TALKA
A chatbot-centred language learning application that empowers users to enhance their language skills through lifelike and tailored everyday conversations.
Tasks
Research
UX UI Design
Branding
Prototyping
Usability Testing
Focus
Gamification
Educational apps
Motivating UX
2023
Problem
Frequently, language learners encounter challenges when attempting to practice languages in real-life situations. They often lack confidence when conversing with native speakers and struggle to consistently discover engaging and relevant content in their target language.
The Onboarding screen welcomes the user with a friendly face, and asks you some questions in order to personalise the learning experience.
Onboarding screen
Home screen
The simple home screen shows you all the functions of the app
The bubble lay out creates a size hierarchy, the biggest bubbles are the most important functions.
Here the user can chat and practice daily language learning with the chatbot buddies as if they are practicing with a close friend.
Buddy Chat
In the profile screen the user can follow their process and review the learned and saved material.
Profile
Here the user can find the different chat buddies and interact with them.
The progress bar motivate the learner to practice daily.
Chat buddies
Here the user can practice different scenarios that simulate real life situations.
Scenarios
LET’S RESEARCH :
I interviewed 6 different people with different motivations, goals and expectations form their language learning process.
We went over 15 questions in a personal interview,
the questions covered mostly the pain points and motivations of the language learners, experiences with other learning apps or methods and most important:
What helped them achieve their learning goals?
RESEARCH FINDINGS :
Unpersonalised language learning process.
Feeling unconfined to talk to talk with native speakers and practice.
Not enough practice in realistic situations.
Getting bored from text book practice.
Previous language learning experience:
size of the circle symbolises the importance to the user
Challenges ?
Pronunciation
What are the biggest
Grammar
Feeling unconfident to speak
Motivations ?
Gamification
Visual reward
Money
Dead lines
Progress
What are the biggest
What are the biggest
Demotivation ?
Getting board
Feeling silly
Not feeling Progress
"I wish my language learning Apps had more real-life interactions built-in; it feels disconnected from how people actually speak."
"Personalisation is lacking in my language learning journey; I feel like I'm following a one-size-fits-all approach that doesn't cater to my individual needs."
"I often feel too shy to practice speaking with real people, which holds me back from making meaningful progress in my language skills."
"I find myself losing motivation quickly because my current learning process lacks excitement and doesn't adapt to keep me engaged."
Clustering the main motivations for language learning into 4 groups:
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS:
Prior to devising solutions, I conducted a competitor analysis to explore existing services and features for language learning. My research focused on four of the most popular apps, each representing distinct learning approaches.
Duolingo
Memrise
Drops
Tandem
SKETCHING:
At this step I mapped all the paint points and connected them to features in the app.
And then sketched each of those features and the interactions.
IDEATION:
Focusing on the research findings, I wanted to create and app that will focus on:
Simplicity
Gamification
Personalisation
Help with motivation
TESTING:
With the help of 5 users with different mother languages and professional backgrounds, I tested the navigation paths and the visual impact of the app.
I conducted a personal unmoderated tests.
The users solved 4 different tasks and then answered the question:
“what was challenging, what was easy”
What was I testing ?
Before
Before
After
After
In the user testing I have noticed that they are not finding the saved information easily.
The test subjects couldn’t find directly the specific chat bot, the icons weren’t obvious enough.
I changed the Hamburger menu icon to a “saved” button, to show the user that saving is an option.
I connected the icons with characters, and moved the character title under the icon.
DESIGN SYSTEM:
SUMMARY AND RETROSPECTIVE:
After a lot of research and work on the language learning subject I understood the complexity of designing and working with educational platforms. looking retrospective on the case study I can break up my learnings into few points:
The dangers of gamification
The competition analysis revealed that the prevalent model among educational apps prioritizes the hook model, leveraging gamification rather than emphasizing the app's educational value and its ability to assist users in achieving their goals. While the implementation of the hook strategy may create a habit of learning for users, it could also divert their attention from the app's primary purpose. Users may become more focused on maintaining their daily streaks, earning experience points, or unlocking achievements rather than receiving support and guidance on effective language learning strategies to achieve their goals.
Focus on one aspect of study
In an effort to assist users in their initial language learning journey, I designed an app aimed at addressing all the needs of language learners in one platform. Upon conducting user tests and compiling this case study, I realized that perhaps focusing on solving individual language learning challenges separately would have been a more effective approach to this project. In our daily lives, we often utilise a combination of apps and programs to accomplish tasks, and I don't believe that learning a language should be any different. In hindsight, I should have concentrated on maximising the chat element instead of attempting to address various issues such as vocabulary acquisition and simulations.
Deeper competitive research
When researching a complex subject like educational apps, it is crucial to grasp learning processes and techniques. In retrospect, I could have conducted a more thorough and comprehensive analysis of the existing apps in the market, downloading each one, and perhaps even conducting user tests with various apps to uncover their strengths and weaknesses.