MoBuddy | An AI Powered Language Learning App

Mobile Application Design & Management | Mar. 2023 - Mar. 2024
Skill: Product Management, Product Strategy, UX/UI Design, Prototyping, User Research, Stakeholder Management
Release: v1.0: Aug, 2023 | v1.5: Dec, 2023 | v2.0: Jan, 2024
Official Website: https://mobuddy.ai/
iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/mobuddy-language-learning/id6449952718
Android Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ai.mobuddy.app

Introduction

I am the product lead and cofounder of Motiverse Labs, Inc. MoBuddy is our first go-to-market product. It is an AI language tutor that aims to recreate the private language tutor experience, at a much more affordable price. MoBuddy provides highly personalized learning content and answers any tricky questions the user might have. It supports more than 10 languages and provides rich content that simulates real-life conversations for learners to practice their target language skills. MoBuddy leverages LLM to generate a personalized curriculum according to the learner’s goals and learning preferences, such as communication style, difficulty, allocation of time, etc. Throughout the learning journey, we provide comprehensive analytics and feedback for learners to reflect on their learnings and consistently make progress towards their goals.

Research & Insights

Private one-on-one language tutors are one of the best tools for language learning, but they’re expensive and have limited time availability. At an affordable price, we aim to recreate the private language tutor experience in MoBuddy. To determine the specific aspects that language learners expect and value the most, we conducted primary and secondary research to gain the following insights. Here are the insights:

• Personalized, rich, and engaging learning content is a key value that language learners expect from a tutor.

• ‘Speaking’ and ‘listening’ are the two skills that need the most facilitation from tutors.

• Real-life conversation practice is essential for language learners to persist.

• Feedback from tutors is widely expected by learners, which helps them improve their learning journey.

v1.0 & v1.5 (iOS)

Configuration

I defined a configuration process that collects user preference data for our AI backend to create personalized conversation content for learners.

Conversation

As we discovered from previous research, conversational practice is the most effective method to improve learners’ speaking and listening skills. I designed a thematic conversation practice experience that allows language learners to roleplay in various real-life scenarios. Learners can select from the list we generated according to their interest, or create their own.

Achievement

We achieved a registered user of 1k+ in this version. We gained an iOS Appstore Rating of 4.8/5 and received a lot of positive feedback from our users.

v2.0 (iOS & Android)

Personalized Curriculum

Prompt Engineering, UX/UI Design, Graphic Design
Based on the configuration and conversation feature, MoBuddy has made a personalized curriculum for each user to persist in their language learning.
We added word modules allowing users to learn some words and then practice them in consequential conversations.

Voice Input & Pronunciation Assessment

To further facilitate learners to improve their speaking skills, we developed voice input and pronunciation assessment.

Review

According to insights from user research, we discovered that learners need feedback after each conversation practice.

Improved Conversation - Ask a question at any time

We added a new feature allowing users to ask a question during a conversation and resume to roleplay to make the conversation practice even more seamless and user-friendly.

UI Kit

In creating the brand identity and consistent user experience for MoBuddy, I designed an integrated graphic system that encapsulates the essense our unique aesthetic. The logo, a stylized iconic frog, the Mo sets the tone for the brand’s engaging and friendly feel. I crafted a slogan “Your Pocket Language Tutor“, to depict our vision of an AI-powered tutor that is affordable, accessible and highly helpful in language learning.

Graphic of Mo

I developed a variety of graphic content featuring Mo, the frog, tailored to diverse themes, personalities, and festivals for use in our user interface and marketing materials. This includes Mo characters customized for each learning objective, festive Mo designs for promotional purposes, and splash screens for digital marketing, among others.

Marketing

Social Media Content
I created a variety of content and visuals for our Instagram and Xiaohongshu accounts to attract new users and promote our app.

Offline promotion
I created posters for display at universities and language learning communities to facilitate offline marketing to acquire new users.

Partnership & Acceleration

Microsoft Founders Hub

I established the partnership with Microsoft Founders Hub to leverage its resources and enhance our product development.

Collaboration with expert professors in language learning from top-tier universities.

I partnered with expert professors in language learning from top-tier universities for more effective curriculum design and development. The photo on the right shows my meeting with Professor Andrew Jarvis at the University of Hong Kong, who specializes in language learning curriculum design and AI facilitation in language learning.

Summary

The Mobuddy v2.0 is helping approx. 3k language learners with our personalized learning experience. We received a lot of positive feedback from various communities of language learners, stating that MoBuddy has helped them make progress more effectively with the features we developed, such as the personalized curriculum, the pronunciation assessment, the ‘ask anything in a conversation’, etc.

Through this project, I delved into various facets of a GenAI product. Initially, I applied my expertise in UX/UI and branding design. Additionally, I played the role of a product manager, overseeing product strategy and management, prompt engineering, and the integration of design, development, and business aspects.

I had the opportunity to learn and implement various technical solutions within the realm of a conversational AI agent, including speech-to-text, text-to-speech, and prompt engineering.

With future opportunities, this project could be expanded to offer business-to-business (B2B) services to language tutors. This would enable them to distribute their courses on MoBuddy as a platform and monitor student progress to facilitate effective learning. I also envision this project evolving to track the progress of language learners and continuously adapt the content and interactions to facilitate more personalized language learning.