AI chatbots as personal language tutors
year
2024
Company
Articulate.AI
My Role
Founding Product Designer
Conversation Designer
Target Users
Adult English learners
aiming for skill growth and exam success
Team
CEO
Front-end Engineer
AI Scientist
Designer
Learning Scientist
Overview
EduBot is an AI-powered English learning chatbot for non-native speakers, providing personalized support from general proficiency to TOEFL and IELTS prep through conversational AI and scaffolded learning pathways.
My Role
I owned and led the zero-to-one product design and end-to-end experience architecture of EduBot, creating adaptive conversational flows, personalized learning pathways, core platform features, and engagement-driven feedback loops to support user growth and retention.
01
Research & Ideation
03
Adaptive Conversational UX
05
UI & Interaction Design
02
Experience Architecture
04
Cross-functional Collaboration
06
Developer Handoff & Delivery
Outcome
3000+ registered users
within the first week across 100+ countries.
87% would recommend
EduBot to others.
84% feel more confident
in their English skills after using EduBot in conversation practice
4.3/5 usefulness rating
based on participant feedback using a 5-point likert scale
What I was given:
Homepage
Conversation Page
Initial Design
At the start of the project, I was provided with:
A website homepage featuring a list of English-lecture topics and corresponding study goals
A pre-trained AI chatbot for on-demand conversational practice
View a research paper published by the team: Using Chatbots to Teach Languages https://arxiv.org/pdf/2208.00376
Design Challenge
How might we design the end-to-end website experience that turns chatting with EduBot into a daily habit for English learners, especially exam candidates, and addresses the limitations of traditional classroom learning?
Solution
Adaptive Tutoring
Track users’ listening, speaking, reading and writing performance to spot strengths and gaps and adjust difficulty and feedback to evolving proficiency and goals.
Transparent Progress Tracking
Organize and record users’ learning activities, visualize improvements over time, and provide clear milestones to celebrate achievements.
Authentic Engagement
Simulate real world conversations and exam style scenarios with timing and question formats that build transferable test ready confidence.
Step-by-step guided conversations
Design Highlights
A scaffolded chat experience that integrates listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in one dialogue and simulates real world conversations for practical application.
Focused topic-based modules
Design Highlights
A collection of focused topic based modules offering curated content and interactive prompts across themes, enabling users to explore diverse subjects and reinforce learning in context.
Learning Hub
Design Highlights
A centralized dashboard that unites personalized tasks, community challenges, achievement badges and recommended exercises. It lets exam candidates quickly view their progress and start their next study activity with a single click.
User Research
Understanding Learners and Chatbot as Language Teachers
Field Observation + Semi-structured Interviews
Map learner interactions with instructors, peers, and materials
Identify gaps in traditional classroom experiences to inform design
Explore learners’ daily routines, goals, and views of AI’s role in language learning
Literature Review + Competitive Analysis
Assess common challenges adult English learners face
Review how conversational agents support language development to uncover patterns and pain points
Pinpoint opportunities to set EduBot apart with a more personalized, engaging dialogue experience
User Research
Findings
Personalized Real-Time Feedback
Real-time, personalized feedback on grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation drives higher learner engagement and confidence than one-size-fits-all corrections.
Integrated Study Companion
Learners value EduBot as a seamless study partner. It automates practice schedules, tracks goals, sends reminders and summarizes progress to keep learning on track.
Addressing the Speaking Gap
Speaking skills remain the most neglected area in self-study and require targeted conversation prompts, live pronunciation coaching and mock speaking tests.
Humanized Conversational Design
Empathic, human-like dialogue with personalized greetings, encouragement and light humor transforms EduBot from a tool into a trusted tutor and boosts repeat usage.
Target Audience
Background: Has worked five years in a global-supply-chain team collaborating with U.S. and Canadian partners.
English Skill: Conversational but he’s never taken a formal exam.
Goals:
Achieve a TOEFL iBT score ≥90 to add to his résumé and qualify for in-company international training programs.
Build confidence in email and oral communications with overseas colleagues.
Refine technical vocabulary so he can write clear reports and design documents in English.
Frustrations:
Spotty Feedback: Colleagues correct his grammar inconsistently and rarely explain why.
Time Constraints: Twelve-hour shifts and factory deadlines make scheduling live classes difficult.
Impersonal Online Classes: Standard courses follow one-size-fits-all modules with no personalization for his engineering needs.
Motivations:
Career Growth
Global Credibility
Flexible Learning
Confidence in Communication
Competitive Edge
Future Opportunities
25%
20%
15%
15%
15%
10%
Name: Diego Hernández
Age: 35
Location: Monterrey, Mexico
Occupation: Mechanical Engineer at an automotive parts manufacturer
User Journey Map
Phase 1
Phase 2
Phase 3
Phase 4
Phase 5
Disappointed
Motivated
Elated
Proud
Anxious
Curious
FEELINGS
CHALLENGES
OPPORTUNITIES
ACTIONS
Join a Normal English Class
Bite-sized lessons on demand
Instant AI feedback on exercises.
Themed tracks tailored to users’ goals.
Timed mock exams with walkthroughs.
Get Started with EduBot
Practice & Progress Tracking
Exam & Results
Advocate & Share Success
Fixed class times
Lack of individualized feedback in class
Mismatch between individual goals and the class content
Unfamiliar exam format