TECH

Gaja (가자 - “Let’s go!”) - a new way of learning languages

A chrome extension to help you learn Korean while watching TV shows and movies.
Client
Co.lab
Role
Product Designer
Tools
F i g m a
M i r o
M a z e
Platform
Chrome extension
Timeline & completion
2022 MAY - JUL
OVERVIEW

Project: Develop an online language learning platform to provide an immersive environment for language learners to improve listening and pronunciation skills.

Solution: A chrome extension that offers an immersive environment for language learners to improve their listening and pronunciation skills while watching Netflix.

Advantage: The solution addresses the challenge of limited time and lack of immersive environments faced by language learners. The use of technology and personalized feedback sets it apart from other online language learning options, and the growing online language learning market indicates a strong demand for this type of solution.

Problem
"How might we improve conversational language learning for language learners so that they have confidence in communicating with native speakers?"
Solution
Design Process
Background Story
Discovery & Research
4 big obstacles to learn a new language
After conducting research and interviews, I found out that 30 million people tried to learn a new language in 2020. The people I have interviewed want to learn a new language for reasons such as planning to travel to a foreign country, communicating with relatives that speak the language, or understanding dramas without subtitles in that language. However, the current methods (physical classes, online learning, and apps) they are using were not effective. Eventually lost the motivation of learning it. But, there is one thing that they kept doing watching Netflix and selecting the language they are interested in.
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The following is the User Insights of summary.
USER NEEDS
Family and heritage: to connect with family or heritage and reclaim a lost language.
Career: to succeed in careers that involve international business or diplomacy
Personal development: to challenge themselves and expand their horizons
Cultural immersion: to immerse themselves in a new culture and gain understanding
Travel: to travel more easily and have an authentic experience
USER GOALS
Basic proficiency: to achieve basic conversational skills.
Reduce accent: to better understand the culture associated with the language.
Cultural understanding: use the correct words when communicating with native speakers.
Why video streaming services might be an effective way?
Based on my interviews, I observed that language learners tend to lose motivation when attending language classes or engaging in online learning. However, they remain interested in the language when they relax at home and watch streaming services, choosing to watch dramas in the language they are learning. Despite the fact that these streaming services only offer one subtitle, I asked them if they would turn on a second subtitle service if it were available. The response was overwhelmingly positive, with 100% of the interviewees expressing their willingness to utilize such a feature. This suggests that video streaming services could be an effective tool for language learners, as they can provide an immersive and engaging way to learn a new language.
Which streaming service should we start with?
Over the past decade, on-demand video streaming such as Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and Netflix has become a ubiquitous part of everyday life. These services have made foreign language TV programs and movies much more accessible to both language teachers and students.
Why choose Korean as the MVP product?
Korean was the second fastest-growing language in the world in 2020. A lot of that growth can be attributed to Hallyu or the wave of Korean content that the world was consuming.
Netflix invested $500 million in Korean content in 2021. BTS, Kpop, Parasite, Squid Game, all of these contributed to massive growth in people wanting to learn Korean. With this demand for content and the availability of it on platforms such as Netflix and YouTube, we’ll be able to support users in learning the Korean language with the content they want to watch.
Ideation - Brainstorming Solutions
After identifying the user needs, I brainstormed solutions and created an user flow and information architecture. Those were followed by Lo-Fi & Hi-Fi wireframes, UI kit and usability testing.
Sketches
Sound flash cardsFocus
Language Journal - store words -> export to Quizlet/Anki
Focus/Reflection app
Subtitles on Netflix
/YouTube or Podcast
User Flow

Qualitative Research

Empathy Map

As the product designer, I lead the design process and conducted user research to understand the problem space. Taking our technical constraints into consideration, I decided how to tackle the problem and iterated on our design including organizing research discoveries and doing visual design.
After the first of team meeting, we chose language learning as the problem space. Due to time and technical constraints, we decided to focus our attention to a single language to prove our concept. We picked the Korean language as the MVP since in 2021, Oxford English Dictionary added 26 Korean words including “hallyu” which refers to the recent Korean wave that's been sweeping the globe. Shows such as “Squid Game,” music artists such as BTS, and movies such as “Parasite” have driven interest in Korean language learning to an all-time high.

Lo-Fi Wireframes

User Testing
Feedback
Participant A: Not sure what is the purpose of on/off button.
Participant B: The menu drop-down is covering most of the screen.
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Developer's comment:
Will the video be paused while the definition is being displayed? Or it stops when hovering to the translation?
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Participant A: I prefer the video stop when hovering to the translation.
Participant B: I hope I can save the words translation and review later on.
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UI & Mid-Fi

Hi-Fi Wireframes

Final Design Overview
Sketches
No items found.
Usability Testing

The goal was to decide whether the on/off button is necessary. We also wanted to remind the users to select the default English subtitle before picking dual subtitle as Korean.

Noteworthy Hightlights:

HIGHLIGHT #1

Love the hover state and video auto-stop for translation

The hover makes it easier to navigate. Easy and straightforward.
HIGHLIGHT #2

Can learn individual words in the subtitle

Able to learn new vocabulary and know when to use it from watching films or dramas.

Challenges

The on/off button is necessary after adding the learning dashboard page.
"How to enhance memory of the new vocabulary that has been saved in the journal?"

Feedback Insights - What Can We Improve?

Impact

Lesson #1
Impact #1

Flashcard would be a good feature to refresh memory efficiently

Adding to journal is good. But memorizing new vocabularies is not easy. Flashcards would be helpful to review words that were learned.
Lesson #2
Impact #2

Dashboard showing what has been learned

Additional page with a dashboard listing the shows that I have completed watching or in the middle of watching.
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© 2022 Yvonne Fu Chen. All rights reserved.
Designed from scratch with 💛, studies, and lots of research.
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