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HelloTalk (App)

The Swiss Army Knife of Language Apps

The Technology: HelloTalk is a foreign language app based on the idea of foreign language partners and language exchange. Users are connected with language partners who are native speakers of their target language and learning their native language. After finding language partners, users can talk in private or group chats using text, audio, photos, doodles, and voice or video calls. The app also has a social media aspect where language partners can post statuses or photos to the app at large and have their grammar and spelling be corrected.

Evaluation: The designers of HelloTalk have made several positive design choices. First, the app’s icon makes use of closure, a Gestalt principle of perception that states that incomplete designs prompt the user to mentally complete them, making them more interesting and memorable. In this case, the user must mentally complete the logo by seeing a speech bubble around the outside of the smaller speech bubbles. Second, the interface uses hierarchy to organize the settings, with each more specific setting hidden within the larger category of settings. This organizes settings in a simple, clear way and reduces interface clutter.  The interface also uses progressive disclosure as a way to conceal irrelevant or unnecessary information and reveal it only by the user’s request. A menu in the top right gives more options, while a button near the icons in a chat box gives more message options.  When it comes to the various commands and options found throughout the app, the principle of recognition over recall is adhered to- rather than having to recall and produce commands on their own, users have merely to recognize the command that they wish to make, which is easier than conjuring it from memory. Lastly, the app uses reciprocity to make its users more likely to pay money. HelloTalk is free to join, which gives users the sense that they have been given a gift. Since users then feel grateful for this, they may be more open to buying one of HelloTalk’s VIP plans, which has more features.

 

Despite its aesthetic appearance, HelloTalk makes a few design mistakes that should be corrected. The app uses iconic representation for some sections of the app and for commands or message types when communicating with language partners. Not all icons are intuitive- for example, two resemble some sort of journal- and the majority of icons are unlabeled, meaning that if a user does not immediately recognize what the icon is for, they must select it to find out, potentially making an error in the process. The app also has a low signal-to-noise ratio. From the detailed chat options to numerous, flashy received messages to abundance of settings, the app gives the user more visual stimuli than is relevant at a given moment. This relates to a major issue with the latest iterations of the app- feature creep. Originally, the main focus of the app was to find language partners and practice speaking through text, voice message, and phone calls with the option of making corrections and translating messages from your partner if necessary. But now, several new features have been added that are not entirely related to the language partner concept and do not work as well as the old functions. For example, the app now has a translation function similar to that of Google Translate, which will translate any input in one language to output in another. However, its output is also similar to that of Google Translate- the translations are not very accurate, making it a not-so-useful feature.

Improvements: HelloTalk should either get rid of the translation feature or improve it to the point where it can at least translate any grammatically correct input. In-chat features should be limited to those most used by users, which will serve to decrease noise. All icons should be labeled.

Should people use it? Yes, particularly if you are interested in an app that can do it all and do not mind being bombarded with features and information. Because most of the services provided by HelloTalk are done by other users (for example, sentence corrections), the app is able to do many things relatively well. But there are also features that must be improved or removed.

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