Time
5 months
Context
Solo capstone project for Springboard’s UX/UI Design bootcamp
Role
UX/UI Designer, mentored by Google designer
Tools
Figma, Miro, Marvel, Google Workspace
OVERVIEW
Fluent
As a teacher in Korea, I developed a public speaking program that was implemented at 3 campuses. Its success led me to pursue UX/UI Design, where I could make a bigger impact through tech, thus inspiring Fluent.
Problem
Despite spending billions (USD) annually on English education, South Koreans often struggle with Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA) when speaking, commonly referred to as “English nausea” when translated from Korean.
Solution
Fluent is a native mobile app that instantly connects English language learners with conversation partners from diverse, global regions to improve speaking confidence through customized feedback.
DISCOVER
FLA isn’t limited to South Koreans
I approached the problem space by conducting desktop research on English nausea to better understand the problem’s landscape, and to determine if it was worth addressing. I discovered 4 key insights.
Diving deeper into the root causes of FLA
Based on my findings, I expanded my research to include all English language learners regardless of national origin. I received 134 surveys from various Facebook groups and chose 5 people to interview. To provide depth, 3 were target users. For breadth, 2 were non-target (i.e. advanced in English, learning a language other than English).
Direct quotes from target users
“I’m probably making mistakes that someone taught me, and I’m (as an English teacher) teaching that to others.” — English language learner from Mexico
“Practicing English is fun with foreigners. In Korea, we only focus on grammar exercises. There is no chance to speak.” — English language learner from South Korea
“I want to practice with others to improve my pronunciation, but there are not many chances because of COVID-19.” — English language learner from Vietnam
DEFINE
Sharpening my understanding
I transcribed my interviews and saw patterns around users’ goals, motivations, and pain points that helped me get closer to a solution. After organizing my interview findings, I discovered six insights:
Archetypes
After creating empathy maps to understand the backgrounds of our target users, I created corresponding archetypes to represent their thoughts and behaviors, which served as guides for my design process.
How might we…
To facilitate the next phase of solution ideation, I crafted “how might we…” questions:
DESIGN
Course curriculum with AI conversation partner
Initially, I outlined a curriculum on listening and speaking for various levels, incorporating an AI conversation partner.
However, this idea didn’t provide enough speaking opportunities, especially with real people. Moreover, the curriculum would take more effort to develop for an MVP.
Prioritizing user stories
Going back to the drawing board, I prioritized user stories to better align with the target users’ needs and goals for the MVP.
Revised user stories
“As an English Learner, I want to…
A new direction
My new solution would allow learners to:
This solution required less effort (compared to a curriculum) but was more valuable (speaking opportunities). I asked 20 English learners from FB groups about their thoughts on this idea and 100% thought it was the most useful.
Visualizing the product
Next, I created 3 user flows to imagine how Fluent would look.
Flow 1: Sign up
Questions were tailored to provide the most helpful information to share for choosing practice partners.
Flow 2: Conversation experience
Users scan profiles and accept a speaking partner. I also added games for structure and engagement.
Flow 3: Feedback exchange
Since users wanted feedback, I added a feature for a quick rating and another for detailed feedback.
Guerilla testing
I created a paper prototype to test my ideas with 5 target users for early feedback and discovered 3 major issues:
1. Concern over safety
Since users expressed safety concerns, I created a pop-up screen outlining community guidelines users must accept before participating.
2. Limited preferences
Since users wanted more preferences for choosing language exchange partners, I extended the options to region and user type (tutor, learner).
3. Lack of motivation
Since some users said they’d feel too lazy to write feedback, I created a coin system to incentivize users to leave feedback to make further calls.
Wireframes
The guerrilla test feedback helped me to create a seamless experience through wireframes.
HI-FIDELITY PROTOTYPE
The final design
Preferences selection
After agreeing to the community guidelines, users would choose their preferences and browse potential partners to begin their English language practice.
Conversation experience
To enhance engagement, I incorporated several conversation-starter activities within the call to provide a degree of structure.
Feedback exchange
Some users expressed concerns about forgetting to leave feedback, so I implemented a coin system: users earn more calling coins by providing feedback.
TEST
Usability testing
After conducting two rounds of remote moderated usability tests with 10 target users, I fixed 2 of the most critical problems to ensure Fluent worked as intended.
1. Improved home screen navigation
2. Simplified call preferences form
Retrospective
Users lead the way
Creating a new product from scratch can feel overwhelming and uncertain at times. However, I found comfort and confidence in my design decisions when they were guided and supported by prior user research.
Impact at scale
It was fascinating to discover that a problem I believed to be unique to Korea was experienced on a global scale. Witnessing how tech, combined with human insights, can impact millions of lives was truly inspiring.
Next steps
Given more time, I’d explore ways to expand Fluent, including premium features for chatting with native speakers, incentivizing more natives to join, and introducing an optional curriculum for added structure.