Kulay English

An educational children’s toy that tackles user needs on a global scale

Overview

Kulay (Colored) English is a community game for Filipino children ages 5 and above that focuses on implementing the English language outside of the classroom setting with teamwork and physical play, while also stimulating fine motor skills and cognitive development.

This was a six-week long course project with the instruction to design an educational children’s toy. My goal for this project was to not only complete the task of the course, but to have the toy I created solve a more important issue for the user at hand. I decided to challenge myself by expanding into a different demographic and designing internationally. I narrowed my focus on lower-income areas of the Philippines, which proved challenging but also helped me expand my design thinking and user-research strategies.

Understanding the Problem

When designing for another country, it is especially important to try to immerse yourself in understanding the country’s culture and people. While I do come from a Filipino background, it was necessary for me go into this project fresh, with no bias or assumptions. I wanted and needed to go about my research in a way that allowed me to rediscover things I may have already known but also learn from a new point of view.

Learning the Location

My research phase began with online research, simply reading up on the country and the culture itself. I specifically wanted to learn about the history, values, and structure and see if there were any potential issues/problems I could look into more. Some of my main findings included:

The Philippines is a community and family based culture.

Parents value education as one of the most important legacies they can impart to their children, however, the digital divide and education gaps can prevent educational potential.

Narrowing the Scope

With these findings, I decided to look more into the Philippines education system as a whole but also with the goal of trying to find opportunity to resolve some of the educational issues at hand. I was able to determine some key issues that could be applied to my overall vision of my future children’s toy.

English is considered the most important subject in school and is taught as early as kindergarten.

Implementation of English outside the classroom is the biggest barrier for students.

The educational ladder is harder to climb for those in low-income areas outside the city.

The Philippines is the leading country for overseas workers.

Languages are easiest to learn when taught young. Many people tend to move to major cities where English is more prevalent or work abroad (US is a popular work location). Major cities in the Philippines have the most Western influence which is why English flourishes.

Although the 2nd language in the Philippines, English is not the typical language in relationship-building at home, socializing in school, and transacting businesses in offices. Learning English often stops in the four corners of the classroom due to its association with social status.

This is due to the uneven distribution of resources to major cities vs provinces of the country. This causes the foundation of students to be at a lower level and can prevent them from moving and exploring new opportunity elsewhere.

It became very obvious to me that learning English was a pressing issue in the Philippines, especially for those in lower income areas that lack the proper learning resources. From here, I decided to narrow my focus to these impoverished parts of the country and look more into this specific demographic of users.

Understanding the User

Children’s Education in the Philippines

After narrowing my direction to English in school, it was necessary for me to get a better understanding of the education system structure and dive deeper into the standards of education and how English is typically taught.

I began with finding more information of the standard curriculum in Philippine schooling. I specifically focused on 5-Year-Old children (Kindergarten) since this is typically when English lessons in school begin.

I then looked into the Language Learning Process and found the standards in which the education system tries to go about teaching language to children.

Interviews

Kick-Off

Starter

Where in the Philippines are you from?

What was it like growing up there?

Did you have a big community grow up with where you lived?

At what age did you immigrate to the US?

Empathetic

Did you ever question why you had to learn the language?

Did your parents ever encourage or help you along during the process?

Looking back, do you feel you had the proper resources to help you learn?

To take my understanding of the user further, I conducted interviews with people of different backgrounds related to the idea of language learning in the Philippines or in the Filipino culture in general. Interview questions follow the structure below.

Climax

Rising Action

Introduction

Act I

Denouement

Act II

Act III

Observational Study

To get a better understanding of how children learn, I visited a local preschool that offers an after-school program for ages 4-12. Some key things I looked into:

How children interact with toys
What catches their attention?
How long is their attention span?
What objects/toys do they seem to be the most engaged with?
How often are they interacting with other kids when they play?
What things frustrate them?

While it was an observational study, I also took the time to personally interact with the kids, both as a chance to connect with them as a designer and a person.

Ergonomic Study

It is very common for Filipino children to be piki (have knock knees).

Researching the physical characteristics is a key component that helped narrow my design thinking even more towards my user. Some crucial ergonomic characteristics in Filipino children and children in general found to be the following:

The average height for 5-year-old Filipino children is 40in.

Reflection

Investigative

Did you face any difficulties learning English?

Was English prevalent where you lived?

Can you describe how and when you would implement English outside of the school setting?

When you began learning English, was there anything that specifically helped you implement it?

Grand Tour

Build Rapport

Detail and Overview

Can you tell me a little bit about how schooling in the Philippines is different from the states?

Were there any specific challenges you had?

What subjects did you learn in school?

Did you know English before coming to the States?

Spur Reflection

Do you think people outside the city are at a disadvantage when it comes to education?

Do you think something more can be done to bridge the gap?

Prevalent industries amongst children when playing are ankle sprains.

Need Analysis

Basic Needs

Safety - does not put children at risk
Need for education to meet physiological needs

Physiological Needs

Need to be accepted by upper class (through speaking English)
Need to not feel insecure when speaking English
Need to support family

Self-Fulfilment Needs

Need to meet education potential (going abroad for better opportunity)
Need to meet parental expectation

Design Considerations

Market Analysis

Word Puzzles/Matching — Indoor

Traditional Filipino Games — Outdoor

Physical/Active

Design Opportunity

Physically active, collaborative, educational

Problem Statement

While united with its values on culture, family and community, there is still one major thing that divides the country and that is education. There is an uneven distribution of educational resources that directly effects young generations.

The Philippines prioritizes education. Within their education system, English is considered the most important subject. However, due to education gaps and the digital divide, it is difficult for children in lower-income areas outside of Metro Manila (capital city) to uphold the same English learning standard.