To better understand the needs of Yoruba learners, we conducted user interviews, reviewed existing language-learning platforms and studied how people currently learn Yoruba through family, online videos, books and informal lessons. The research focused on learners’ motivations, preferred learning methods, challenges with pronunciation and the features that could encourage consistent practice.

The research revealed that many users were interested in learning Yoruba to communicate with family, reconnect with their cultural identity or participate more confidently in everyday conversations. However, they often found available learning materials unstructured, overly academic or lacking sufficient audio support.

Since Yoruba is a tonal language, pronunciation emerged as one of the most significant challenges. Learners needed to hear words spoken clearly and repeatedly, while also seeing the correct tonal marks. Users also preferred short, practical lessons based on real-life situations such as greetings, introductions, shopping and family conversations rather than memorising isolated words.

Another important finding was that learners needed a visible sense of progress to remain motivated. Features such as lesson completion indicators, quizzes, revision activities, streaks and achievement milestones were identified as helpful for building consistent learning habits.