EdTech company launches English language app for refugees

Educational software provider FlashAcademy has launched an app which has been specifically designed for refugees who are being resettled in Birmingham.

The app – made possible by a grant from Birmingham City Council through the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme – has been designed with organisations such as Spring Housing and Refugee Action for refugee communities in the Birmingham area.

The platform will help adults to learn English and become familiar with their local area and new surroundings. The app was commissioned in 2020, after Birmingham-based FlashAcademy was awarded a grant by the local authority following the news that Syrian refugee families were being resettled in the city and its surrounding areas.

It will provide English language content, such as grammar and handwriting activities, as well as practical vocabulary to assist refugees in the UK with daily tasks such as housing, employment and the medical system.

FlashAcademy was launched in 2016 after founders Veejay Lingiah and Richard Allen recognised the struggles that educators are currently facing to provide support to pupils who do not have English as a first language, as well as the challenges faced by the students themselves.

Lingiah said: “We are privileged to be able to work on such an important project and help in whatever way we can to welcome Syrian refugees to Birmingham.

At FlashAcademy, our goal is to open up people’s pathways and help them to learn English no matter where they’re from, which will help so many.”