UX Designer
[Individual Project]
Aug 2022 - Dec 2022
Drawing from my teaching experience, I designed a Chinese learning app aimed at making language learning more engaging, accessible, and effective for beginners.
This project addresses common challenges faced by new learners, such as low motivation and difficulty applying skills in real-life contexts. By integrating personalized learning paths, relevant content, and study accountability, the app strives to create a fun and experience that helps users build confidence in language learning.
During my years as a Chinese teacher, I’ve noticed that mobile apps are very popular among Chinese learners. The concept of studying for five minutes everyday for great long-term returns sounds very appealing. However, most attempts seem to end nowhere. Very few people achieve fluency or even intermediate proficiency just by using language learning apps. This observation led to the question - Is possible to learn a language through an app?
To find out what people expect when they start learning a new language, and to what extent the language learning apps meet their expectations, I first conducted a user survey.
On a scale of 1 to 5, people rated the effectiveness of language learning apps an average of 2.47.
60% of users find a disconnection between what they learn on apps and what they need in real life.
72% of participants lose motivation within the first month of learning with apps.
69% of participants use language apps once a week or less.
I conducted a competitive analysis on four leading Chinese learning apps on the market. To find out how apps currently address user pain points, I analyzed the main features from three perspectives - Course design, Motivation techniques, and Learning Community.
To dig deeper into how people study a new language and how they interact with mobile learning apps, I interviewed five Chinese learners who have used or are currently using language learning apps, and two Chinese teachers who have 5+ years of teaching experience.
To understand why learners struggle, I interviewed individuals who have learned or are currently learning a new language using an app.
The results indicate that users don’t feel motivated by techniques commonly used by apps, such as day streak. Users are motivated when they can share study progress with others.
Users report that they don’t know when and how to apply what they learned on the mobile app in real life scenarios. Users prefer an interactive experience where they can practice conversations that they will actually use in real life.
To explore effective learning methods, I also interviewed teachers about their best practices.
Teachers report that students learn better when engaged in a healthy competition. It’s useful to have an accountable study partner with whom they can share and compare study progress.
Learning a language is a huge investment, and students expect practical results. Students want to be able to learn what’s relevant to their daily lives so they can immediately apply what they learn in familiar contexts.
- Users can add friends and invite a learning partner to join their learning challenge.
- With an accountable friend, users are much more likely to achieve goals.
- Users can set multiple learning goals. They can choose goals based on intensity or customize their unique goals.
- Goals help users establish a study routine. Users are more likely to achieve long-term goals.
- Users can save time by choosing to learn what they need and can apply immediately.
- The dialogue practice provides users an engaging and interactive learning experience.
- Users can customize their courses by selecting the topics and keywords that interest them.
I conducted usability testing with 5 potential users. Most users felt positive about the design concept, however I discovered some problems with the onboarding experience and the homepage. Here are some iterations I made:
We tend to seek confirmation of our own beliefs. Before I started this project, I had a rough idea of how the app should look like. When I started my user research, I tended to look for patterns that confirm my initial hypothesis. The results of my first round of usability test indicate that there’s a discrepancy between what users really want and what I had assumed. For future projects, I will keep a critical mind and listen to the users.
When I started to ideate, I spent a long time feeling frustrated because I couldn't find the perfect solution. I ended up with many ideas, but none of them solved the user's problem perfectly. Through rounds of user testing, I realized that instead of looking for a definite solution, I have to look at the big picture and find a balance between the trade-offs of different solutions to maximizes overall user benefits. Next time, I will ideate as much as I can, carefully evaluate the trade-offs and determine what best meets users’ needs and expectations through more user testing. Perfect the design through iterations rather than trying to find the perfect solution at the beginning.
