Once, a learner named Alex became obsessed with the leaderboard. Alex found a site promising a "Game Hub" with infinite coins, thinking it would make learning effortless.

: Alex downloaded a "mod" from an unofficial source. Suddenly, the coin count was maxed out. Alex bought every outfit for Duo the Owl and every power-up available.

: Use these for contextualized vocabulary building and listening practice.

: Complete monthly tasks to earn badges and currency rewards.

To stay safe and actually learn, use the legitimate features found in the Duolingo Help Center:

: Realizing that fluency isn't a currency you can hack, Alex returned to the official app. They found that Duolingo Stories provided better engagement than any "infinite" stash of coins ever could. Official Rewards & Features

: Without the need to earn rewards, Alex stopped focusing on the actual lessons. The "game" was won, but the language was forgotten.