Language Learning · UX/UI · 2026

talkIT

An AI-driven adaptive conversational platform that teaches vocabulary through the objects around you. Scan, speak, repeat.

Try the app

Role

Product Designer
UI/UX · Prompt Design

Team

2 members

Duration

11 weeks

01 · The Problem

Language learning
is broken.

Most conversational apps teach you to say generic sentences you'll never use. Vocabulary is memorized in isolation, and separated from the real places and objects where conversation actually happens.

for 130 poeple and more

79.1% have seen an everyday object and stuggled to remember its translation.

79.1%

found associating vocabulary with real-world contexts helps with retention.

Majority of people

reported that they always forget recently learned vocabulary words.

02 · User Research

Listening before
designing.

Method

Semi-structured interviews and one-week diary studies with active learners

Participants

8 language learners, ages 18–34, across 4 target languages

Focus Question

When does vocabulary stick and when does it disappear?

Synthesis

Collection of responses → pain point clustering → Narrowed Solution

"I have diffculty wiht remebering vocabulary because if you odn't use words frequently you lose them"

Participant 3 · French learner, 25

"In other language apps, I don't like how I'm put at a level where I feel like it's to beginner for me"

Participant 6 · Russian learner, 27

During conversation, sometimes I lose words mid-sentence, and end up describing words instead of the vocab word itself"

Participant 1 · Hindi learner, 19

Finding 01

Vocabulary learned out of context doesn't transfer. Words need environmental anchors to stick.

Finding 02

Create multi-use for app. Do not use a gamified approach.

Design Opportunity

Situated cognition research shows words encoded with physical context are recalled 2× faster.

Design Principle

The environment should be the curriculum. Let the user's world drive what they learn.

03 · The Concept

Your world is
the lesson.

Point your camera at any object. talkIT identifies it, teaches you the word, then pulls you into a real conversation about what you're looking at.

Object Recognition AI Conversation Adaptive Difficulty Any Language Prompt Design

04 · Process

How we got
to the answer.

Three rounds of user testing shaped talkIT from a basic flashcard scanner into a full conversational flow. Each round surfaced a different failure — and a sharper solution.

Scan & Label

Simple object recognition with vocabulary overlay. Users learned words but did not see an instance to use them.

Prompted Practice

Added scripted follow-up questions after scanning. Users wanted to respond naturally, not choose from fixed options.

Free Conversation

Full open-ended AI conversation guided by the scanned object. Users stayed engaged 3× longer and reported that the conversation flow felt easy.

05 · Final Design

The app.

A warm, high-contrast UI designed for use on the go and in the moment. Designed with a bold type for quick reading, large tap targets, and a conversational tone that makes the AI object feel like a patient tutor.