Lingogo VR Prototype
Lingogo is a VR application that allows for users to learn a new language by virtually transporting them to the places where that language is spoken. For example, if a user would like to learn French he/she can choose to go to Paris and learn new vocabulary words by exploring the Eiffel Tower.
RESEARCH
Interviews
Before getting started I interviewed a language student about their learning experience and a language professor to get their take on the best way to teach a language.
The first person I interviewed was a friend who studied abroad in Toledo. Spain. She said her biggest challenge with learning Spanish was pronunciation, even though she had a good vocabulary, she wan't saying the words correctly.
Next I interviewed my former Portuguese professor from Notre Dame. Her strategy for teaching Brazilian Portuguese was teaching the language and culture with authentic material and mixed media resources. Some examples she gave were reading works by Brazilian authors, listening to Brazilian music, watching Brazilian films, and keeping track of current events and news articles from Brazilian publications. In her eyes educating students on Brazilian culture was always a part of the Portuguese language lesson.
Personas
Emily Avila
Age: 29
Location: San Francisco, CA
Occupation: International Strategy Consultant
Quote: "I love visiting new places, learning about new cultures, and dabbling in different languages"
Emily travels a lot for work. While she is fluent in both English and Spanish, she is not a master in any other language. She enjoys attempting to converse in different languages and meeting new people at the places she travels for work. She loves trying new restaurants of different cultures and watching foreign films.
Evan Thomson
Age: 25
Location: Bloomfield, IN
Occupation: College Student, Finance & Spanish Major
Quote: "It would be really cool to study abroad in Spain one day"
Evan grew up in a small town and has always wanted to see more of the world. Since he has never left the United States, he is eager to travel and explore different places and cultures. He wants to become fluent in Spanish because he thinks it will give him an edge in the job market when he graduates.
Concept Mapping
Creating a concept map based on my interviews & personas allowed me to gain insight and helped me brain-storm new ideas. Viewing all my ideas on paper helped me group together concepts and sort them into three categories: mastery, feelings, and motivations. The "mastery" category contains multiple ways in which someone becomes fluent in a language, the "feelings' category includes the emotions and frustrations that come with learning a language, and the "motivations" category contains various reasons why a person would want to learn a new language.
PROCESS
Based on my research I concluded that this VR application should include vocabulary, pronunciation, and immersion. VR is especially useful for immersion because of the 360˙ experience.
User Flows & Interactions
The user first selects the language they want to learn, next they choose a location where they want to learn that language, and then they start their lesson. To learn vocabulary words the user simply looks around the location they selected and based on where they are facing/ the object they are looking at the 360˙ experience will pause and teach the user a new vocabulary word. After learning the new word the user then has to repeat the word with the right pronunciation. Lingogo uses both gestural and voice commands.
Prototyping For VR
Since I had never prototyped a VR application I started researching what the best tools for VR prototyping were. I found this article from the Medium especially helpful. I used the Sketch plug-in, Sketch-to-VR in order to view my designs in 360˙ web view.
Name & Branding
I wanted the name of the app to connect language learning with the concept of taking you somewhere. Ultimately I came up with Lingogo, I chose to include the globe in the "o" and the arrow to emphasize the virtual transportation that is possible with this VR app.
PROTOTYPE
The final step in my process was creating a video prototype to demonstrate the Lingogo experience and to communicate the design. Check out the Lingogo video prototype below.