How to consider non-native English speakers in UX
summary
Global data shows 1.35 billion speakers with about 75% non‑native, and local context flags nearly 600,000 immigrants in New Zealand; a real signup form makes middle name optional even though it breaks international ticketing — middle name optional caused missed flight. Practical fixes include asking for full name plus “what should we call you,” country‑aware name ordering, clear labels per WCAG 3.3.2 and 2.4.6, screenshots and icons, keyboard‑accessible tooltips (aria-describedby), readability tests and including ESL users in research.
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chapters (15)
- 0:00Welcome
- 1:50Speaker and talk overview
- 4:42Non-native speakers in UX
- 6:09Name fields for ESL users
- 14:59Address field variations
- 18:20WCAG form labels
- 19:46Synonyms and acronyms
- 22:53Ambiguity in forms
- 28:41Tenses in UX content
- 33:33Dropdown tense mismatches
- 38:24Cognitive load and plain language
- 40:52Tooltips and visual cues
- 42:15User testing with ESL users
- 43:22Key takeaways
- 44:48Closing and Q&A
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