Busuu
Adding a feature to increase memory and learning absorption for language learners
Project Type: Add a Feature Project (Design Lab)
Timeline: 6 Weeks
Tools: Figma, Figjam, Airtable, Miro, Whimsical, Maze
Role: Product Designer
Research, ideations, wireframes, user flows, prototyping, usability testing
Overview
Language Learning
The Online Language Learning market is predicted to reach to over USD 31 billion by 2030 (SNS Insider). Reasons for the rising popularity include: globalization, technological advancements such as AI, flexibility, low costs, demand for bilingualism, and post covid boom in travel.
What is Busuu?
Busuu is an online learning platform that helps users learn a new language. It was made for anyone who is “learning for a new job, new love or simply a new skill.” Users can study at their own pace, follow a customized study plan, and even interact with other language learners using the app. (Busuu)
Problem
Users feel frustrated because they struggle to memorize or absorb the learning material, preventing them to achieve their language goals.
Users = Achieving Goals = Motivation = Low Retention
How might we design an organized review system for language learners, so that they can achieve their goals, stay motivated and consequently increase user retention?
I propose...
A more in depth review system that takes the guess work away from the users.
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theory behind what they're learning,
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guided on what to review based on weaknesses
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have the ability to target review based on their specific needs.
RESEARCH
Objective 1: Understand Competitors
In order to understand where Busuu fits among other language learning apps, I conducted a competitor analysis on three other apps. I also researched traditional language classes as a competitor in order to learn what can be done to best mimic this.
Insight #3
Gamification, stories and AI are leveraged to keep users engaged.
Insight #2
Most apps lack depth and are thus limited for advanced learners.
Insight #1
In comparison to other apps, Busuu’s learners are generally more serious language learners and are adults. They are learning either for professional reasons or for own personal passions.
Objective 2: Identify Target Audience
Before seeking out interview participants, I did some background research on Busuu's current users. Busuu had partnered with research universities, and thus provided data on user motivations, likes/dislikes, how the app is used and the efficacy of learning a new language.
In order to discover users' motivations, pain points ect; I set out the interview Busuu users (former and current) exclusively. However, that proved to be harder than I thought. Busuu’s users are mostly in Brazil, Turkey and Russia. Therefore, when I reached out to my network, I barely got any responses.
Objective 3: Discover User Experiences
Step 1: Dig Deep into User Reviews
In total I read and analyzed around 70 online reviews. In order to obtain data on Busuu's users I researched the following resources:
Trust Pilot
Youtube
Dislikes/Painpoints:
Issues with speech recognition
Community feature can be unreliable and is not immediate feedback
There are no add ons such as podcast, games, audio companion books
Not ideal for developing your speaking and conversation skills.
“I don’t like review algorithm.” No spaced repetition such as flashcards.
Lessons felt repetitive. Get bored very quickly. Social aspect can be hit or miss
Unwarranted feedback from community
Doesn’t like review system. Tells you to review things , you have nailed down, which takes away from the things you must review.
Review/Excercies: 3
Boring:1
Books,movies ect: 1
Community:2
Speaking:1
Apple Store
Step 2: Mapping It Out
I broke down the reviews into the 5 major issues (below). As the map shows, the pain point of 'Review' was dominant, (about 75%). From there, I further broke down the Review into 3 common specific frustrations:
Step 3: Scour Social Media for Busuu User Interviews
I joined Facebook groups that either were created by Busuu’s users, Language Learners, Foreigners living abroad, and reached out to users interacting with Busuu’s social media pages.
I was able to speak with 4 Busuu users, and decided to interview a 5th user who has used other language apps. This was also beneficial to learn what other apps are doing. Their responses were similar to the reviews.
“I get frustrated when I don’t understand something, sometimes there are words that come up that I can’t remember or haven’t learnt yet”
“These apps prioritize intuitive learning, but that doesn’t work for everybody. So i would like something like a textbook, with grammar charts, reference materials.”
