Enjoy Korean

Designing a non-traditional app that teaches Korean using Korean media

End-to-end

Mobile

UX/UI Design

Growing up bilingual, I understand the challenges of learning a new language. Motivated by curiosity and a desire to make language learning easier, I designed an app that teaches Korean through K-pop, K-drama, and K-webtoons. By emphasizing habit-building and making learning fun, this app the helps language learning experience into an enjoyable journey.

This solo project is a project born out of my passion and personal struggle, aiming to discover and help navigate language learning.

Client

Solo Project

Duration

1 month (80 hours)

Tools

Figma
Goodnotes

Skills

UX Research
UX/UI Design
Usability Testing
Prototyping

Background

Have you tried studying language through a mobile app?

In 2020, Michigan State University conducted a study using Babbel, a popular subscription-based language learning app and e-learning platform, to answer the question, "How effective are language learning apps?" (1).

A test was taken by 54 students at MSU before and after 12 weeks of studying Spanish through Babbel. Interestingly, the level of oral proficiency, grammar, and vocabulary was correlated with the amount of time students used the app. The more time spent on the app, the higher the scores. One downside to this study was that 36% of participants quit halfway.

This highlights the importance of persistence and dedication in achieving progress.

Final Solution

Final Solution

Learn in Context

  • Gamification: Motivates users, making the learning process engaging and effective.

  • Immersive Content: Engaging with culturally relevant and authentic content increases the likelihood of retaining vocabulary and grammar.

  • Review: Spaced repetition enhances long-term retention of language learning.

Build a Routine

  • Personalized Onboarding Experience: Tailors lessons to the user’s level, interests, and goals, ensuring learners are both challenged and engaged.

  • Understanding Goals and Time Commitment: Allows the app to create a realistic and sustainable learning plan.

Engage with Objects

  • AR Translation: Makes language learning more tangible and practical. Interacting with real objects can improve retention and comprehension.

  • Save: Allows users to save translations and revisit them later, serving as a reinforcement mechanism that fosters a continuous learning habit.

Competitive Analysis

Direct & Indirect Competitors

I conducted a comprehensive competitive and feature analysis of Korean learning platforms available in the market. The platforms varied widely: some utilized AI, others focused on speech or video learning, while some featured chat functionalities.

Many apps are geared towards beginners and are being used to supplement the user's primary method of studying.

direct and indirect competitors

User Survey & Analysis

Most participants spent either less than a year or more than six years studying their secondary language

I decided to conduct a survey with 10 questions to gain insight on how users learn a new language and the struggles they share.

  • 11 total participants

  • 63% between the ages 18-24

  • 63% used English as their primary language

  • Participants spent either more than six years, or less than a year learning a language. 

Survey Statistics

User survey statistics

Survey Results

Main Motivation:

  • Interest in culture and language

Popular Learning Methods:

  • Mobile apps and consuming media are the most popular ways users learn a second language.

Study Time:

  • 63.6% of users study less than an hour per week.

  • 36.4% study 1-3 hours per week.

  • No one spends more than 3 hours per week studying.

Difficulty in Maintaining Daily Practice:

  • On a scale of 1 to 10, all users rated the difficulty as 5 or higher.

  • The most common rating was 9, with six participants

Challenges:

  • Life getting in the way

  • Difficulty following a routine

  • Lack of motivation

  • No access to fluent speakers


User Interview & Analysis

Users want to move away from the traditional way to studying

Next, I conducted 3 user interviews to have a deeper understanding of the problem space. Though I wish I had more participants, I still gained a lot of insights into the language learning experience.

Participant Analysis

Participants prefer to learn language in an immersive manner. This adds to the survey findings that many people opt for mobile apps as they are learning a new language.

Next, I created a customer journey map of how a customer will potentially engage with the product. In this journey, the user discovers their passion for Korean and found ways to study, but with no success. However, the user will come across an alternative method, Enjoy Korean, as it guides the way to meet their goal.

Problem Statement & Solution

How might we…

  1. Help people build structure and context of the Korean language while keeping them engaged?

  • Learn in Context: Engage in learning with popular Korean songs, comic book, and drama

  1. Help people who struggle to learn Korean accomplish their goals?

  • Build a Routine: Form a habit and make language learning effortless

  1. Increase engagement and interaction with Korean learning on a daily basis?

  • Engage with Objects Enhance the Korean learning eperience by incorporating a way for users to engage directly with real objects

Ideation

Brainstorming

Based on my research, users have difficulty following a routine, lack motivation to study, and prefer an immersive method of study. For the purpose of the project, I scoped down to three main flows. I sketched an example of the flows and spent a lot of time looking for the most efficient way to form a habit and engage the user.

Onboarding Experience

This flow focuses on building a routine and creating personalized lessons for users.

Song Lesson

Of the three types of content available, I chose the song to explore and design a lesson.

AR Translation

This flow allows users to engage in real objects and allow them to come back to the app to study.

Usability Testing

Feedback Incorporation

After creating a mid-fidelity of this sketch, I conducted usability testing with 6 participants over Zoom, each lasting about 30 minutes.


The objective of the test:

1. Observe if users can accomplish the specified task: Monitor how easily users can complete the given tasks without guidance. Note any difficulties or obstacles they encounter.

2. Assess error recovery: If a user makes a mistake, observe whether they can identify and correct it on their own. Determine the system’s ability to support error recovery and how intuitive this process is for users.

3. Identify gaps in user understanding and interaction: Pinpoint areas where users struggle or express confusion. This includes aspects of the interface, navigation, and overall task flow.

With the provided feedback, I created revisions to fill the gap between my understanding of the users and what the users experienced.

Lessons Learned

Reflection & What's Next

Importance of the design process

I understood how important the design process was to UX and this case study taught me exactly how. I subconsciously thought of what the final design of Enjoy Korean would be like even before I started. However, after the research and defining phase, that completely changed. Through research and analysis, I learned aspects of the learning process I wouldn’t have known otherwise. For example, before research, I thought most people study through an academic textbook or with a tutor. Although many people opt for this method, mobile apps and media learning were the top two in my survey. Like this, I learned that my assumptions are sprouted from my experience and that I shouldn’t come to a conclusion based on my opinion.

What's Next

I have a huge list of features brainstormed to add to Enjoy Korean so here's what I plan to tackle next:

  • Adding sounds to lessons. How might we use hearing as a form of learning to teach users more about Korean?

  • A skill test to identify user skill level due to the inconsistency of self-evaluation.

  • Premium Version. Without a source of income, it is hard to imagine a service like this to be supported.

  • Creating a screen for the profile and word bank.

  • Example sentences. What if users can see more sentences related to a specific grammar rule during a lesson?

Note that this case study is a simplified version of the project. Please check out my blog for a longer in-depth case study. I’m super excited to share this experience and thank you for taking the time to read my case study.

Enjoy Korean Case Study on Medium