Language learning apps are extremely popular these days. Most people don’t have time to attend offline classes but they still want to study a new language or improve existing skills. Mobile apps allow users to integrate a learning process into their daily routine so mastering grammar or vocabulary becomes quite entertaining and not tiresome at all.
To give you hard numbers, Duolingo, one of the most widely used learning apps, raised $30 million in the latest round of funding in December 2019. Now, the company’s valuation amounts to $1.5 billion and it’s considered a unicorn startup.
If you also want to enter this profitable niche, you need to create a language learning app that will beat the competition. Here are some useful tips that will help you accomplish this task.
01. Make users’ achievements visible
The main idea behind language learning apps is that they allow people to make significant progress in their skills while devoting a little time to studying. Users will quickly lose their interest if they see no results. That’s why all achievements should be fast and visible. It doesn’t mean that your application needs to “lie” when assessing users’ skills. But setting many short milestones is a much better idea than focusing on a comprehensive progress evaluation that only makes people feel like they’re back in school.
02. Increase engagement with gamification
Yes, users want to learn a new language. But they also want to have fun. If the learning process is boring, an app will have rather low chances to win a broad audience. So to become popular, a language learning application should contain a game element. For instance, tasks and assignments can be based on captivating storytelling like “a superhero must learn French to save the world”. You may think that gamification can distract people from studying, making their work less productive. But it’s not true. A study shows that math students who played math computer games achieved better results than students who applied only traditional learning methods.
03. Consider the needs of different users
A language learning app tailored only to the needs of a narrow audience will never get millions of users. So when developing a product concept, you should think not only about language levels (e.g. beginner, intermediate, advanced) of different people. A variety of interests and goals also must be considered. For instance, a person who learns Portuguese to feel more confident when traveling to Brazil needs to study different vocabulary than a lawyer working with Brazilian clients.
04. Don’t forget about networking capabilities
Learning a foreign language is hard work, so people often need support from teachers and peers. An internal social network or a forum will give users a feeling that they’re not left alone with their challenges and achievements. In addition, it may become a great practicing platform, giving people an opportunity to communicate with native speakers or other students in the language they learn. Eventually, most engaged users can create a student community that will increase the credibility of your app.
05. Make an accent on audio and video content
For our brains, it’s much easier to process and memorize audio-visual content than plain text. Besides, users of a language learning app not only need to enhance their reading skills but also master listening comprehension. So captivating videos and interesting podcasts will make the learning process more effective and enjoyable. In addition, they’ll allow users to get used to spoken language and pronunciation. Since most people learn a new language to be able to communicate orally with foreigners, the quality audio and video content may become your competitive advantage.
Wrapping-up
If you’ve decided to create a language learning app, try not to delay the execution of your idea for too long. While this market isn’t yet overstuffed with hundreds of similar products, you can easily reach out to the target audience. It’s also important to find a professional development company that can bring your idea to life. Pay attention to the programmers’ experience and work approach since these two factors have a great impact on the development process.
