DUOLINGO JOURNAL FEATURE
BRIEF
Company
Duolingo is a fun, free app for learning 40+ languages through quick, bite-sized lessons.
Project Description
This was a personal project to improve user retention of the app by adding a feature that helps users better accomplish their goal of learning a new language.
Timeline
1 month
Tools
Figma, InVision, Maze
Problem
User retention for Duolingo can occur for a number of reasons, one of which is a lack of desired activities to improve language learning, including a journal feature.
Solutions/Outcomes
Incorporating a journal feature in Duolingo will aid in user retention for Duolingo by increasing interactions amongst users to foster community, making language immersion more immersive, and encouraging routine interactions with the app.
RESEARCH - DISCOVERY - MARKET
To identify opportunities for Duolingo to differentiate itself in the crowded language-learning space, I conducted a brand comparison and feature analysis of Duolingo and its competitors, as well as a competitive analysis of popular journaling apps. Key insights include:
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Language Learning Platforms:
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Duolingo: Excels in gamification, making language learning engaging and interactive.
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Memrise: Strong in gamification, though slightly less immersive than Duolingo.
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Mondly: Offers better tools for natural language immersion, such as conversation-focused features.
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Rosetta Stone: Prioritizes immersive experiences with real-world application of language skills, outperforming Duolingo in this area.
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Journaling Apps:
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Reflectly: Leverages quotes and AI-generated prompts to create a highly personal and reflective user experience, earning it the reputation of a "personal mental health companion."
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Day One: Known for its clean design and robust features like multimedia integration and end-to-end encryption.
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Duolingo’s Advantage: With its free pricing model, Duolingo provides accessible language learning, surpassing Reflectly’s subscription-based approach.
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The analysis highlighted that Duolingo could enhance its appeal and better meet user goals by introducing a diary feature. This feature would allow users to engage with Duolingo's courses on a personal level, bridging the gap between gamification and real-world language immersion while drawing inspiration from the interactive and reflective qualities of top journaling apps.
RESEARCH - DISCOVERY - USER
Survey
I started user research with a survey that gathered 26 responses to better understand the factors preventing users from learning a new language and uncover opportunities to enhance their experience. Key findings include:
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Motivation: Most users learn a new language as a personal interest, highlighting intrinsic motivation as a key driver.
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Learning Style: The majority identify as verbal learners, meaning they learn best through written or spoken words.
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Barriers: Many users stop learning or avoid starting because they feel too busy, indicating a need for features that fit seamlessly into their daily routines.
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Journaling Habits: Most users do not have a habit of journaling their thoughts, emotions, or daily activities.
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Sharing Behavior: Despite not journaling, most users frequently share their thoughts, emotions, and daily activities in conversations with others.
These insights underscore the potential for a journaling feature that leverages verbal learning preferences, encourages habit formation, and integrates naturally into users' lives.
Interview
The goal of the user interviews was to explore how the journal feature could be designed and integrated into Duolingo. I conducted interviews with five users, aged 14 to 35, focusing on their free-time activities and reasons for abandoning language learning. This research provided deeper insights into user frustrations and motivations.
Key findings included:
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Time Constraints:
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The biggest barrier to language learning was a “lack of time,” aligning with survey results.
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One user shared, “Part of it was not just diligence on my part as needed in terms of making time for it.”
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Gamification:
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Responses revealed mixed feelings about Duolingo's gamified approach.
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One user expressed, “Why would I want gems? I don't care what my owl is dressed like.”
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Another noted, “In my mind, I'm just there to learn the language…Playing a game is not my expectation when learning from a language learning app.”
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However, some users appreciated the mascot: “The little owl is cute.”
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Shop Feature:
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The Shop feature failed to resonate with users, with one stating, “I have never done an in-app purchase and this [Shop feature] doesn't make me want to start.”
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In addition to these discussions, I conducted usability testing and audits of the existing Duolingo app via Zoom or in-person, allowing me to observe users’ interactions with the current visual design and features. These insights informed the development of the journal feature and its integration into the platform.
Decisions From Research
Value Proposition Canvas
Leveraging user research, I created a Value Proposition Canvas summarizing the goals and frustrations uncovered during user research. This tool helped articulate the potential value the diary feature could provide. I also explored potential solutions through a series of How-Might-We questions, including:
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How might we make gamification feel less childlike for adult users?
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How might we improve the learning experience for more advanced language learners?
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How might we create more incentive to use the Shop feature?
The Value Proposition Canvas and How-Might-We questions not only clarified the value of the diary feature for users but also aligned with stakeholder goals, such as improving retention and increasing interactions with existing Duolingo features. By addressing overlapping gains for both users and the app, the feature aims to engage users more deeply through gamification and provide a new way to track progress, fostering greater interaction with the platform.
