The problem
(AKA uncovering Duolingo's opportunity)
distractions
Our attention span is decreasing. That’s a fact. The usual language learning scenario goes like this: You’re excited. Initially you show up every day to practice. Duolingo does a great job at reminding you to progress, but with time somehow, somewhere along the way you loose your commitment. So what has changed? Maybe it’s because the exercises become repetitive? Maybe you don’t see a clear progression? Your motivation and engagement is not as strong as before.
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I created the Stories Generator for Duolingo app to reflect current users’ feedback which indicates that generating humorous stories through embedding users’ input has the potential to increase the likelihood of the users to stay committed with their learning experience.
Moreover, the user interviews highlighted few missed opportunities to create even better experience for Duolingo users.
This project aims to answer how might we create a lasting engagement for language learning users within a Duolingo app, in a way that’s stimulating enough to make the users want more?
User interviews
The current Duolingo users have been asked to talk about their language learning experience with Duo's app/website . Not surprisingly, the results showed that Duolingo is doing a great job engaging the user. Here's what the users think about learning with Duolingo:
But the interviews revealed also missed opportunities: common needs of language learning users which Duolingo isn't currently fulfilling - the current "Tips" button including grammar has been missed by all of the interviewed users. Users were also confused about the way to track their progress.
This made me wonder just how lasting the current engagement is? And so my experiment with Mad Libs-style Duolingo learning feature has taken a new dimension by incorporating the additional valuable feedback from the users.
Here's the snapshot of what users thought would add a value to their experience:
Users' quotes
Helpful to get started but not sufficient to progress.
Grammar doesn't need to be the main focus, but it has to be there. You need to know these things.
Learnings from user interviews highlighted few key points:
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Learning and gamification is the perfect mix. One of the biggest issues when learning a language is motivation to continue and Duolingo does a great job at keeping people hooked
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Keeping it simple helps users stay focused on learning
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Duolingo is seen more as a tool to kickstart language journey rather than a true language ‘learning’ app
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No clear progression line (stating gramma, tenses learnt etc) makes it difficult for users to know what they have learnt and where they should focus next
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Users would welcome a clear indication of the difficulty level of each exercise before they start practicing ​
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Understanding
the user
Going back to users' feedback I thought of features that might make the learning experience better:
1. Option to click on any word to see the grammar including conjugation, similar words, rules, clear example of use
2. Progress page where user can see where they are on their language learning journey, which areas they need to improve, where they are already strong
3. Option to choose the story by level of proficiency
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Two current features which aren't resonating well with the users are:
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1. The Leagues which distract from the main purpose of the app: getting better at YOUR level as opposed to be better than OTHERS (negative motivator)
2. Users thought that Lingots which they see at the end of each exercise are a nice touch but they would like to see foremost the the summary of what they have learnt
Once the Duolingo Stories Generator concept has been tested, clearer picture emerged in the form of low fidelity Wireframes:
Choose your story by level of proficiency
See which verb tense are you going to practice
Generate words which will be used to auto-populate your story by the type of word
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Click on any word to see more information
Track your progress, see where to focus next
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See the meaning, conjugation, and more
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After usability testing and few more iterations the concept of Mad-Libs style stories was validated. It was time to implement Duolingo branding and the almost functioning High fidelity screens came to life.
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To simplify usability testing amongst students of different foreign languages the language of the story used in the prototype was set to English.
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See exactly which skills you're going to test before you jump in, so you know where to focus next
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The "tell me more" button including the word meaning, conjugation and examples has been considered a "must have" feature
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See weekly progress at the end of each story
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Measure progress by number of words learnt...
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...and by verb tenses you have practiced
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Review the verb tenses, see examples
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Conclusions
The current Duolingo users have shown a strong interest in humorous style auto-generated stories presented in this prototype.
The hypothesis that stories generated through embedding users’ input has the potential to increase the likelihood of the users to stay committed with their learning experience has proven to be true.
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Moreover, it became apparent that Duolingo users felt strong about two features, which they have found to be paramount in the process of learning a foreign language. These were:
1. Grammar (knowing the "why" behind learning the language).
2. Progress tracker (both as a positive motivator and a clear indication of where the user is on their journey to learn a new language)
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None of the interviewed active Duolingo users was aware of the current "Tips" button which includes some of the grammar rules.
This not very clear labelling, together with the lack of a more tangible way to track the progress seems to be linked to the way the users consume the app. When asked about the way and frequency of using Duolingo, we found out that Duo is mainly used to "get started" with learning the language as opposed to being the main language learning tool.
While keeping the users motivated through gamification experience had them hooked, there's an indication that this approach may not guarantee the long term engagement.
Tools used
Research: Typeform,
Design: Affinity Designer, Affinity Photo, Procreate
Prototyping: Marvel, Invision, Sketch
UX Methods used
User interviews, Usability testing, Evaluation, Prioritisation Matrix, Affinity Mapping, Pluses and Deltas, Sketching, Wireframing, Prototyping
Branding
Colours and Logo replicated to match Duolingo style. Typeface: Verdana, and not the original "Feather" by Duolingo