Work Collection
Boosting engagement and confidence in language learners through community interaction and flexible practice
Education
Remote
B2C
My Role
End-to-End UI/ UX Designer
Duration
Feb 2024- Sep 2024
Company
Start-up
Team
2 Designers
1 product manager
1 Product owener
Final Design
What are we trying to understand?
We combined 5 user interviews with insights from social media platforms like Reddit, Twitter, and YouTube to identify the biggest obstacles to consistent practice, including fear of mistakes, shame, and lack of community, and opportunities to turn them into motivation.
Nazanin
“it's hard to fit into a class schedule in person...”
Nazanin
“ I want to improve my skills and have someone correct my mistakes, but I prefer online help instead of in-person classes...”
Maryam
“ I can't get the time so I can learn when the kids are asleep ...”
Hamid
“most classes are just too expensive for my student budget...”
Mohammad
“ I need a good peer to practice online with.”
Sara
“ I find it really hard to speak up in front of people...”
Reza
“I need something that fits my unpredictable schedule. for example, I should be in a new country tomorrow, and I want to keep learning languge! ...”
Here is the situation
Some students ...
like Els are afraid or too shy to speak up in class.
They worry, "What if others judge me?"
So eventually, they say, "Well, then I just won't go to class anymore".
Sometimes ...
Heavy traffic, the hustle of the city, or even the cold weather keep Emily from getting to class on time.
And maybe, she wants to go on a trip for a few months.
Whenever she’s late or away, she misses part of the course and starts to worry, “What if I fall behind? .
In a classroom ...
Alex often loses focus and starts to feel tired.
Sometimes, the noise from other students distracts him so much that he gets frustrated and thinks,
"Maybe I just can't understand this. Maybe learning isn't for me".
Assumptions Meet Reality
We started with 6 assumptions, knowing they might be wrong. They were our way to challenge biases and not just design based on guesses. Through interviews, social listening, and observing people in context, some assumptions held, some fell apart, and a few even turned into new discoveries. This process gave us clarity on what users need and what ideas we had to let go.
Validated assumption
Discounts or flexible plans can improve retention and subscription rates.
Excessive mentions feel overwhelming and need filtering.
Personalized home page content increases satisfaction.
New Discoveries
Collaborative learning spaces boost commitment and confidence
Flexible practice with native speakers is highly motivating
Users value control over personal information and visibility settings.
Unvalidated assumption
Most users want to share profile pictures and phone numbers.
Unlimited notifications improve engagement.
Most learner prefers solo study modes.
Competitive Analysis
Learning tools were everywhere, motivation wasn’t !
We looked at how Vaaj compared to other popular language learning and exchange apps, not just to identify their strengths, but also to pinpoint areas where learners were still struggling. I wanted to understand the gaps that often leave people feeling unmotivated or disconnected.
Features |
|---|
The competitor analysis helped us understand user expectations, avoid repeating common UX mistakes, and identify clear opportunities where Vaaj could differentiate itself and offer a smoother, more supportive learning experience.
In the end, we decided to focus on features that best matched our users’ needs: real-time text, voice, and images, translation support, a moments feed for public interaction, and a flexible conversation learning room with the option to book tutors instead of following a rigid curriculum.
Impact effort matrix
We didn’t just solve usability. We targeted what made learners give up.
I used an Impact-Effort Matrix to prioritize features that would bring the most value with the least effort. This helped focus on high-impact, easy-to-implement solutions, like community interaction and flexible practice, ensuring the redesign improved user engagement and learning efficiently.
Turning Idea into UI
Designed Around Real Language Learning Needs
We designed five key features to support language learners who often feel anxious, isolated, or unable to attend traditional classes. These include level-matched rooms, topical discussions, and flexible, low-pressure ways to participate.
One of the biggest challenges we tackled was giving learners a safe space to chat without shame or embarrassment, at their own level, while still getting support from more advanced or native speakers. Every design decision was shaped by real user feedback, not assumptions, so the product truly reflects how people want to learn.
1- My Learning Space
2- Multi-Format Messaging
Problem:
Text-only chats limit how users express themselves, and some feel self-conscious about making grammar or spelling mistakes.
Solution:
Users can choose between voice, picture, poll, and text formats, which can make interaction more flexible and inclusive, especially for users with different learning styles.
3- Categorizing Tags
Problem:
Users often struggle to find relevant rooms or people with shared interests. This leads to frustration, wasted time, and ultimately lower engagement. Even when they do find a good conversation, it can be hard to keep track of it for later
Solution:
We introduced a tagging system that makes it easy to filter and explore rooms based on specific interests or goals, helping learners connect with more meaningful conversations. In addition, a bookmark page allows users to save and organise rooms by tags, so they can quickly return to the topics that matter most to them.
4- Topic-Based Rooms
Problem:
Unstructured chat rooms feel chaotic and uninviting, especially for new or shy users who don’t know how to start a conversation.
Solution:
Rooms are organized around specific topics, making it easier to join ongoing discussions, stay on track, and reduce the fear of not knowing what to say.
Testing our design
First impressions at a glance
We tested early prototypes with [5-8] interview participants using first-click tests, 5-second tests, and task completion scenarios to evaluate if core features were intuitive and confidence-boosting.
80%
correctly select a room matching their level.
70%
discover topic-based filters within 10 seconds.
60%
send a message using voice or image in community rooms
50%
complete onboarding without external help.