User Interviews — What I Learned from Real Learners

“You think grammar is the hard part — until you try to write a sentence from scratch.”

Before building Lingollo, I didn’t start with wireframes or product specs. I started by listening.

I spoke with French learners at different levels — A1 beginners, TEF exam takers, and even a few self-taught language lovers. My goal wasn’t to pitch the idea. It was to figure out what was actually blocking their progress.

Turns out, the problem wasn’t a lack of grammar knowledge. 

It was the lack of feedback while writing.

What Learners Told Me

These interviews weren’t long — 15 to 30 minutes at most. But the insights were loud and clear:

“I can remember the rule, but I don’t know how to use it in a sentence.”

“Apps are great at testing me — not helping me write.”

“I only find out what I did wrong after I’ve submitted something.”

Most tools were giving static lessons, grammar tips, and vocabulary quizzes. But when it came time to write a real sentence, learners were left guessing.

What people really wanted was:

• Guidance while writing

• Corrections with context

• A way to learn through mistakes — not just after them

That was the unlock: 

The real problem wasn’t knowledge. It was an application with feedback.

What It Changed in My Thinking

I had ideas for Lingollo — quizzes, gamification, listening and reading stories, maybe even speaking challenges. But these interviews made the decision for me:

Cut the fluff. 

Focus on writing practice with real-time feedback.

Here’s what shifted:

• I dropped speaking and gamification from the MVP

• I rewrote lesson formats to lead into writing, not multiple choice

• I structured feedback to be sentence-level, contextual, and explainable

The product needed to feel like a writing assistant + a tutor — not just another app that spits out green checkmarks.

Takeaway (as a PM)

If I had skipped discovery, I would’ve built a feature-packed app with mediocre fit.

Instead, by asking the right questions early, I understood:

• The core user job: “Help me write better, as I write.”

• The emotional pain: “I don’t want to guess anymore.”

• The opportunity space: “No one else is solving this for French learners.”

Lingollo’s foundation is built directly from what users asked for. I didn’t just validate an idea — I changed it.