Research On Usability Design Of Word Learning App Based On Cognitive Load Theory

With the development of internationalization,learning foreign languages has become more and more important.Preparing for CET4 and CET6,IELTS and TOEFL have also become the main foreign language learning tasks of contemporary youth.As classroom learning gradually can not meet the foreign language learning needs of learners,word learning app has become an auxiliary means for users to learn words,and its market demand is expanding day by day.However,the interface design of the word learning app does not effectively present the learning content,and there are problems such as messy interface design and lack of attraction,resulting in the cognitive load of users not being well adjusted in the learning process,the learning efficiency and effectiveness are reduced,the user satisfaction is not high,and the usability of the word learning app is poor.Therefore,this study proposes to take the cognitive load theory as the guiding theory of the design of word learning app,and solve the usability problem of word learning app by adjusting the cognitive load of users in the learning process,so as to comprehensively improve the usability of word learning app.Firstly,this study makes a literature review,makes an in-depth study on the three regulatory dimensions of reducing internal and external cognitive load and increasing germane cognitive load mentioned in cognitive load theory,and summarizes the design principles under the three regulatory dimensions.After that,the usability of word learning app is studied.According to the definition of usability,the usability of word learning app is divided into effectiveness,efficiency and satisfaction,and a word learning app usability evaluation system is established to deeply explore the impact of three cognitive loads on usability.In this study,the “Shanbei”app was used for experimental research,Experiment 1 adjusted the internal cognitive load through the principle of fragment presentation,experiment 2 adjusted the external cognitive load through the principle of reducing clutter,and Experiment 3 adjusted the germane cognitive load through the principle of multiple media.The results show that reducing internal and external cognitive load and increasing germane cognitive load can improve the usability of word learning app.After that,this study verified the impact of the three dimensions of overall optimization based on cognitive load theory on the usability of word learning app through experiment 4.The experimental results show that the overall optimization of word learning app based on cognitive load theory can improve the usability of word learning app,and the improvement effect of effectiveness and satisfaction in usability is better than adjusting a cognitive load alone.Based on the experimental results,this study proposes that the improvement of the usability of word learning app should start from three directions: reducing the internal cognitive load,reducing the external cognitive load and increasing the germane cognitive load,and establishes the usability design framework of word learning app based on cognitive load theory.this study applies the design framework to the design practice,comprehensively designs and improves the word detail page of“Shanbei” app,and establishes the design specification of “Shanbei” app.