How to Make Learning as Addictive as Social Media

Luis von Ahn, a computer scientist originally from Guatemala, began his journey to revolutionize education with the creation of Duolingo. To provide some context, he started his talk by explaining the geographical location of Guatemala and highlighting its distinction from Guantanamo, as some might confuse the two. He humorously likened Guatemala to being "Mexico's Mexico" in the way that Mexico, like the United States, is concerned about illegal immigration from its southern neighbor.

Luis delved into the challenges of education, particularly in poor countries like Guatemala. He noted that education often perpetuates inequality, as those with financial means can afford a quality education, while the less fortunate struggle to learn the basics. Despite facing economic challenges, Luis was fortunate to receive an excellent education, courtesy of his single mother's sacrifices. This privileged education eventually led him to pursue a PhD in computer science in the United States.

Around a decade before his talk, Luis embarked on a mission to make education accessible to everyone. His vision was to provide equal access to education, and he decided to discuss this venture in his presentation. At the time, he was a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University, and he teamed up with his PhD student, Severin, to work on this educational initiative.

While the goal was to address a broad spectrum of subjects, Luis and Severin recognized the need to start with a single focus area. They contemplated subjects like math and computer science but ultimately chose foreign languages, specifically English. They reasoned that there was a massive global audience for language learning, and the ability to speak English could significantly enhance people's income potential in many countries.

Luis presented a map highlighting the prevalence of English language learners worldwide, revealing that English was a common choice for language acquisition. He emphasized that learning English had a direct impact on people's earning potential, setting it apart from many other subjects. Unlike other fields, where mastering the subject often required pursuing a specific career, proficiency in English could directly lead to increased income in various jobs.

To make their vision a reality, Luis and Severin understood that mobile phones, particularly smartphones, were the most accessible means of delivering education to a global audience. Building physical schools worldwide was too expensive, so they decided to create an app for language learning, which they aptly named Duolingo.

Luis highlighted the financial model they adopted to support Duolingo. They offered a freemium model, enabling users to access content for free but with occasional ads. Users had the option to subscribe and remove ads. Interestingly, the majority of Duolingo's revenue came from well-off individuals in countries like the United States and Canada who chose to subscribe, thus indirectly supporting the education of users from less affluent countries, such as Brazil, Vietnam, and, humorously, Guatemala.

The presentation took a fascinating turn as Luis discussed the challenges of delivering education through smartphones. He recognized that smartphones came equipped with highly addictive apps, such as TikTok, Instagram, and mobile games, which made education seem less appealing by comparison. To address this, Duolingo employed gamification and psychological techniques borrowed from these addictive apps to engage users in learning.

Luis explained some of these techniques, such as the concept of a "streak," where users received a counter indicating the number of consecutive days they had used the app. This motivated them to return daily, as they didn't want to break their streak. Duolingo also used notifications effectively, reminding users to study at a specific time, and even employed passive-aggressive messages that humorously guilt-tripped users into returning.

He emphasized that the goal was not to make education as engaging as social media but to leverage users' internal motivation to learn something meaningful. While apps like Duolingo might not be as engaging as Instagram or TikTok, they could still attract hundreds of millions of users, many more than traditional educational institutions.

Luis concluded his talk with a plea to the audience to complete their language lessons. The presentation showcased how Duolingo successfully utilized psychological techniques and gamification to make learning fun and engaging, opening the door to future applications of similar methods in different subjects.

In the Q&A session following the talk, Luis discussed the potential application of these methods to other subjects, especially those requiring repetition. He believed that subjects where practice was key could be gamified, but more complex concepts might require high-quality videos and explanations to become engaging for learners.