Spanish con Ale is an online Spanish school founded by content creator Alejandra Alfonzo. She is originally from Venezuela and now living in New York city. She has been teaching for over a decade. she is certified Spanish and English teacher. B.A. Degree in Modern Languages. M. Ed. ESL.
The Project's Goal:
Discover and develop a new online language teaching approach that fulfills students' expectations and adapts to today’s online platforms.
Today (2022), we live in a world where everything can be learned for FREE. Many people create videos on Platforms like Youtube to teach others about a specific topic, like learning Spanish. However, if you are not proactive, you will quickly abandon your goal and get frustrated by failure.
Goals and Objectives
-Understand the needs and pain-points of users
-Identifying the problem
-Understand user's expectations
-Identify current interests and interactions
-Develop and adapt teaching and learning approach to meet user's expectations
A W A R E N E S S
The Process
To start this project, I created a SWOT analysis to understand the way Alejandra does business and its current market value. Then, we both talked about re-creating a business canvas to reinforce and improve her business. I then utilise different types of frameworks to learn more about the way teachers create profit online, the "must have" supporting tools, competitors, trends and the culture of the online learning community.
Finding the Problem
User's Pain Points
MEMORIZATION
100% of participants shared the same frustration with memorising vocabulary and verbs.
"There are too many rules and then too many exceptions to all the rules."
HUMAN INTERACTION
Students feel stressed and confused because of online assignments and the inability to check with the teacher.
"I want to make sure that I am actually doing the assignment correctly in order to deserve the credit for it."
RELATABLE TOPICS
Students feel stressed and confused because of online assignments and the inability to check with the teacher.
"I want to make sure that I am actually doing the assignment correctly in order to deserve the credit for it."
C O M P R E H E N S I O N
The Process
Problem Statement
How can we attract students to get motivated to learn a new language and, at the same time, improve the way they learn a language online?
After understanding how users took advantage of FREE tutorials on social media and other platforms, we concluded that we needed to create a new approach to “Attract” new students. We also decided to explore opportunities that could help develop a long-term strategic plan for Spanish con Ale to become a more sustainable business in the future.
A D A P T A T I O N
The Process
What's Next?
The Process
Our next step is to gather certified teachers, designers, and people with administration skills around South America that share Alejandra's love for teaching and cultural curiosity. By the end of July, we decided that the new programs would be efficient if she could gather 3-5 extra teachers could teach and mentor students throughout the different boot camps and specific group sessions. In order to test and iterate some features of the programs, Spanish con Ale will be launching the Bootcamp program by the beginning of 2023. Here is a list and launching date of every upcoming program.
01
Cafecito con Ale
Cafecito con Ale is a stress-free area for students learning English or Spanish. The idea is to reach out to native English-speaking students and match them with native Spanish-speaking students. We know this world is not perfect, and some students are not necessarily natives speaking English or Spanish. Still, inviting them to participate can help us embrace the understanding of different accents, cultures, and experiences. Spanish con Ale will provide different “Cafecito con Ale” sessions over the weekend so people worldwide can join in and practice! To make the sessions fair and balanced, students must do a five-question-level test while signing up for Cafecito con Ale.
02
Ale's Podcast Stories
Ale’s podcast will focus on Spanish literature, pronunciation tips, and Latin culture. Many well-known books form part of Latin American countries. Alejandra will be able to introduce more about the Latin culture's foundations and beliefs. It is essential that Alejandra will share a link with her audience so they can buy the books she talked about and read them along with her if they desire. Her Podcast will also provide a PDF document with a resume of every book and some take-home exercises for those interested in leveling up their Spanish Skills for FREE. Correct answers will be shared on the following week's podcast episode so that students can compare and correct their answers.
03
E-books / Short Stories
Inspired by Alejandra’s Spanish children's class, Spanish Con Ale is working on creating short and sweet stories for people to enjoy. These stories will be designed like children's books, but the content will vary from A1 level (beginner level) to C2 level (Advanced level). Because Alejandra's purpose as a teacher is to teach more than just a language, her short stories will be filled with fun facts and must-visit “local’s hidden spots” in South America. She will be able to gather this type of piece of information thanks to her traveling adventures and extensive teaching network.
04
Boot Camps
We designed a new way to learn Spanish with a tailored program for today's society. We want students to develop grit through their profound interest and motivation to learn a new language. What made them decide to learn a new language? How fluent do you want to be when reaching your goal? These questions were asked when developing this program. Thanks to research, we decided to develop a boot camp that will be divided into themes. Why themes? Because of similar motivators, we discovered during our study. These motivators were turned into themes, which will help students memorize and understand complex grammar thanks to relatable context and personal goal projection. Alejandra will continue to provide a slow pace type of classes for those students with a longer-term goal.