your success, and thank you for the presentation!

[@jessicablankenheim6856]

That's the kind of business the world needs. Marketing or not, his story inspires. Knowing another language not just opens up your opportunities but develops your brain and allow you to access different knowledge (not everything is translated as fast as people think). I'm a Brazilian that learnt English (starting with Duolingo) and I can say my wolrd just became so much bigger just because of it!

[@dehri00]

I can't believe that I can fully understand a lecture given by the creator of the tool I first used 10 years ago to learn English. I'm so f*cking grateful to this guy for giving me the chance to learn this language. I'm also proud of myself for being a self-taught learner and for not giving up on my dream of becoming bilingual. Greetings from Brazil!

[@joseyong]

Truly one of the best TED talks for me; delivering value, helping others change their lives at the same time promoting your business. I was hired in my first jobs after finishing college was because I speak several languages and not so because of my degree

[@joewauters9065]

Amazing, never knew this was the story behind Duo Lingo. Love this presenter and love that Ted is still generating such incredible revelations after so many years of excellent content ❤

[@user-ri2iv4rf4w]

This was the best Ted talk I've ever watched. When he mentioned Duolingo my mind was blown. This is so true though. I'm 15 and bilingual in Russian and English. And you can't even imagine how much impact learning a different language had on me. Thank you so much for creating such a project, teenagers definitely should be enlighened more about foreign languages. Well, gonna go learn Chinese with Duolingo!

[@Nuno381543]

Probably the best TED talk I’ve ever watched! Sincere, informative and entertaining! Well done Luis!

[@yashaswani8813]

00:07 Education is seen as a source of inequality rather than equality. 01:46 Equal access to education for everyone 03:15 Duolingo uses a freemium model to make language learning accessible to everyone 04:57 Delivering education through smartphones is challenging due to addictive apps, but Duolingo has made it engaging. 06:33 Streaks and notifications are effective in making learning addictive. 08:10 Passive aggressive notifications are effective at getting users to come back and learn. 09:43 You can make learning as addictive as social media 11:21 Make learning addictive like social media for all subjects

[@rsrawat110]

Thanks bro

[@longphan2865]

Thank you, so basically gamifying the studying process.

[@mahesanp5924]

@@longphan2865 no, just a 12 min ad for duolingo

[@YumnaTauseef]

But they did not focus how to make learning addictive

[@user-ng8ue6xf1m]

Thanks for saving my time bro ! 👍😁 I really appreciate it ! 🙏😃

[@Ggdivhjkjl]

It's a pity how Duolingo has been gutted through the years. They removed the forums, so forget about practising with others. They removed the incubator, ripping the hope out of thousands of minority language communities that they might ever be included. They removed the learning tree, so forget about any form of free choice regarding what you want to learn next - it will be dictated to you instead. They even removed the fun of stories by fixing them at set points along the pathway instead of having them in a separate area of their own where you could save them up and enjoy reading a whole lot one after the other. Duolingo had great potential. It's all gone now. It's become a fake toy used in classrooms to make forced learning look fun 😥

[@TheRedMenace12]

They had to stop the comments and such because it exposed the high error rate Duolingo has along with the "forced failure" teaching style.

[@maryamh3302]

I loved hearing his story and how duolingo came out, I always read the memes and enjoy them. I learned Turkish through duolingo and went through four years of high school there! Then I learned english and came to US for college and now I decided to go back and learn Japanese! thank you Luis!

[@saya1865]

This story was absolutely beautiful and I learned so much from his story as well as how he’s able to have such a successful app.

[@arsenigold9470]

The reveal that he is the founder of Duolingo hit me like a truck The fact that I can write this message is in part his achievement

[@JamalUddin-xl5ml]

I love how he is such a down to earth person and also really enjoyed the part where he mentions fremium. Anw hope more ppl like him will come out to make learning easier and accessible to all regardless of their identity and background. My best wishes for the ppl aspiring to be like him and also for those who wants to make a difference

[@shdwmere]

I must say, this man have impressive social skills, true master and leader.

[@ArabicSpellingmistakes]

I'm from Yemen I am very excited, and I started learning the English language through social media sites and applications

[@spiritedaway99]

this is one of my fav TED talks,very insightful and joyful,I really wish and pray that parents watch this so they get an idea on how to teach their children and educate them in a meaningful manner whilst they play,Thank you Professor, im definitely watching more of your interviews/talks to learn more from you🙏🙏

[@causeiambonkers]

Humanity needs more people like him.

