A mental model study and an A/B test compare a conversational m-learning design with the apps students already use.
Most Japanese learning apps on the market do the same three things well: reading, vocabulary, and writing. Speaking and listening sit at the edge, even though conversation is the point of learning a language. A 2020 study in IJECE set out to design a version that puts both back at the centre.
The team started with a diary study involving 20 respondents, split between students and teachers who already knew basic hiragana. The goal was to capture a mental model, the internal picture a person carries about how a task works. Personas and a user journey map turned those notes into requirements.
The design was tested with A/B testing, also called split testing. Twenty high grade students with similar backgrounds used both the proposed app and an existing Japanese m-learning app, then answered the short version of the User Experience Questionnaire.
On the practical side, the two apps came out nearly level, with the existing app slightly ahead on perspicuity, efficiency, and dependability. The gap opened on the experiential side.
The authors conclude that combining speaking and listening exercises in multimedia content gives a better overall experience, while warning that learning outcomes were not measured, so the design should not yet be credited with better results.
Komang Candra Brata and Adam Hendra Brata (2020). User experience improvement of japanese language mobile learning application through mental model and A/B testing. International Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
