Learning by doing in Duolingo: increasing users’ motivation and confidence with language learning
Duolingo is the most widely used and most accessible language learning app. However, the solo lessons on Duolingo currently gives users no way to practice communicating with other people within the app, even though most users use Duolingo with the goal of being able to better communicate with others.
In this case study, I introduce a social feature for Duolingo that would allow users to meet and practice speaking with other users that have similar goals and interests as them, so people can maximize their learning, feel more confident in their speaking abilities, and have the motivation to consistently practice a new language. To achieve this, I worked under the mentorship of Jennifer Wong.
Timeline
Jun ‘22 - Sept ‘22
Role
Product Designer
Responsibilites
User Research, Strategy, Visual Design
1/10 Problem
People cannot apply what they learn in Duolingo to the real world.
Most users that use Duolingo are trying to learn a new language with the goal of being able to use what they learn in real-life situations, but many users feel unconfident while using a new language and frustrated with their lack of language learning progress since the lessons are focused on solo learning rather than collaborative, and feel like the material they are learning is not practical since it’s not something they can use outside of the app.
Previous experience
The previous Duolingo experience had lessons that users would go through on their own, with the option to do Duolingo stories, participate in classes, and other optional features depending on the language the user is learning. The only way for users to practice with other people through Duolingo is through paid classes, and many users are not aware that they exist or are not willing to pay to additional classes.
2/10 Research
Identifying users’ frustrations and motivations
To better understand users’ frustrations and motivations with Duolingo, I conducted research by looking through app reviews on the app store and google play store. I also conducted interviews with people with experience in learning a new language using both Duolingo and in a traditional classroom setting.
Research Goals
Identify the frustrations that Duolingo language learners have when practicing a language and then using it in real life
Identify the motivations behind using Duolingo instead of traditional methods of learning
Describe the process users tend to take when learning a new language.
Top pain points
No practical outlet to practice speaking
Users don’t have the appropriate resources needed to practice speaking. People learn by doing, but don’t have an outlet to practice speaking the language with another person.
Not tailored to users’ needs
The lessons on Duolingo are too broad, and wastes users’ time because they are not relevant to users’ goals. For instance, a person learning Spanish for their job in healthcare won’t need to learn how to order food in a restaurant.
Lack of cultural relevance
Language learning content isn’t relevant to the culture associated with the language being studied, which is demotivating.
3/10 Design Goals
Provide users with the motivation needed to be able to stay consistent in their language learning.
Most users connected their struggles with their lack of language learning progress to their lack of ability to stay consistent with Duolingo. Progress is made in language learning with consistent practice, so users need a reason to continue using the app often and consistently to reach their goals.
Business impact
Users reaching their desired fluency and language goals through Duolingo will incentivize them to continue using Duolingo, and in turn their would be more likely to invest in premium features since they are able to see results from their efforts.
Supporting design goals
1. Provide a social outlet for people to practice holding a conversation
2. Design lessons to be relevant to users’ goals
3. Associate language learning content with the culture belonging to the language being studied
Scope
I chose to focus on the first supporting design goal of providing a social outlet, since many users’ main goal in Duolingo is to be able to hold conversations with other people, and Duolingo currently no way for users to practice or communicate with other people in the language they are learning.
4/10 Ideation
Creating an engaging language learning community
I explored the idea of groups, where users would be grouped with other users with similar skill levels and interests. Grouping similar users together makes it easier to form connections would alleviate anxiety around interacting with other users.
Other explorations
Discussions
Users would be able to discuss material learned with one another after completing a lesson. I ultimately decided against this, since the amount of new material in each lesson is small so there is not much room for discussion.
Language Exchange
Users would be paired with a fluent speaker of the language they are learning, who is learning the language the user is fluent in. I decided against this since it would be difficult to moderate and ensure that all information being taught is correct.
5/10 Visual Design
Replicating Duolingo’s bold branding
I closely followed Duolingo’s brand guidelines while creating the prototype for the new feature by using Duolingo’s core and secondary colors throughout the design as well as Duolingo’s cast of characters that are regularly featured in the app. I also made my own illustrations following the brand guidelines to make the new feature more cohesive with the rest of the app.
Brand Core Colors
Typography
Illustrations
6/10 Validation
Users want personal connections without the social anxiety
I tested my prototype with Duolingo users, where I asked them a series of questions while they went through my prototype that featured a “Groups” feature in Duolingo, where users could join groups related to their interested based off a questionnaire that is presented during sign up.
Prototype
Questionnaire
Users are asked a series of questions about their goals and interests to pair them with similar users.
Main Pages
After onboarding, users can browse posts from groups they are a part of or discover new groups to join.
Group Page
Posts in group pages are categorized so users can easily find posts that they may be interested in.
Search & Filtering
Groups utilize a tag and filtering system for users to be able to find groups that interest them.
I learned that users are fairly hesitant to the idea of social media-like feature in Duolingo. There’s anxiety around communicating with other people in a new language, and while being with people who are similar to you and talking about things that you are interested in alleviates some of this anxiety, the idea of making posts to a group of strangers in a language that you are not fluent in was something that turned users off of the idea of big, social groups.
7/10 Iteration
Pivoting towards 1-on-1 interactions for more personal interactions
Based off of user testing, I pivoted away from the idea of big, community-like groups focused on similar interests towrds more on 1-on-1 pairings based of off similar language learning goals.
First iteration: Less social groups
My first iteration was decreasing the size of groups to alleviate social anxiety, and eliminating the “social media” aspect by grouping users based off of similar goals so that goals are emphasized more than being social.
Second iteration: Language partners
My second iteration was eliminating groups entirely and focusing on 1:1 connections with partners to put more emphasis on practicing conversations with other users with similar goals.
8/10 Solution
Establishing goal-oriented connections between similar users
Users were more comfortable with the idea of partners, and appreciated that they would be shown other users who are similar to them rather than just any random users, so that they would have something in common that they could talk about. Users also appreciated that there is an emphasis on goals, but other information about their partners is still available so that they could more easily determine whether they would be a good match.
9/10 Plan for the future
Expanding social features in Duolingo and prioritizing casual language learners
If Duolingo users find value in a social feature, there is potential to move back to the idea of small groups once users are more acclimated to the idea of a social feature.
Social features in Duolingo are likely to be used only by users who are more serious about language learning, so it would also be valuable to address the retention of more casual users of the app by making the actual lessons more relevant to users’ goals.
10/10 Conclusion
What I learned
This case study I think was particularly challenging since I was implementing a completely new feature rather than just redesigning an existing one. It was also challenging dealing with feedback from user testing that indicated a need for me to go back and make a large pivot from my original idea towards a different direction that is more aligned with users’ needs in the iteration phase.
I learned a lot about stakeholders and business impact; initially I mostly thought about user impact, but I learned the importance of considering all the people involved in the process and being conscious for everyone who would be affected and working on a project like this.