UX/Product Design

·

Uploaded

April 2023

Bringing Immersive Communication to Duolingo

Responsive Atomic Design

Direct Contact with Ex-Users

Multiplatform Accessbility

UX/Product Design

·

Uploaded

April 2023

Bringing Immersive Communication to Duolingo

Responsive Atomic Design

Direct Contact with Ex-Users

Multiplatform Accessbility

Introduction

Duolingo retains 55% of users. How could that number be higher?

about

Since I'm passionate about learning, Duolingo is one of my favourite products. It's also one of the greatest demonstrators of how to gamify education.

Duolingo's user retention rate - 45% as of 2021 - is ever improving, but I wanted to uncover, and address, the concerns of the remaining disengaged users.

Timeline

8 Weeks · Jan to Mar 2023

Client

Self-initiated

Team

Solo Project

with Credit to

the Duolingo Product Team

About

Since I'm passionate about learning, Duolingo is one of my favourite products. It's also one of the greatest demonstrators of how to gamify education.

Duolingo's user retention rate - 45% as of 2021 - is ever improving, but I wanted to uncover, and address, the concerns of the remaining disengaged users.

Timeline

8 Weeks · Jan to Mar 2023

Client

Self-initiated

Team

Solo Project

with Credit to

the Duolingo Product Team

about

Since I'm passionate about learning, Duolingo is one of my favourite products. It's also one of the greatest demonstrators of how to gamify education.

Duolingo's user retention rate - 45% as of 2021 - is ever improving, but I wanted to uncover, and address, the concerns of the remaining disengaged users.

Timeline

8 Weeks · Jan to Mar 2023

Client

Self-initiated

Team

Solo Project

with Credit to

the Duolingo Product Team

About

Since I'm passionate about learning, Duolingo is one of my favourite products. It's also one of the greatest demonstrators of how to gamify education.

Duolingo's user retention rate - 45% as of 2021 - is ever improving, but I wanted to uncover, and address, the concerns of the remaining disengaged users.

Timeline

8 Weeks · Jan to Mar 2023

Client

Self-initiated

Team

Solo Project

with Credit to

the Duolingo Product Team

Research

To find out how, I sought discussions with ex-users through social media.

Defining & Ideating

I discovered ex-users' need for natural language immersion.

Prototyping & Testing

To provide the immersion, I adapted Duolingo's edu-frameworks around immersive resources.

The Duolingo Streaming TV App

A brand-new TV App applies Duolingo's educational frameworks to media subtitles to provide realistic language exchanges.

Subtitles within Realistic Exchanges

With Duo Learning enabled, the user will be periodically assessed on their knowledge of the speech content.

Low-Vision Accessibility

I implemented a TV remote functionality into the Duolingo mobile app. This allows for a more user-friendly and accessible experience for low-vision users.

Multiplayer Minigames

I provided users with mini-games which allow for anonymous, inter-personal communication. The games use frameworks that are adaptable to the user’s progress in Duolingo’s education structure.

Fluency Points

Fluency points are a new user success value which can be earned through the new immersion additions. They conjoin with XP in the user profiles and leagues as ‘Points’, ensuring incentivise towards the new additions.

The Verdict

Feedback indicated a potential 25% increase in retention.

Feedback

I returned to the 5 test participants, and 80% said these features are likely to encourage their return to Duolingo.

Being ahead of the curve...

Duolingo MAX was unveiled soon after this project ended, using conversational AI to emulate language immersion and inter-personal exchanges.

What's next?

I'd love to continue this project, especially with consideration of the developments Duolingo has rolled out since this project was completed.

LET'S TALK

© 2025 Adam A Jarvis. All rights reserved.

LET'S TALK

© 2025 Adam A Jarvis. All rights reserved.

LET'S TALK

© 2025 Adam A Jarvis. All rights reserved.

LET'S TALK

© 2025 Adam A Jarvis. All rights reserved.