Worldup

How might we design an app that empowers people to learn new vocabulary?

Learning vocabulary with apps can be repetitive and boring when words are too easy and learned on their own. It's also easy to forget new words when not applied regularly. Moreover, it can be hard to know if you pronounce words or use them correctly without human feedback.

Worldup solves the problem by providing a way for language learners to learn words in everyday context they are used. It also connects them to native speakers and peers from across the globe to practice what they learned, test their knowledge, and memorize vocabulary better.

Competitive Analysis

I started off by conducting a competitive analysis of 3 apps to understand the problem space. For the analysis, I chose Memorion, Lexilize Flashcards, and Quizlet. After analyzing their launch experience, navigation, and ease of task completion, I was able to assess their strengths, weaknesses, and identify opportunities to position my app in the market.

Opportunities for Worldup

• Short onboarding process to explain the benefits and value of the app to familiarize users with the app's features.
• Progress through exercises without interruptions.
• Consistent UI throughout the app.
• Create an engaging experience to learn new vocabulary by swipe gestures and categorizing words in contexts.
• Provide a way for users to indicate their level of experience in learning vocabulary.

User Interviews

Next, I conducted 4 user interviews (2 in-person, 2 remotely) to identify user needs and goals. Recruitment of participants was done by pitching my project in an English class at a local adult education center, asking random students at university, and via Slack. Participants were between 20-49 years old and were screened for recent experience in learning a new language with apps.

The goal of the interviews was to find out:

• How people approach learning vocabulary
• What methods they use
• What experience they have with learning vocabulary with apps

After the transcription of the interviews, I organized my data into three categories (thinking, feeling, doing) for an analysis of user behaviors, thoughts, and feelings. The key results of the synthesis are listed below.

Key Findings

• Users learn vocabulary for work, vacations, or to learn about new cultures. They learn new languages because they want to advance in their careers or to speak fluently with native speakers on vacations.
• Vocabulary is learned through repetition. Writing words down, reading them out loud, and recalling them is often the preferred method for memorizing new words. Users also learn best through a combination of methods like typing, listening, and speaking.
• Users need to learn words in contexts and apply them to everyday life to make them stick. Learning words in categories or sentences helps them to memorize words better, so they can use them in daily contexts to express themselves confidently and freely.
• Users need interactions with others and apply what they learned in conversations. Human interaction with native speakers is an important way to test how good their knowledge is, but many apps lack the option to talk to native speakers directly.
• Vocabulary apps like Babbel or Busuu are too easy for users. They get frustrated when they learn words they already know and feel like there's nothing new. They want to learn intermediate and advanced words based on their skill level to get a sense of accomplishment.

Empathizing with the User

In order to empathize with the user, I used my research findings to create a proto-persona called Francesca Mancini. As a reference throughout the project, the persona helped me to make design decisions with end-users in mind.

User Stories & Job Stories

Next, the proto-persona was used to create user and job stories to understand what Francesca wants to accomplish in what context. These were important to define functions and solutions for my app from a human perspective.

After I gained enough clarity through user research, the proto-persona, and the user/job stories, I could define the problem and propose a potential solution.

Problem Statement

Francesca Mancini needs a way to learn vocabulary by interacting with others and learning advanced words in relevant contexts because she wants to advance in her career, apply her knowledge to everyday situations, and assess her progress by getting instant feedback from others.

Hypothesis Statement

We believe that by creating a vocabulary app as a supportive social platform, where language learners can call and chat with native speakers and other students to improve their language skills, and by providing a feature to learn new words in relevant contexts via categories, for Francesca Mancini, we will achieve an increase in language fluency and help Francesca make faster progress in learning English.

Task Analysis and User Flows

To understand how users will navigate the app to complete their main tasks, I performed a task analysis and mapped out user flows. The analysis was used to identify key tasks Francesca would need to do in what order. Based on my results, I created user flows for 2 main tasks to visualize the paths Francesca would take to accomplish her goal in the app.

User Flow: Take a lesson on business vocabulary

Sketching out possible solutions

Next, user flows were used to inform the prototype phase. To come up with different solutions to the problem, I used rapid prototyping and the crazy-8 technique. At first, I created low-fidelity wireframes on paper and then turned them into a prototype using Prott to validate my solution in the next phase with real users.