ChewChat · Team UX case study
Language exchange, made by students, for students
ChewChat is a language exchange platform for university students. It pairs real-time voice practice with local buddy matching, AR games, and a social feed, so learners build genuine connections and confidence, not just vocabulary. Speak local.
Problem · Research · Personas · Brand · Product · Testing
The ChewChat concept walkthrough.Watch on YouTube: youtube.com/shorts/ddUpyAzA9Wg
Overview
A digital platform to learn, exchange, and connect
ChewChat was a graduate team project in the HXDI program at Cal State Long Beach. Four of us designed a platform that connects and supports language learning for university students, built from real learner needs rather than grammar drills. I led user research and contributed across UX and the brand system. The result is one loop: set up a profile, find a local buddy, practice live, play together, and share what you learn.
The Problem
Today's language apps miss real conversation
Learners have plenty of apps, yet still freeze in a real exchange. Three gaps kept surfacing, and they are less about content than about confidence and connection.
Traditional apps focus on grammar and vocabulary, not the messiness of real-life conversation.
Learners lack tools to practice casual, spontaneous talk with real people.
Most language apps are paid or offer only limited free features.
Underneath the app problem is a human one. Published research on immigrant families points the same way: everyday, casual language carries much of the connection between people, and when a shared language erodes, identity struggles and isolation tend to follow. The stakes of speaking comfortably are social, not just academic.
Research
Grounded in data, competitors, and campus voices
We started by asking how the project would affect our own CSULB community: connecting diverse students, enabling cultural exchange, and building friendships on campus. National data framed the stakes.
Our passions and motivations
Four commitments shaped the direction: raise the literacy rate, build strong connections, develop diverse settings for crucial conversations, and keep learning stress-free for introverts and social butterflies alike.
Competitor teardown
We tore down the tools students already use, split across learning and social connection: HelloTalk, Duolingo, Quizlet, Maum, and Hinge. Each solves part of the problem and misses another, whether that is real interaction, a sense of true proficiency, or a safe, non-dating space to meet locals.
Campus survey and interviews
We gathered 27 survey responses and ran 4 in-depth interviews with international and domestic students, then analyzed the results for patterns in motivation, habits, and frustration.
Overall key findings
Personas & Journey
Four learners, one shared need to connect
The research resolved into four personas across the spectrum we serve: an international student not yet fluent, an international student who is fluent, and two domestic students. Each wants the same thing from different angles: a natural, low-pressure way to actually talk.
User journey map
Mapping each persona's journey exposed where motivation dips and where the current tools fail them.
Three insights that shaped the product
Users prefer gamified features and progress tracking to stay motivated over time.
They value live conversation with native speakers for authentic, real interaction.
Frustration rises when apps feel like dating platforms instead of learning tools.
The problems, up close at CSULB
We separated the specific problems facing domestic and international students from the common ones they share, from lack of real-life practice to pronunciation, sustaining motivation, and tracking progress.
Solution
Why ChewChat
ChewChat answers the research directly: real-time practice in live conversation, built by students for real learner needs, focused on speaking local, everyday language. Cultural exchange and genuine local friendships are the point, not a side effect.
Brand System
A warm, playful identity built to lower the fear
Because the real barrier is anxiety, the brand had to feel friendly and safe. In a diverse university setting, ChewChat leans into warmth, energy, and approachability, from its story and mission down to its icons.
Mood board
Typography
Logo and characters
The name became two mascots. Chew stands for discovery and chewing over ideas; Chat stands for real-time connection. Together they carry the brand through loading screens, tutorials, AR games, and promotions.
Color and iconography
Product
From architecture to prototype
The structure grew straight out of the research: a clear information architecture, wireframes for every core flow, and a clickable prototype.
How it works
Meet Grace, and the five-step loop
Grace is 27, a graduate student from Hawaii whose first language is Hawaiian. She is learning English for academic and social success and struggles to find a platform that is natural, engaging, and affordable. ChewChat walks her through five steps.
Customize a profile with language goals and interests.
Match with native speakers or learners by shared goals, with location for local meetups.
Real-time conversation through voice channels and 1:1 chat.
Collaborate in AR Hunt challenges to practice communication and teamwork.
Post your learning journey and questions to the Chew social feed.
Usability Testing
Testing rewrote the details
We ran a structured usability test with a clear plan, tasks, and recruited participants, then turned the feedback into a prioritized list of changes.
What worked
Intuitive layout with clear navigation.
Social-media-inspired rooms, like "Spill the Tea," landed well.
Voice practice and AR scavenger hunts were praised for teamwork.
Map-based matching was highly appreciated.
What we changed
The key challenges were clear once we watched people use it: proficiency levels were confusing, voice-practice feedback lacked clarity, location sharing raised privacy concerns, and AR games needed to adapt to different environments. We reprioritized from there.
Clearer, two-color proficiency indicators.
Make the purpose and feedback of voice practice obvious.
A privacy mode for the map-based Find a Buddy feature.
Adapt AR scavenger hunts for diverse, global environments.
Before and after
Reflection
Language learning is an emotional problem first
The clearest lesson from ChewChat is that confidence and trust matter more than raw content. The features that moved people were the ones that lowered anxiety: clearer proficiency signals, a privacy mode, and playful, low-stakes ways to speak. As a team project, it also sharpened how I hand research to designers so insights actually shape the build. A strong next step is testing whether AR games and live voice genuinely reduce speaking anxiety versus plain video chat.
Next project
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