ADDING A VOCABULARY FEATURE TO DUOLINGO.

UX RESEARCH DEBRIEF.

RESEARCH GOAL: Find out if adding a vocabulary feature could improve the user experience of Duolingo users.

PHASE 1 – SECONDARY RESEARCH

COMPETITIVE RESEARCH

Direct Competitors:

·         Babbel

·         Mondly Languages

·         Rosetta Stone

Has a Vocabulary Feature:

·         Yes – Review Manager (saves every new learned word)

·         Not exactly (only vocabulary practice, translations included)

·         Not exactly (only vocabulary practice, no translations included)

PROVISIONAL PERSONAS

Archetypes, Age and Reasons For Studying Languages:

·         The Student, 15, studies languages for school.

·         The Business Pro, 25, studies languages for career.

·         The Hobby Learner, 38, studies languages for fun.

·         The Expat, 50, studies languages to fit in.

·         The Teacher, 62, studies languages to improve the her instruction.

PHASE 2 – PRIMARY RESEARCH

USER SURVEY

Number of Participants: 10.

Participants’ Age:

·         18 – 25 – 10%

·         26 – 37 – 40%

·         38 – 45 – 10%

·         46 – 60 – 20%

·         60+ – 20%

Participants’ Gender:

·         Female – 50%

·         Male – 50%

Participants' Occupation:

·         Working – 60%

·         Students – 20%

·         Retired – 10%

·         Disabled –  10%      

Participants’ Level of Experience:

·         New Duolingo users – 0%

·         Experienced Duolingo users – 40%

·         Old Duolingo users – 60%

Participants’ Level of Dedication:

·         Use Duolingo regularly – 60%

·         Use Duolingo infrequently – 40%

·         Practicing more than 1 language – 30%

Remembering Vocabulary:

·         Having minor problems remembering new words – 65%

·         Having more serious problems remembering new words – 20%

·         Not knowing where to find previously learned words within the app – 90%

Understanding New Vocabulary:

·         Having minor problems understanding new words – 55%

·         Having more serious problems understanding new words – 15%

Participants’ Interest in a Vocabulary Feature:

·         High – 80%

·         Moderate – 20%

·         Low – 0%

·         None –  0%

Participants Expectations (from a vocabulary feature):

·         Previously learned words (preferably in chronological order)

·         Words translations and meanings; as well as synonyms and their definitions (where applicable)

·         Irregular verbs conjugation chart

·         Words declension examples (where applicable)

·         Examples of contextual use of words and their forms

CONCLUSION.

As we can see from the numbers above, the majority of our survey participants experience problems finding, remembering and understanding the words they learn on Duolingo. Which gives us a reason to assume that a vocabulary feature may be of use to the user. The participants themselves demonstrated moderate to high interest in such feature. They as well expressed their expectations about the possible feature in question, which provided us with a base for what the feature should be able to offer to the user.