Fluency Club: Designing a Better Way to Learn Languages
Leading the full design cycle - from Early concepts to validated designs
FLUENCY CLUB aims to transform the language learning journey into an engaging, structured experience by introducing a daily routine with immersive practice tasks and timely reinforcement.
PROJECT TIMELINE
Sept 2024 - June 2025
with ongoing refinements
as the SOLE PRODUCT DESIGNER️
1. Collaborated closely with the Founder on product thinking and strategy
2. Turned concepts into testable prototypes,
3. Conducted user testing across all stages of the project,
4. Building a lightweight design system
Yabla is a language learning platform that immerses users in authentic content to improve their skills through
real-world videos, interactive activities, and personalized feedback. It uses a mix of media like TV shows, music videos, interviews, and more to create an immersive learning experience.
It offers tools like:
A LITTLE ABOUT Yabla
Scribe - to train your ear
Review - reinforce comprehension
Flashcards - to review and retain new words
Gloss & Dictionary - to learn vocabulary and grammar in context
Speak - to improve pronunciation
Revo - to practice sentence formation
{ Jump straight to the design? }
{ Jump straight to the design? }
When I was first tasked with designing Fluency Club, I quickly realized that before designing the feature, I had to stabilize the design ecosystem it would live in, as i identified:
Designing on Shaky Ground
UI Inconsistencies across the product, affecting the overall user experience and design cohesion.
An old style guide lacking major specifications, with the product having drifted from it.
No prior Figma design files available to build from.
Major Budget and Time Constraints
FIRST THINGS FIRST: SETTING THE FOUNDATION
Understanding the Product
- Started my learning journey by enrolling in Yabla’s language course to experience the platform firsthand and better understand its core purpose.
Setting up the Figma File
- Created the file from scratch to build a scalable design to ensure consistency, simplify updates, and streamline onboarding and handoff.
- Began building a lightweight design system alongside finalizing UI patterns and components. This work became its own project: Building a Lightweight Design System (work in progress)
Conducting UI Audit
- Reviewed the existing style guide.
- Mapped and analyzed UI components and design patterns across the product.
User Research
- Conducted informal interviews with colleagues and a few long-time users to gather quick insights.
- Analyzed support tickets to understand user pain points and prioritize key issues while designing the new feature.
Translated concepts into designs and iterated through working prototypes until we reached a satisfying solution.
Not so neat back-and-forth between these stages
DESIGN APPROACH
Worked closely with the Founder in the early phase to brainstorm and refine ideas.
Ensured the features aligned with user needs and the platform’s learning goals.
Low-effort build without compromising core functionality
DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
With the priority to launch quickly on a limited budget (just me wearing multiple hats), I focused on clean, functional designs that were simple to build and intuitive for users.
Delivering designs that met immediate business goals while leaving room for visual refinement in later phases.
Sub-Feature 1
CHALLENGES
FLUENCY club
Users struggled to maintain consistency in their learning journey without structured daily engagement.
1
1.1
Today’s Clip - Previous Clips
tabs to build routine while allowing flexibility.
Multi-tab Help Section
to guide users through each
sub-features.
Beg-Intermediate - Int-Advanced
learning levels, allowing users to switch based on their needs.
3 states for games button:
i. Yet to Start
ii. In Progress
iii. Finished
Yabla encourages users to replay each clip in games like Scribe, Speak and Revo until they earn 3 stars. However, this model often led to feelings of discouragement, making many users feel “not smart enough” after repeated attempts.
when learning overpowers mastery
when user is closer to the goal
when user has achieved mastery
Introduced the 3-star model with a Mastery-Learning concept to reframe failure as part of the learning process,
helping users see it as progress rather than disappointment, and encouraging repetition through positive reinforcement.
The goal is to remove the bar below the stars, but since we’re introducing a new point system, we’re experimenting and seeing what works.
Sub-Feature 2
LIVE EVENTS
2
While users enjoyed the 'Speak' game, they expressed a need for real-time interaction with others.
Instructors or native speakers host live sessions tailored to different language levels, allowing users to practice
real-world conversations.
Upcoming - Previous
tabs to view scheduled events and recordings of past sessions for flexibility.
Sub-Feature 3
COMMUNITY
3
The Founder envisioned an experience-sharing space that extends engagement beyond formal practice.
Dedicated boards for each language working much like social feeds, creating a space that fosters connection, discussion, and a sense of belonging within the learning community.
Sub-Feature 4
STARTEGIC REVIEW
Yabla schedules personalized revisits for games using spaced repetition based on user performance, ensuring reviews happen at the optimal time to maximize learning reinforcement.
4
The Founder identified the gap that learners often forget previously learned material without timely reinforcement, which can slow progress and reduce long-term retention.
Set Your Pace
gives users control on how often and how much they revisit content.
Flexibility to review Fluency Club videos and other Yabla videos by selecting the checkbox.
my personal favorite!
Sub-Feature 5
PROGRESS
5
Language learners often struggle to see tangible progress, which can affect motivation.
Provides users with data-driven visualizations that showcase their growth over time.
Strong User Satisfaction (CSAT 80%)
Platform-wide Engagement Growth (+22%)
Foundation for future growth
IMPACTS
A survey with 520 users one month after launch revealed a CSAT score of 80%, with many praising the structured learning flow and the new ways to stay motivated on the platform.
Before Fluency Club, platform engagement hovered around 40%. After launch, users had stronger reasons to return and stay active. Several former users even resubscribed, highlighting the feature’s role in bringing lapsed learners back to the platform.
With only email marketing to current and former subscribers underway, early signs point to strong potential for broader engagement and retention as Fluency Club reaches more users.
Laying Groundwork
Adaptability
Striking the right balance between guidance and cognitive effort was crucial
LEARNINGS
Taking time to address UI inconsistencies and stabilize the design ecosystem before diving into functional designs made everything smoother downstream.
Constraints around timelines and resources meant constantly finding a middle ground. With evolving priorities and unexpected changes in product development, staying adaptable was essential.
In language-learning, the goal is to make the process easier without oversimplifying it. Otherwise, learners might feel progress but won’t actually build long-term skills