User Persona and Journey Map
After analyzing the data, I created a user persona, "Talkative Talia," along with a user journey map to capture her experiences, goals, and frustrations. Talia is a creative professional in her late twenties who values language learning as a way to enhance her career and connect with her diverse community. While she enjoys learning independently, she also thrives on practicing skills socially. The journey map tracked her initial excitement about learning a new language when downloading Duolingo, followed by growing frustrations with the app's gamification, which she found childish and demotivating, and its limited lesson variety. These pain points, compounded by her busy schedule, eventually led her to abandon the app, revealing key opportunities to design features that address such user frustrations and improve retention.
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
Feature Prioritization
With the user persona and user journey map, I used the MOSCOW feature prioritization method to determine key workflows for initial designs which included:
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Ability to auto save
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Ability to take photos
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Ability to provide journal responses in a multiple choice format for beginner levels
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Ability to provide awards for streaks
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Ability to lock other apps to minimize distraction
Sitemap
After identifying the value and primary features of the diary feature, I focused on integrating it seamlessly into the flow of the Duolingo mobile app. To start, I mapped out the current sitemap of the app to understand its existing structure. Then, I created an updated sitemap to determine where the diary feature would fit most naturally. In this revised structure, the diary feature was incorporated into the daily unit lessons, making it part of the user's regular learning flow. Additionally, users could access the diary feature through their profile page, providing multiple entry points for a cohesive user experience.
User Flows
After determining the optimal locations for the diary feature within the app, I developed user flows to address key user stories. These flows ensured that beginner, intermediate, and advanced language learners could seamlessly input diary entries after completing their daily lessons. Additionally, users could write diary entries at their own convenience, independent of lesson completion. Another flow allowed users to utilize diary entries as a screen block for other apps. The user flows were visually represented with black squares for pages, red parallelograms for user actions, and gray triangles to depict Duolingo’s responses to those actions, ensuring clarity and alignment with user needs.
Prototypes
Low Fidelity
After ideating, I created a low-fidelity prototype of the diary passcode feature and the post-lesson diary feature. In an informal usability test with two users, I found that the diary feature was desirable, but the diary passcode feature had a number of drawbacks. The first drawback was the likelihood of a user wanting to enter a diary entry early in the morning.
"I can see [using diary syncing feature] if I set a goal…but I think I would use it [diary syncing feature] tied to the app not the diary. It depends on how the diary is. Super realistically…I would not use it because I use Reddit 8 o'clock in the morning but I would not want to do a diary entry 8 o'clock in the morning."
Mid Fidelity
The mid-fidelity wireframe was significantly simplified with the removal of the passcode feature. During the usability test with 15 users, participants were given specific tasks, such as adding a diary entry after completing a unit lesson, viewing past diary entries to track progress, and adding an audio diary entry without completing a lesson. I used Maze to track misclicks and identify areas for improvement in the design. However, some misclicks may have been caused by unclear mid-fidelity imagery rather than issues with the content itself. For instance, participants clicked on areas that were intended to represent non-clickable images in the app. Additionally, audio-related features were not interactive in the mid-fidelity prototype, even though the UI for clickable elements was maintained for consistency with the current app design.
FINAL DESIGN
The final designs were built upon Duolingo's existing design system to ensure brand and experience consistency. The most challenging aspect of creating the high-fidelity prototype was recreating elements of the Duolingo design system, such as buttons, icons, and incorporating brand images. I also added new elements to the system, including user-specific avatars and a diary image. Additionally, I replicated Duolingo's interaction design, including component behavior for audio features, and hover and click behaviors for buttons and icons. While this was a personal project, the final design has the potential to be seamlessly integrated into the Duolingo app.
Reflection
This project presented a few challenges, primarily in the implementation of the diary feature. Beginner users may struggle to form complete sentences, while more advanced learners might find repetitive journal prompts boring. Additionally, the diary feature alone is unlikely to foster a journaling habit, especially given that other responsibilities often take precedence over language learning. Future iterations may require longer testing to address these concerns.
Another challenge was recreating elements of Duolingo's design system. I faced frustrations with Figma’s limitations, particularly when trying to match typography and replicate component behaviors within a short timeframe. Despite this, the design system provided useful guidance for the project.
Looking forward, Duolingo has opportunities to keep users engaged, such as incorporating AI to help users create their own sentences or reinstating the chatbot. If the diary feature were implemented, it would be important to include engaging and relevant questions. As this was a personal project, I didn’t have the chance to collaborate with other disciplines, particularly Engineers, to determine the best method for implementing this feature (i.e. AI). Additionally, since the final designs weren’t tested, I missed the opportunity to gather user feedback.