Tale of Languages

Integrating culture and storytelling into language learning.

Timeline

12 weeks

Tools

Figma, Illustrator, Photoshop, After Effects, Premiere Pro

Responsibilities

Research, Ideation, UX/UI, Prototyping, Visual Design, Animation

Team

Hayoung Na, Farah Shehadeh, Fanny Khuu, Rose Zhang

Problem

Early childhood multilingualism is difficult. To learn another language, children must be exposed to it for a minimum of 25 – 30% of their day. Due to limited opportunities to speak these languages, immigrant families are losing their mother tongue quickly.


Design Challenge

How can culture be integrated in digital applications to teach children languages?

Solution

A childhood education app adjusted to fit the learning needs of immigrant parents and their children in an engaging way. Stories and characters found in the culture of the language being learned are used to guide the learning journey. This gives children an opportunity to keep cultural ties as well as learn the language.

Benchmark Analysis

PACT Analysis

Primary Demographics

  • Children between the ages of 4-6.

  • Beginning to learn letter sounds and basic vocabulary

  • Starting to develop core skills, such as reading, writing, and fine motor skills

  • Recently developed visual recognition skills in this age range

  • Short attention spans

  • Naturally curious

Contexts

  • Recommended that this application be used when children are still energetic and focused

  • Expected to be used in the comfort of the user’s home

  • It is a clean and safe environment

  • Standard internet connection speeds

  • Children should use this application under the supervision of a parent or guardian

Activities

  • Teach through engaging stories, songs, and games

  • Lessons, activities, guides and instructions will be simple

  • Ensure easy navigation

  • Lesson material will be unlocked with progress

  • Video tutorials will provide guidance

  • Graphics and illustrations will be used for engagement

  • Mistakes will act as learning opportunities

  • The profile will be password protected

Technologies

  • Data input will come from the child as they complete various educational tasks (letters & visuals)

  • Voice recognition capabilities will be included via microphone

  • Various outputs including, video, audio, photos and text

  • Weekly progress report that will update the parent/guardian on how their child is progressing

Site Map

Semi-Structured Interviews

The goal of these interviews was to aid in understanding the difficulties parents or guardians face when attempting to teach their child a new language. From the parent’s perspective, we wanted to learn more about what helps their children’s learning process. This ultimately helped us better understand the challenges a child may face in learning a new language and what hindered their learning experience. These insights helped influence the application’s features and structure.

Question Samples:

  • What keeps your child the most engaged?

  • How does your child learn best?

  • What are some of the barriers or challenges?

  • What methods do you apply teaching your child a language?

  • Rank these language skills from least to most important: Speech, Understanding, Reading, Writing

  • If there was a platform, what features would you want to see?

Usability Test

15 tasks and scenarios were used to test how six participants navigated through the prototype. We wanted to evaluate the prototype’s effectiveness. Onboarding, settings, and gameplay were some of the areas tested.

High Fidelity Wireframes