Sophie - UX researcher
I am a UX researcher specialising in neurolinguistics and data science, as well as user behaviour and advanced acoustic phonetics and phonology.
I have worked as a language tutor and as a private academic research assistant.
I have a degree in linguistics from the university of York.
Below are a number of case studies highlighting recent research projects I have undertaken.
Case study A
Japanese Language Learning Application: Quantitative analysis
To inspire the creators of an upcoming Japanese learning application, DamnFineDigital launched a two-week quantitative user research exploration.
The goal? Divulge what turns casual learners into daily habitues, where current apps fall at the last hurdle, and identify the secret ingredient for sustained, long-term learning momentum.
Involvement
Junior UX Researcher:
September - October 2026
Tools
Trello (kanban)
Tally (survey design)
Excel (survey results)
Figma (communicating findings)
Recruitment & methodology
With an empty hall where potential audience members would be, finding participants needed some creativity.
Diving straight into the heart of the community, a sea of outreach met our learners through interactive social media adverts and learner hubs found on Reddit and language Discord servers.
The result? 100 active Japanese language learners yearning for more.
We logged proficiency levels, awareness of Japanese language levelling systems, feature wishlists and pain points onto Excel. Which aggregated data to map out statistical trends, skill distribution and overall user sentiment.
Findings & recommendations
Master the basics first
Learners crave clear, structured progression aligned with the official Japanese Language Proficiency Test (N5-N1) framework.
Mastering the phonetic scripts (Hiragana and Katakana) is a non-negotiable that was lacking in so many learners - what can be done to fix this?
Hooked, but not learning
Gamification features like leaderboards, streaks and bite-sized challenges are great and keep so many users hooked to our lead competitors, but why aren’t there more experts being born from this environment? Our research called out major flaws in the current market leaders, a 1076 day streak is commendable, but current users won’t get far on holiday before asking to translate.
Competitors know how to keep learners prepped and ready for that next challenger but retention is what really counts. What we suggest: Merge structured, formal educational styles of language learning with addictive gameplay mechanics to really give learners the best of both worlds.
Translating insights into product magic
We brought these findings back to the team for a collaborative discussion to use these findings to separate our product from the rest of the pack and sneak up on unsuspecting competitors.