CONTENT DESIGN

Duolingo: Pronunciation training

 
 

The pronunciation lessons (with content in English, though in reality the content is localized to non-English languages)

A screenshot of an exercise, including a prompt to select which word you heard

An exercise for training your ear on tricky English sounds, including an encouraging “correct” message

Problem

Duolingo language lessons indirectly help with pronunciation, but they didn’t directly and effectively train this skill that is especially important for English learners

Solution

  • Provide targeted training for hearing the differences between tricky English sounds

  • Provide specific guidance about how to produce English sounds

  • All while making it fun and encouraging, just like the rest of Duolingo!

My role

Content designer

What I did

  • Wrote all UX content

  • Worked with:

    • Product designer to refine UX

    • Learning scientist to align on pedagogy and best practices for new lesson types

Outcomes

  • New feature launched with solid engagement, +3.9% total session ends (40K sessions/day), especially since this was launched as an opt-in feature with no promotion

  • This feature covered a critical gap in efficacy

    • Efficacy is a core element of Duolingo’s flywheel to create momentum for user and revenue growth