Many language apps use points, badges and streaks, like '100 days in a row!' Do these game ideas help? A large review found that they help learning a little.

But one university class used rankings and badges, and the students became less motivated. Their test scores were also lower. Comparing yourself with others can be stressful. So use game ideas as support. They are not the main goal.

Language apps often show streaks, points, badges and leaderboards. Using game features in non-game activities like studying is called gamification. In 2020, the German researchers Sailer and Homner combined studies on gamification and learning. They found positive effects on knowledge and skills, motivation and learning behavior, although the effects were small to medium.

However, an American university course that added a leaderboard and badges found the opposite. Over the semester, students in that class lost intrinsic motivation and satisfaction, and their final exam scores were lower. The researchers think that comparing themselves with others put pressure on some students. Game features, it seems, help only when they are used carefully.

Streaks, badges and leaderboards have become standard features of language-learning apps, but do they actually help? A 2020 meta-analysis by Sailer and Homner found significant positive effects of gamification on learning outcomes (g = 0.49, 19 studies), motivation (g = 0.36, 16 studies) and learning behavior (g = 0.25, 9 studies). When only high-quality studies were considered, however, the effect on knowledge remained stable while the effects on motivation and behavior did not.

Designs that included a storyline or combined competition with cooperation seemed especially effective for learning behavior. A systematic review of 22 studies on English learning likewise reported benefits for enjoyment and engagement, though none of the studies identified which element was responsible. Game elements are usually combined, and novelty may inflate short-term effects, so it is difficult to say which features truly work.

Gamification can also backfire. In a semester-long study of a US university course, students in a section with a leaderboard and badges showed declining intrinsic motivation and satisfaction and lower final exam scores, possibly because of social comparison. This echoes a 1999 meta-analysis of 128 experiments showing that expected tangible rewards tend to undermine intrinsic motivation, whereas verbal praise tends to enhance it.