Project Overview
Problem
Learning research shows that most adults learn by doing instead of reading. Most language apps however focus on vocabulary and grammar learning instead of trying to get the student to speak as quickly as possible. As a result, many language learners don't follow through with their ambition and quit after a few weeks.
There are countless people who have the desire to learn a language but abandon the idea after they lost momentum. One of the most frequent reasons is that they are missing a support structure and motivator to help them.
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App Hypothesis
Situlearn's goal is to get people speak a foreign language as quickly as possible. The lessons are structured around specific situations like ordering food or going to the cinema. It is built around social interactions and removing the fear barrier of speaking a foreign language. Other features include the ability to connect with a like minded community and you can book coaches to help you with the material.
With that in mind, this is how the project was structured:
With that in mind, this is how the project was structured:
My RoleUX Designer, UX Researcher
This was a solo project as part of my UX learning Journey |
Timeline30 Days
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ToolsFigma, PowerPoint, Word, Pen&Paper
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The UX Project Plan
Research
Competitive Analysis
The competitive analysis was divided into two major parts. A company and product overview and an in-depth UX analysis. I chose three very successful direct competitors for the research with hopes to find out what they are doing well and what could be improved upon.
Company & Product Findings
All three apps featured different business models, learning styles and lesson structures. This supports the claim that we don't yet know the most effective way to learn a new language.
From an UX perspective that means that keeping the user engaged would be a top priority. All three apps featured different ways to keep the user engaged.
From an UX perspective that means that keeping the user engaged would be a top priority. All three apps featured different ways to keep the user engaged.
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Duolingo
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Rosetta Stone
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Memrise
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Yet, despite these mechanisms, studies show that most people abandon their language learning and that these tools alone are not effective to fully learn a new language.
As a result, Situlearn will focus on specific situations to help people grow an interest in the language rather than teaching it from scratch.
As a result, Situlearn will focus on specific situations to help people grow an interest in the language rather than teaching it from scratch.
UX Findings
All three apps were researched from an UX point of view. Unsurprisingly, all of them had strong features that complimented their chosen learning styles. Most weaknesses were related to content and user restrictions. Also the business model of the free apps caused some annoyance by having ads break the learning immersion.
Situlearn will focus on connecting people with each other and teach specific situations quickly. The payment model will resolve around premium features and not ad revenue.
Situlearn will focus on connecting people with each other and teach specific situations quickly. The payment model will resolve around premium features and not ad revenue.
User Research & Personas
I interviewed 7 people who expressed the desire to learn a language and who failed to successfully learn a language in the past. I was most interested in the tools they used, the problems they encountered and their reason for stopping. The interviews were held remotely on Skype and were recorded for later use.
These are the main takeaways:
- Most interviewees used apps for learning a new language.
- 5 interviewees wanted to learn a new language because they felt they had to and only 2 had specific reasons for doing so.
- Despite expressing the wish to learn a new language, no one wanted to pay for it.
- Not being interested anymore and the feeling of not making any progress were the main reasons why people stopped with their learning.
Based on these findings, the biggest problem would be to keep people from quitting and help them feel confident in their speaking abilities.
Interviewees were selected with specific characteristics in mind. As a result, user personas were created to represent their thoughts and make it easier to understand their wishes and frustrations.
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User Persona cards highlight the main information that's contained in the full persona research.
With more time and resources, I'd prefer to add an additional research layer to the project by gathering quantitative data. This would be done by an online survey that's directly aimed at language learners. I'd also try to interview people face to face to ask questions in a more private environment.
With the collected information the project moved into the design phase.
With the collected information the project moved into the design phase.
Design
Information Architecture
Based on the information that was gathered during the interviews, I created three road-maps for the core app functions. The example below describes the screens a user will encounter when they try to open a language lesson.
The example on the left was one of the first architectures that I built for the app. Many interviewees wanted to access the lessons as quickly as possible, so I skipped the account creation part for new users and started with a short onboarding deck to outline the app's key features.
In later versions I deleted the dashboard orientation and added options to skip the onboarding process at any point. The reason for that is that the app itself is not complicated to navigate and doesn't require a lot of explanation.
The final version replaces the introduction slides with a short example lesson after a language has been chosen. This was the result of A/B user testing where interviewees preferred to see the app in action more quickly rather than skipping over slides that they haven't read.
In later versions I deleted the dashboard orientation and added options to skip the onboarding process at any point. The reason for that is that the app itself is not complicated to navigate and doesn't require a lot of explanation.
The final version replaces the introduction slides with a short example lesson after a language has been chosen. This was the result of A/B user testing where interviewees preferred to see the app in action more quickly rather than skipping over slides that they haven't read.
Wireframes
The first sketches were created to build an overview containing the main functions of the language learning app.
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In total I created 15 screens to build a small prototype to have the main functions in place. I choose to draw the sketches by hand because it was quicker than using a tool and I love scribbling.
Evaluation
Prototype Evaluation & User Testing
A total of 6 interviews were scheduled with users who were keen on learning a new language right now. The sessions were recorded to identify roadblocks and to double check the navigation. I found that:
- The onboarding process was too lengthy for half the users and they preferred to get started immediately.
- Introduction slides were just skipped and not read.
- Low-Fidelity prototypes caused confusion even if they were explained properly.
Users were asked to complete three tasks in total without guidance. All of them were able to find and complete these goals with few questions. The screens made sense to them, but there was feedback about certain functions.
As a result, the informational architecture was changed and the onboarding process was re-designed.
As a result, the informational architecture was changed and the onboarding process was re-designed.
Future Steps
Since this was a limited project I wasn't able to build high-fidelity frames and see how a real prototype would perform. This also includes coming up with a comprehensive UI design.