Tenmin is an innovative AI language tutor that enables real-time conversational practice. The app provides immediate feedback on pronunciation, personalized lesson content, and interactive speaking exercises designed to build practical fluency faster than traditional language learning methods
As UX Lead for Tenmin, I shaped the user experience and visual direction of this AI language learning app:
My work helped transform advanced language technology into intuitive experiences that feel approachable and encouraging to learners
New language learners experience confusion and indecision when they attempt to select their first course on Tenmin's home page. This is a problem because it creates unnecessary friction during the critical onboarding moment, delays their language learning journey, and risks users abandoning the app before experiencing Tenmin's valuable AI tutoring capabilities
Additionally, users struggle to understand Tenmin's structured learning methodology from the current home page design. This is problematic because it undermines their confidence in the platform's educational approach, reducing their willingness to invest time in the service and directly impacting user retention and subscription conversion rates
Lastly, Tenmin's visual design blended in with competitors rather than standing out. This decreases user trust and motivation since the app didn't immediately communicate professionalism or youthful energy. We needed to create a distinctive visual that would build confidence and inspire continued engagement
To build Tenmin with real users in mind, we conducted in-depth interviews with 10 potential language learners from students mainly. These conversations helped us understand their motivations, frustrations, and learning preferences when acquiring a new language. Our interviews explored several key areas:
These insights helped us create user personas that ensured our entire team shared the same understanding of who we're designing for. With these personas as our guide, we could make more confident decisions about the home page design and overall user experience
We analyzed 12 language learning apps to understand market features and identify opportunities for Tenmin to stand out. This research revealed several key insights:
These findings guided our strategy to differentiate Tenmin through intuitive course selection, stress-free habit formation, and our unique "Role Play" and "Ask Anything" features that few competitors offer
We created a comprehensive user journey map to understand the language learning experience across different phases - from Discovery to Reaching Fluency. This visualization helped us identify what truly matters to users at each stage of their learning path
For beginners (Phase 1-2) , we discovered key motivations like personal connections with tutors and immediate feedback, while their frustrations include vocabulary overload and embarrassment when making mistakes
Intermediate learners (Phase 3-4) seek authentic conversations and real-world applications, but struggle with plateauing progress and balancing grammatical perfection with practical communication
This visual mapping gave our team critical insights to inform how Tenmin should adapt its approach throughout the user's language learning journey
We developed a strategic information architecture to address the key problems uncovered in our competitor analysis. By creating clear content hierarchy and intuitive navigation, we directly tackled users' struggles with course selection and motivation—issues that plague most language learning apps
Our IA work prioritized logical content grouping and visual guidance, with flexibility to iterate based on user testing results. This approach ensured Tenmin would provide the clarity our users need to confidently navigate their language learning journey
Our design process for the lesson cards went through several thoughtful iterations to find the optimal balance between information and clarity:
First iteration included detailed metrics (vocabulary count, expressions, role play opportunities) directly on lesson cards, but testing revealed this overwhelmed users at first glance
Second attempt added descriptive text to cards, which unfortunately created cognitive overload and distracted from the primary decision-making process
Final version focuses on essential information with a cleaner presentation. This iterative approach paid off! Users found our final design significantly more intuitive and approachable than both our earlier versions and competitor offerings
By moving detailed information to post-click screens, we created a more inviting entry point while still providing all necessary context when users were ready for it
Before: The original home screen featured cluttered lesson cards with excessive information, creating decision paralysis and cognitive overload for users. Its design lacked the youthful energy central to our brand identity
After: After three thoughtful iterations of the lesson card component, our redesigned home page now presents a clean, intuitive interface that preserves minimalism while significantly reducing cognitive load. The streamlined design better aligns with our core brand concept: youthful and professional, while making course selection more approachable
We're currently refining the user setup flow and onboarding experience to further enhance the user journey. By analyzing the existing process, we identified and eliminated redundant steps—such as separately asking users why they're learning a language when this information is effectively captured during course selection
The streamlined setup now avoids duplicate questions and reduces decision fatigue. For example, instead of asking users to self-identify their language level and then separately choose courses, we now collect level information once and automatically display only relevant course options that match their proficiency
These thoughtful reductions make the initial experience more seamless and less mentally taxing, allowing users to start their language learning journey with minimal friction. While this work isn't showcased in the current visuals, it represents our ongoing commitment to user-centered design principles
We tested two home screen designs with 10 participants:
Professionalism:
→ 20% improvement
Youthful Appeal:
→ 80% improvement
Our redesign successfully balanced professionalism with a significantly more youthful, approachable feel which creates a better first impression for users!
