Learn German on WhatsApp

More than a million refugees arrived in Germany in 2015. While language is the most important thing for successful integration, some of the refugees have to wait for three months or more for a German course. To help them learn German we used the item they carry with them anyway: their smartphone. WhatsGerman is not a separate app that you first have to install. It’s based on WhatsApp, the platform already used a lot by refugees to stay in touch with their families.

Upon registration with your smartphone at www.whatsgerman.de, you receive a lesson each day consisting of text, explanatory emojis and videos helping with pronunciation.

Three courses that build upon each other are available to choose from: Alphabet, Daily Life and Basic Grammar. We developed these courses for WhatsApp together with language teachers. They are available in English and Arabic. WhatsGerman is promoted using flyers and posters in refugee homes, social media, reporting and PR. 80,000 people registered in the first six weeks, which amounts to 17 percent of all Arab-speaking refugees. Every day there are 1,000 more registrations. But the biggest confirmation for us is the hugely positive feedback from people using the course.