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Currently, about 1 million refugees are living in government-sponsored accommodations waiting for permission to permanently stay in Germany, which can take up to six months. Meanwhile, refugees have no access to work or education during this wait time.

Deutsche Telekom is partnering with CASLS at the University of Oregon to create a new mobile app in order to help support Arabic-, Farsi-, and Pashto-speaking refugees living in Germany. The app is intended to help refugees learn the German language and operate successfully within cultural norms, such as making appropriate requests in different contexts. It will combine augmented reality, virtual reality, and interactive learning experiences to create a dynamic digital learning environment.

The app will have 20-30 modules, which will be divided into four categories: daily life, workspace, future life, and social life. Each specific lesson will teach content relevant to assisting refugees with language tasks ranging from immigration to daily life. The app will include 3D viewing glass capabilities for demonstration of particular situations of life and culture in Germany. It is scheduled for completion in mid-2017, and there several “Daily Conversation” lessons are scheduled for an earlier release to provide more immediate support.

Deutsche Telekom AG is a German telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. The company strives to be a top innovator in telecommunications on an international level. CASLS is excited to work with Deutsche Telekom on transformative uses of technology for language education.