More than 400 EF teachers volunteer to teach English to displaced people.
When our team saw the heartbreaking devastation following the invasion of Ukraine, we reacted in the way that EF knows best – by providing online English lessons to people forced to flee their homes.
A cross-functional team built and deployed the app, English Live – Help Ukraine, in a matter of weeks. It’s a new version of EF’s cloud-based English app, EF English Live, and it’s available for free for the people affected by this emergency on Google Play and the Apple App Store. The 12-month free course features both self-study content and group lessons taught by professional teachers. More than 400 EF teachers volunteered to teach through the app, representing a donation of $2M USD in in-kind support.
“I can't imagine what it would be like to be forced to leave your home and start a new life from scratch," said EF Chairman Philip Hult. “We are opening our online English school to help those forced to flee to improve their English skills and hopefully expand their opportunities. While we understand that most of the people displaced from their homes have immediate needs that aren’t solved by learning a new language, we hope the opportunity to improve their English in the coming months will help in a small way.”
EF’s online school has taught millions of people since its creation in the 1990s, including training volunteers for seven Olympic Games. “When we saw what was happening in Ukraine, we put a team together to see how we could use our expertise to help people fleeing the war,” said Dr. David Bish, EF Academic Director. “We were moved by the outpouring of support from EF teachers all over the world, with hundreds responding immediately and raising their hands to help.”
Available on Google Play and the Apple App Store