Talk to Me
Objective: Empower people to learn a new language.
This marked the initial assignment in my UX program at CareerFoundry, serving as my introduction to the design process. The focus of this project was to delve into the experience of memorizing and comprehending new concepts, techniques, and terms. I conducted research and crafted the initial prototype for an app aimed at facilitating language learning. The primary objective of this course project was to gain hands-on experience with the design process. Key accomplishments included:
- conducting user interviews
- creating user personas
- developing wireframes/prototypes
- conducting usability tests
Problem Statment
The challenge is to develop a mobile application that effectively empowers individuals to acquire proficiency in a new language. This app should offer innovative and user-friendly features that cater to various learning styles and preferences, thereby fostering engagement and progress among users.
Possible Solution
We believe that designing an interactive app featuring assigned tutors, levels, challenges, and opportunities for language practice beyond classwork (e.g., podcasts, movies, music) will motivate users to initiate and sustain their language learning journey. The emphasis is on creating a comprehensive and engaging platform to enhance user motivation and commitment to learning a new language.
Tools
- Miro
- Marvel
- pencil and paper
Team
- Me!
My Role
- UX Researcher
- UX Designer
Timeline
- Overall: 4 weeks
- Discovery & Research: 1 week
- Design & testing: 3 weeks
Evaluation of Competitors
I began by conducting a targeted assessment of various existing apps, highlighting both their strengths and weaknesses, while also forming my general opinions on the overall user-friendliness of each app. The three apps that underwent evaluation were Duolingo, Rosetta Stone, and Babbel.
Duolingo
– Interactive lessons with diverse materials
– Translation and word matching tasks
– Lesson duration based on user-selected daily time commitment
– Vibrant color scheme and engaging animations
– Varied tasks to prevent monotony
– Optional account creation, allowing immediate interaction
– Drawback: Inability to exit during a lesson results in loss of progress
– Overall, highly praised for its effectiveness in language learning
Rosetta Stone
– Well-organized app with insufficient onboarding
– Aggressive subscription prompts after the first free lesson
– Option to enable microphone for pronunciation practice
– Formal and serious tone throughout the app
– Successful in facilitating language learning
– Concerns about the app’s inviting nature and user retention
– Overall effectiveness in learning but potential for improved user engagement
Babbel
– App lacks onboarding but is user-friendly
– Initial trial and error phase prompts users to guess meanings, causing frustration
– Simple and easy-to-navigate layout and design
– Progress bar provides clear indication of lesson progress
– Effective for language learning, but guess-the-meaning approach has drawbacks
– Review section available after each lesson for vocabulary review
– Suggestion to include vocabulary preview before lessons to enhance learning experience
User Interviews
With a clear understanding of what existing apps had to offer, the next step was to gather insights from potential users regarding their preferences for such applications. I initiated this process by developing an interview script that encompassed questions related to users’ demographic information as well as their habits surrounding learning a new language.
Persona: Lisa
Informed with this new insight, I began to create a user persona. I emphasized the goals and desires articulated by the users, formulating user stories and problem statements that I aimed to address through my design. Because of time constraints, I chose to create one user persona. This is Lisa, she is an 18-year-old high school student who lives in Boston Massachusetts. She was born in Boston and speaks no other languages other than English.
Lisa is in her last year of high school and her parents promised to gift her plane tickets to Paris this summer as a graduation gift. So learning French is at the top of her to-do list. She is a full-time student, however, and needs a method that is flexible and also allows her to practice her pronunciation.
Meet Lisa:
- 18 years old
- Full-time student
- Boston, MA
- Native English speaker
“As a native English speaker, I would like to learn French so that I can communicate with the locals in France on my trip this summer”.
Information Architecture
Create and account and navigate to home screen
- Open app
- Splash screen
- Create an account/Login
- Create an account
- Name
- Age
- Create a password
- Login
- Enter email & password
- Create an account
- Create user profile
- Select a language
- Select level of knowledge
- Beginner, intermediate, expert
- Select time you’d like to spend learning each day
- Home page: “Hi [user name]”
Review words and phrases from current unit
- Open app
- Splash screen
- Home page
- Click on current unit
- Click ‘review terms from current unit’
- “Words you’ve gotten correct”
- “Words you’ve missed”
- “Unknown words”
Sketching/ Prototyping
After establishing the desired user navigation across pages, I proceeded to develop preliminary sketches and wireframes. Using Marvel, I was able to transform my paper wireframes into an interactive clickable prototype. Check out my prototype here!
The goal was to create a language-learning app that would allow Lisa to learn French with extra attention to pronunciation practice (based on findings from my initial interviews). To the far left, is the opening page where participants would select if they are returning or new users. From there, users would either be brought to a sign-in page or sign-up page. The sign-up page is shown in the second image from the left. Here participants enter their email and create a password which they enter twice to confirm. There are also options to sign up with Google and Facebook.
The next page is the user profile (the middle image) where new users enter their name, the language they want to learn, how much of the language they already know, and how much time they plan to commit daily.
From there, users are brought to the beginning of the onboarding process (fourth image from the left) which teaches them how to use the app.
Finally, users are brought to the home page. This is the image on the far right.
Usability Testing
To test the design, I conducted one round of usability tests. I tested five participants ages 18-25. I used a mixture of settings including in-person and remote sessions. Each session lasted about 10 minutes long. During this time I asked each individual to create an account, complete a lesson, review words they got incorrect, log out, and then sign back in. I chose these tasks because they are the foundation of what Lisa would need to do to accomplish her goal.
Tasks:
- create an account
- complete a lesson
- review words that were incorrect from the lesson
- log out
- sign in
Modifications Based on User Feedback
“Where is the next button? Oh- never mind. It was there but just hard to see”
During the onboarding process, the next buttons were not always very apparent. This was a simple but much-needed improvement. On the left, you’ll see the original onboarding message and on the right, I’ve chosen to bold the “next” button so that it stands out much more.
“Wait, what page am I on right now?”
The second improvement was highlighting the navigation bar to indicate which page users were on. During the tests, many participants noted that they didn’t know which they were on. On the left, you’ll see the original design, and on the right, the update to indicate that the user is on the home page.
“I’m a very interactive learner and so staring at this review list is a bit intimidating”
The third improvement is to the review section of the app. I was prompted to rethink the review section. I came up with a flashcard set and a matching game. Where before, users would go to the review section and be met with just a list of words, now participants can review using the flashcard set or they could play a matching game.
Learnings
The project yielded significant insights through usability tests, shedding light on both the successes and pitfalls of the prototypes. The recognition of the challenge to balance design elements without sacrificing user flow is underscored. Furthermore, the importance of preserving a familiar and straightforward user experience is acknowledged as a critical factor for success in the design process.
Next steps
The next steps include conducting a second round of usability tests to gather additional user feedback. Following that, there will be a focus on creating a higher fidelity prototype, ensuring a more polished and refined user interface. The plan also involves implementing all the features displayed on the navigation bar, enhancing the usability and functionality of the app.