Duolingo

Overview

Duolingo should have Nigerian languages.

Roles

  • Lead designer
  • Interaction designer
  • Visual designer
  • Prototype
  • Project manager
  • Design system

Duration

  • UX Research - 1 week
  • UI Design- 1 week
  • Year - 2021

Tools

  • Figma
  • Miro

Introduction

Duolingo is a language learning tool that can be used by students and teachers as a gamified way to grasp new languages.

From Spanish and French to Korean and Japanese, there are many language options to pick from, and the process of getting stated is very simple. Plus, it’s all free.

This tool works online across a host of devices and focuses on teaching four types of language skills: reading, writing, speaking, and listening.

Duolingo uses points that help to make it more immersive and keep students driven to use it, even outside of school time. Duolingo is the only platform with the resources to make learning of Nigerian languages easy for people all over the world.

Problem

Nigeria is a linguistically diverse nation with over 200 distinct languages and dialects. Yet, a large portion of the population, including Nigerian diaspora and migrant children, struggle to learn or maintain these languages due to a lack of accessible resources.

The Challenge

  • Many people in the diaspora, particularly those married to Nigerians, have children who struggle to communicate in the languages of their Nigerian heritage.
  • Migrant children born outside Nigeria often face challenges in learning about their culture due to language barriers.
  • Ethnic divisions in Nigeria are sometimes perpetuated by language differences, hindering national unity.

65,929

Migrants in UK

15 - 18

Million Nigerians in the diaspora

The Goal

The goal of this project is to add Igbo, Yoruba, and Hausa languages to Duolingo to address the language barrier challenges faced by Nigerians and their descendants, promote cultural preservation, and foster national unity.

Design Process or Thinking Process

Understand

Understand the problem and gather up requirement

UX research

Scenario, User journey map,user stories

Design

Information architecture,sketch flows, visual designs, prototype

Validate

Iterate

Research

Because Duolingo’s goal is to use languages to build bridges with cultures and people. I started talking and interviewing Nigerians who have spent decades in the diaspora and who are married to Nigerians. They create groups and try to find platforms to learn but cannot find one.

Benchmark Analysis

Explored competing language learning platforms like Rosetta Stone and Babbel to gain insights into their language course offerings, gamification features, and user experience.

User Personas

Susan

Susan is married to a Nigerian man and she loves the Nigerian culture. Afro beats is just what everyone is into globally and her favorite Nigerian artists are Rema, Davido and Burna boy. She is quite conversant with the trends and would love to connect deeper with her partners people by learning a Nigerian language.

 

Like Susan , there are thousands of people in Europe who are married or affiliated with Nigerian people who cant find a platform to learn Yoruba, Igbo or Hausa.

The Adewale's

The Adewale family have lived in the United states for a while. They have a child who knows almost nothing about her culture. Duolingo’s gamification could be an attractive Feature to help their young one learn yoruba language.

Like the Adewale family, there are millions of Nigerians all over the world who have kids who may never be able to speak thier cultural language. Duolingo is essential to the survival of Nigerian languages for people in the diaspora.

Visual Designs

Since all these languages are Nigerian languages, I Needed to group them in their own category.
Here is what it would look like at the language selection page

The language you are actively studying can be selected and more added. There should be a way to differentiate visually which nigerian language you are currently taking.

Outcome and impact

The addition of Igbo, Yoruba, and Hausa languages to Duolingo had several positive outcomes:

  1. Increased Cultural Preservation: Migrant children and their families now have access to their native languages, fostering a deeper connection to Nigerian culture.
  2. Ethnic Division Mitigation: Learning Nigerian languages can help bridge linguistic divides and promote unity in a country with diverse ethnic groups.
  3. User Engagement: The gamified approach to language learning on Duolingo keeps users motivated to learn Nigerian languages.
  4. Global Reach: Duolingo’s extensive user base has facilitated the spread of Nigerian languages to a global audience.

Conclusion

This UX design case study highlights the successful addition of Igbo, Yoruba, and Hausa languages to Duolingo, addressing the language barrier challenges faced by Nigerians and their descendants. By making these languages accessible, we have contributed to cultural preservation, unity, and language diversity on a global scale.
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