“It took me a while to even notice the review tab, because it doesn’t tell you or connect you to the review, as it does for the community feature”
I used Affinity Mapping again to empathize with users’ motivations and frustrations, and further find common threads within different categories.
Step 4: Merging Interviews and Review data
Next, I merged the data to see if there were any overlapping themes and if both sets of data matched up. After combining the results, it was clear that there is a need for improvement in the review system.
KEY INSIGHTS
Relocation, career and passion were key motivations for learning a new language
The layout and function of the current review feature isn’t optimal.
Users don’t know when and what to review and want more opportunities to practice.
Objective 4: Learn How Busuu Review Works
In response to my interviews and user reviews, I delved deeper into Busuu's current review strategy.
KEY INSIGHTS
Cons
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Only vocabulary, no grammar
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No resources such as notes
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Image is very tiny, no way of opening it to be bigger
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Once you press review it’s simply the same exercises from the lessons
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You can only review all words or only one of the categories at a time.
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Filtering is limited
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No guidance to review
Pros
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The design clearly states and differentiates words that are weak, medium and strong. Both in summary and shows each word’s strength via colors and bars.
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Display of learning language and then native language translation
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Indicates that you can click, and then the full example along with audio is played, along with an image
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Option to favorite word
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Can filter by: favorites, weak, medium, strong
DEFINE
Who are we designing for?
Using data from research, interviews, and reviews, two different user personas were created. Busuu’s users can be sorted into two main personas:
Tha Language Lover
Passionate about languages and linguistics, currently working on achieving fluency in her fourth language!
Goals & Needs
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Regular practice
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Variety of review exercises
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Build meaningful connections with people around the world
Challenges
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Finding advanced language materials
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Busy schedule means she requires flexibility
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Reviewing vocabulary alone doesn't help her advance
Goals & Needs
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Improve English skills quickly
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Excel in communicating at his job
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Regular review and practice
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Take the guess work out
Challenges
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Balancing his demanding job
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Not knowing what and when to review
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Difficulty retaining new phrases
Tha Professional Leaner
Learning English in order to advance his career and integrate into his new life in Canada.
What is Harlow and Aylin’s problem?
I used the research findings to define the overarching problem:
Users feel frustrated because they haven’t memorized or absorbed the learning material (beyond vocabulary).
Because:
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There are no instructions on reviewing: what, when
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The layout and function of the current review feature isn’t optimal
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The current review feature lacks variety and engagement
Next, I crafter How Might We statements based on Harlow and Aylin’s goals and pain points. These statements were are a great starting point for the ideation phase.
How might we provide engaging and diverse review content for adult learners so they feel motivated to review and thus absorb the material?
How might we design an organized review system for language learners so they can confidently review learning material?
How might we guide material review for language learners to ensure content absorption?
IDEATE
Blue = Current Design
Green= New Design
Purple= Action
Site Mapping
Next, I defined the new app map while ensuring the current structure stays in tact. I kept everything the same but made the following changes :
Digital Sketching
Exploring how to add Theory tab
Version 1
Version 2
Decision: Version #2 is more consistent with Busuu’s current designs
Exploring different ways users can target and access their review.
Versions 1&2: Search bar and tabs to filter based on strength
Version 3: Tabs to filter by topics that are in lesson plan.
Decision: Version 3 provides the best user experience because the filter tabs are more restrictive than the search bar. Busuu also currently allows the user to filter by strength via bar graphics, so my design will allow the user to filter by both strength and topic.
This would look something like:
Exploring how to incorporate the filtering from Vocabulary into Theory.
Next, since the theory page is completely new, I sketched out what that could look like:
Both versions incorporate colour codes and icons to indicate to user the strength level and that a particular topic requires practice. I explored using a sort dropdown, but felt that was overcomplicating the process. In the second version I added a side tab to simplify the filtering process.
Decision: I used version 2 (removing the sort) as a starting point)
Exploring how users can view, highlight and print theory notes
Flows
Firstly, task flows were created based on the user personas, along with their motivations & goals.