[@matte04off86]

I'm having chills watching this video. Just amazing.

[@Fordika1]

I loved this guy. I'm a brazilian poor student of english and I started my journey with Duolingo.

[@hiding2292]

Great talk, lots of fun, full of hope. That being said, as one of those people with a longer than 365 day streak, I wouldn’t say that I’ve learned a years worth of a language. There’s just no substitute for internal motivation and when it comes to learning a whole language, you need a strong one.

[@elizabethlor5876]

I quit using duo lingo when I started realizing that I wasn’t learning; I was simply too competitive to quit. I would go over the old lessons over and over again to gain points and remain the top of my league. It gave me satisfaction to win, that was it.

[@a.b.s.]

Yes. But at least it keeps us coming back to lessons

[@mishal81]

massive respect! the idea and conveyance is amazing but he really earned my respect at the end where he said about how he hopes screentime wouldn't be bad for us one day

[@Lightening_Arrestor]

Your public speaking skills (that too without hand notes) is beyond excellent

[@Ann-001]

Brilliant speech aside, this is the most cozy TED talk I've come across so far The way he's being vulnerable but keep it professional and the humour was on point I wonder what was behind the remarkable techniques he used

[@iamprinceba]

This is great, honestly absolutely nailed it, it got me following from start to finish, this is a clear indication that the CEO has learned from the app and taken feedback on how to properly communicate and present your story.

[@gergosnoo]

It is insane that I was inspired to have a similar idea of upgrading our educational systems years ago after using Duolingo and today I saw that the guy who made Duolingo had the same vision. This is hearth warming and makes me believe that one day such systems will be out there for kids to enjoy freely.

[@maverickmic]

Watch the Mario effect ted talk. It's far better than this for explaining it and isn't just a sales pitch

[@maxkipchumba7604]

I love his vision too! I'm curious tho, whats your idea?

[@Yuna77_]

I have been learning French and Japanese, thank you for all the hard work to create Duolingo.

[@eimonchanchan2478]

I'm learning Chinese with Doulingo right now and it's really interesting. And always fun. The steaks and challenges are main part yet also.. the lessons are not too heavy and always enjoyable. You'll remember words and sentences even without learning hard. Thank you so much Doulingo Team❤❤

[@mayannlabastilla2591]

This is the first TED Talk video I watched and it made me subscribed. I hate most of advertisements and if this was one, would like to have watched it over and over again. That's how great this video is.

[@Gertyk]

Thank you, Luis, for your very informative talk. My daughter was 7 years old when she discovered Duolingo, and we were living in Senegal. She loved learning multiple languages for free on the app. When she broke her tablet, I told her no more screens. But when she uses my computer, she always rushes to learn a new word on Duolingo. Your talk has encouraged me to buy her a tablet again and focus on educational apps. I also think it's a great idea to create apps that use the same psychology as social media. Africa would benefit from positioning itself in this market, even though it's very competitive.

[@carolinekdkb]

Wow, i didn't know the creator of Duolingo and i didn't even know this video was about Duolingo. I have a 196 days streak and i have reached the diamond league once. I really liked learning about why Duolingo was made in the first place and who was its creator because him and the reasons are amazing! I don't really watch videos of people talking or anything like that and here i was really surprised by how i was interested and focus on what he was saying. It was really super interesting! I wish there is more people like him!

[@violet4481]

This brought tears to my eyes. Here are people, wanting to make education free for all. Theyre working hard on it and I appreciate them for it. I love seeing people succeed and contributing their efforts for the greater good. We need more people who want to help better humanity and less people who want to have endless power at the cost of human lives. Education is the kind of institution we need to spend money on, not wars. I am now gonna go do my French lesson. Love to all.

[@sharan.sharan]

Not sure if he'll ever see this comment, but a big thank you from the bottom of my heart for creating Duolingo! Your mom would be really proud of you for making some part of education totally free. May you be immensely rewarded. Jazak Allah! ✨️

[@yasiralipalh8306]

Being able to understand English unlocks so much learning potential. Most of the learning material on the internet is in English. So if you learn English, then you'll be able learn so many more things.

[@sirdot24]

Great points, well made! Now we just need to apply this to a learning method that actually works!

[@learnwithsachinsunny]

Thank you a lot for your service. I have been learning Spanish in Duolingo for about 5 years. Without you, I would not have done it.

[@ahmedelsabaggh3911]

one of the best TED talks I have ever watched. Thanks, Professor Luis for inspiring me and I appreciate your mother's effort You should be proud of your mother