StarLang.
A VR prototype that aims to make foreign language learning easier and more realistic by creating an immersive cultural experience.
5 min read
My Role
UX Designer and UX Researcher.
Duration
8 weeks
Tools
Figma
FigJam
Visual Design
UX Research
8 min read
StarLang.
Augmented Reality
Simplifying language learning
UX Research
Product Design
Problem
Language learning isnāt realistic
The current state of foreign language learning has focused primarily on learning basic language fundamentals rather than practicing in conversation. Existing products/services fail to address how people learn languages better by listening and participating in conversations.
Solution
Creating an immersive language learning experience
StarLang aims to fill this gap by providing by providing a realistic experience of learning languages by showing users a realistic person to talk to in a foreign setting.
Design Methodology
Goal-Directed Design (GDD)
StarLang was developed using GDD to ensure we designed with the userās goals. As a team, we were able to delve into our product domain and learn more about our userās needs by researching and exploring various different solutions before jumping into the deep end. For the purposes of this class project, the Goal-Directed Design process was shortened to ensure that it would fit within the time limits of the class.
Initial Problem Discovery
Could VR make language learning realistic?
StarLang was developed for a school project. Therefore, our team took on the role of stakeholders to simulate a professional Kickoff Meeting. After thorough analysis, we found that although many young adults use language apps, they need to use them more consistently to see a significant improvement in their goals and habits.
Problem Statement - The current state of foreign language learning has focused primarily on learning basic language fundamentals rather than practicing in conversation. Existing products/services fail to address how people learn languages better by listening and participating in conversations. Our product/service will address this gap by providing a realistic experience of learning languages by showing users a realistic person to talk to in a foreign setting.
Literature Review
VR can be an educational training tool
Literature Reviews are critical because they allow us to learn more about their productās domain. Whitepaper research and synthesizing academic sources help define the productās vision and niche. Our team focused on researching goal setting, accountability, and procrastination topics.
Foreign language learning needs to be immersive.
The feeling of immersion created by VR/AR is effective in promoting active learning and interaction between the user and the system. VR also helps bridge a gap in learning methods, especially in relation to language learning.
Cultural awareness is important when learning a language.
People tend to learn languages better if they move to an area where the language is spoken. For example, if you are trying to learn French, it would probably be the best idea to move to France. However, obviously, there are constraints because many people canāt afford to uproot their life to learn a language. VR helps bridge this gap by offering a more accessible way for people to learn a language faster than traditional methods that other language learning apps use by creating an immersive experience.
Competitive Audit
Most other apps focus on rudimentary aspects of language learning.
We analyzed seven major language learning apps during our competitive audit, assessed their strengths, weaknesses, and user feedback, and documented our findings. Our team selected Duolingo, Babbel, Rosetta Stone, Itaki, and a few others as specific competitors and examined and tested these apps to record our observations.
The current state of language-learning apps
They vary in delivery; mobile is the most popular, and so is computer, but virtual and augmented reality are starting to pop up as other language learning formats. For the most part, most language learning allows users to learn on their own, but many of the virtual reality ones offer a multiplayer experience, while some mobile and web apps allow people to interact with others in a community in either a forum or group classes.
There arenāt many VR-based language learning apps.
Not all apps have an easy-to-use UI or offer easy onboarding (making it difficult for users to learn how to use the application). The lessons offered vary from application to application. Some focus more on vocabulary rather than conversation, and even the VR applications that use chatbots or voice recognition are limited in functionality and options for users to reply with. Finally, you need to pay for extra lessons if you do not use the applications!
User Research Interviews
āLearning in a classroom setting is boringā
Before the interview, we, as a group, came up with a persona hypothesis that attempts to define a user archetype for StarLang. After completing our persona hypothesis, we recruited our interviewees, all of whom were either college students or working professionals in their mid-20s. During the interviews, we asked participants about their lives as college students/ working professionals, emphasizing how they organize their lives and how they like to learn languages
Virtual User Research Interviews
Affinity Mapping
What do we see in common?
After interviewing 5 participants, we came together after each session to analyze what themes emerged during our user interviews. Although each interviewee had a different experience using language learning apps and had different intrinsic motivation levels, we ultimately found shared patterns across all interviewees. Most interviewees wanted a minimalistic and intuitive interface and some way to still learn basic grammar concepts, mainly through interactive lessons. We also found that all of our interviewees were interested in the idea of a culturally immersive language learning experience but were hesitant about the effectiveness of VR in doing so.
Affinity Mapping from Interview #3
Modeling
Synthesizing our Findings
We synthesized our research to clearly seek common patterns in our research to define user goals. As a result of this process, we came up with our Persona, Olive Oyle.
Frameworks
Brainstorming potential solutions
We started out with a low-fidelity wireframe while brainstorming ideas before creating a final high-fidelity version. Our low-fidelity wireframe helped us plan how our app would be laid out and function with many moving parts. Using our context scenario and our requirements list, we were able to flush out our low-fidelity wireframe. However, not everything from our requirements list made it to the low-fidelity wireframe because we felt some features were redundan.
Wireflow
How will users navigate through StarLang?
We started by first identifying our critical path scenario, which is the path we expect our users to most likely take while adding validation or alternative paths that users might occasionally take while using StarLang.
Refinement
Final Touches
We conducted usability testing to see if our app had any glaring issues. From these sessions, I was able to identify some issues with some of my designs. We also wanted to see how we could create different types of lessons for people who might want different things from StarLang.
1) Quick Lessons
2) Basic Lessons
Components
Style Guide
Conclusion + Learnings
What would I do differently?
StarLang was my senior capstone project and so it was exciting putting everything together and making a cohesive experience. Iām also very happy that my group decided to go and explore and unconventional product domain to address a very real issue in the market.
Building out a Design System - It is extremely important to build out a design system and utilize components and frames instead of groups. This ensures that our designs are standardized and cohesive even if different people work on different aspects of the design.
Consider different end users - Although we interviewed a wide range of people from different backgrounds during our user interviews, all of our interviewees were highly motivated and had more self-discipline. In hindsight, we should have also interviewed people who had less intrinsic motivation to ensure that StarLang also catered to their needs.