My Problem: Understanding My Language
Growing up, I struggled with speaking my native language, Idoma. My parents often criticized me, and despite their efforts to bribe me into speaking it, I felt embarrassed that my English was far better than my Idoma. This regret intensified after my mom passed away in 2022, realizing I never had a full conversation with her in our native tongue.
Vision and Innovation
Inspired by language learning apps like Duolingo, I envisioned creating a tool to help preserve and teach Nigerian languages. I wanted to develop an app that could make learning our native languages accessible and engaging for everyone, ensuring that our cultural heritage is not forgotten.
Identifying Unique Challenges
The main challenge was finding resources and creating a structured learning platform for Nigerian languages, which are often underrepresented in mainstream language learning tools. It required extensive research and creativity to build something from scratch that could cater to both adults and children.
Resolving Complex Problems
I spent nearly two years scouring the internet for resources and conducting research. I tackled challenges such as creating an intuitive user interface, designing engaging lessons, and incorporating various learning methods to ensure the app was effective for all ages.
User-Centric Design
The design of Lingua focuses on ease of use and engagement. I prioritized user feedback and iterated on the design to make sure it met the needs of learners at different levels. The goal was to make the app not just educational but also enjoyable to use.
Meeting User Needs
Lingua is designed to help preserve and teach Nigerian languages to adults, kids, and future generations. It provides structured lessons, interactive exercises, and cultural insights to ensure users can learn and appreciate their native tongues.
Key Features
🎭 Amazing characters thanks to Kenney.NL
🔊 Sound effects
❤️ Hearts system
🌟 Points / XP system
💔 No hearts left popup
🚪 Exit confirmation popup
🔄 Practice old lessons to regain hearts
🏆 Leaderboard
🗺 Quests milestones
🛍 Shop system to exchange points with hearts
💳 Pro tier for unlimited hearts using Stripe
Technical Tools Used
Front-end Development: Next.js, React.js, Shadcn UI,
Back-end Development: Node.js
Database: Drizzle, Neon, PostgreSQL
ORM: DrizzleORM
Authentication: Clerk
Version Control: Git, GitHub
Deployment: Vercel
Special thanks to Antonio Erdeljac for all his guidance and resources.
This project is in a private repository.
