Project time: Oct. 2016 – Jan. 2017
We decided to develop a prototype for young people to learn small languages. Of course, there are many classes to take and books to read. But seems that still a lot of people are struggling for progress. So, how do we make it fun and effective? First we did a user survey.
We devised the app functions accordingly.
Chatting is a basic way to learn. The ideal chatroom, as we envisage, should be where everyone is involved and enjoying the flow. We encourage users to identify their interests when they register, and chat rooms will be formed according to this. We will control the room size at 6-9 people, so everyone gets the chance to speak and still keep the conversation warm. If everyone thinks they like the chatroom, they can save and start a new conversation next time with the same people. They can also “friend” a particular member to message them or add them to another chat.
The chat room is equipped with magical widgets that guess what word you are about to use. That way beginners don’t get taunted that they cannot find the right word or cannot spell a word right when trying to express themselves. The chat room also has a language detector. If the Spanish learners are constantly chatting in English, then the detector will turn red and warn the users. Of course, some extent of use is allowed, for example explaining a Spanish word with English is allowed.
So what happens when I want to talk to foreigners on travel? No worries, the online judgement system will point out which sounds you need to improve. You just read aloud the paragraph shown on the screen and see where needs to be perfected. The difficulty will level-up as you go, so keep challenging!
There is also a seasonal lottery based on credit. Users have to actively participate in the chatrooms, bbs or progress according to the Online Judgement System, to accumulate credit points. Those points can be used to buy chances in the Lottery. Lucky users will receive prizes of their pick, from art exhibitions to football matches.
We also offer off-line activities! One of them is postcard exchange. We encourage users to express themselves in their second language, and also practice handwriting in such activity.
The app offers a warm and welcoming atmosphere for users to practice small languages with commerates with the same interests and goals. They will be more motivated in the process and make friends along the way.
Below is the UI demo for the app!
Jiaxin WU 