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As a passionate language learner, Harlow has been advancing nicely, but has hit a roadblock. She keeps making errors, is struggling to communicate and is not progressing. She wants to review the theory to gain a better understanding.
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Harlow logs in and is ready to start her daily lesson. But her most recently done Topic is Yellow, alerting her that it needs review.
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Aylin has been studying English ever since he moved to Canada for his new job. He wants to review vocabulary specifically related to Music/Cinema and Jobs
Next, a user flow was created with the purpose of understanding how a user would review Busuu’s revamped review system. The user flow ensures that the new features will be designed a seamless user experience with connectivity and no dead ends.
Goal Setting
To zero in on a solution, I created a ven diagram to ensure that my solution aligned with Business, User and Technology goals.
Brainstorming
To get ideas flowing, I used two different methods.
1. Analogous Brainstorming
For each How Might We, I used information from my competitor heuristic evaluation (above), to generate new ideas.
2. Crazy 8s
Next, I used the Crazy 8s method, where I divided a piece of paper into 8 squares, set a timer for 8 minutes and got to sketching! Unsatisfied, I completed this method twice.
Filter by Strength
As users expressed positive feelings about current filtering and practicing by strength level, I kept this feature and included it in the Theory Review. I also included an information icon providing user with explanation on how it works
Filter by Topic
Users expressed frustration with the vocabulary review system only allowing filter by strength level. The ability to filter by topic allows users to target their review and stay organized. I also applied this new feature to Theory review.
Side Accordion
The accordion is used to simplify the page and filtering process. This limits the user’s need to think and also gives them the ability to easily understand what they are looking at.
Key Addition: Theory
Research showed that user’s were not satisfied with the current system. They wanted the ability to review the theory behind what they were learning and also have materials to reference.
Printing and Highlighting
Referring to data and interviews, people expressed the want for printable notes. While Busuu currently does offer this option, most users are not aware of this, because it's not easy to find. Here, the users can easily find the print button.
In addition, I added the ability to highlight notes. According to a study: ESL Literacy Project of the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board, highlighting can be very affective in language learning, help students can recognize language components and spelling patterns, decode text, understand forms, among others.
Hi Fi + Prototype
Hi Fidelity Wireframing
Test
I conducted a remote usability test using Maze
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5 participants
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Aged 18-40
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Have used Busuu or a language app
Some questions I asked include:
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How easy was it for you to find and access the option to review language theory?
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Were the language theory materials presented in a way that was easy to understand?
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Did you find the filtering options for topics and strength intuitive and helpful?
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How would you rate the overall usability of the review and practice feature on a scale of 1 to 10?
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How likely are you to use the review theory feature? Why?
Iterate
Pre Test
After Test
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Changed weak, medium, strong from links to tabs to match other filters, in order to indicate same function.
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Edited Vocabulary/Theory tab to me more visible and obviously clickable buttons. Also moved up white rectangle to divide the tab from rest of content.
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Used colors and different placement to signify more importance of strength level.
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Changed icons (!,?) and coloring to clearly indicate that the topic was complete but may need work.
Lessons Learnt
1. It's always possible to obtain user feedback, even if that means digging through social media to find target users, or thoroughly surveying review platforms. It's important to review a variety of platforms to avoid bias.
2. Using constraints such as search vs filters has a profound difference on the user experience and shaping users' actions.
3. Visual prompts are extremely valuable.
Busuu's New Desktop Grammar Feature
Since completing this project, Busuu has added a desktop grammar feature. The feature is essentially solving the same problem, but in a slightly different way.
Firstly, instead of using 'Theory' they used 'Grammar'. I think this is because 'Grammar' is exclusively related to language and is more specific, while 'Theory' is more broad.
They included a 'Grammar Topic Mastery' section, where users can view a pie chart of which grammar topics are at:
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Needs practice
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Improving
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Strong
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Mastered
This section also allows them to filter through and review based on their needs. Although my design allows this based on strength level, I think the language is more clear and guides the user in their language journey better.
