Duolingo: Adding Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa Languages To Learning Platform

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.

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.

Introduction

Problem

The Challenge

The Goal

Design Process or Thinking Process

Research

Benchmark Analysis

User Personas:

1: Susana

2: The Adewales

Visual Designs