Hundreds of Thousands of Ukrainians Learn Languages with Babbel

• The courses to learn English, German, and Polish are most used from within Ukraine, followed by learners learning from Poland, and most learners are choosing to learn English

• The courses cater beginners as well as intermediate learners (A1 - B2) with expert created lessons as well as language learning games

Berlin, Monday June 20th 2022: Marking World Refugee Day 2022, Babbel announces that nearly 200k Ukrainian speakers have taken up its free courses only weeks since its launch in early May. That this milestone is achieved within this short time is testament to its meeting a real human need. Babbel’s team built these courses to offer Ukrainian speakers the opportunity to learn German, Polish or English for free just weeks after the war started, in the hope to bridge a language gap for those affected by it. Firstly offering beginner level content to enable learners to start speaking useful words and phrases immediately, now the courses are available in full, offering levels from Beginner, Beginner 2, Pre-Intermediate and Intermediate (CEFR levels A1 - B2), and have expanded to include more ways to learn such as its Phrase Maze and Word Trax games, all centred around Babbel’s academically proven method. 

“The creation of our Ukrainian courses is a project that our team poured their hearts into. As with many products, reality sets in when it is actually put to use. In this case, it’s humbling to see hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians learn a new language with our platform and do so successfully.” says Arne Schepker, CEO at Babbel. “When we started the initiative, we did so because we’re convinced that the provision of language learning is a critical service, especially for displaced people and - as shown in this case - meeting a real societal need.”

Babbel’s data shows that the Ukrainian learners are varied in both their location and their choices of which language to learn. More than 45% of subscribers are joining from within Ukraine, followed by 19% of learners joining from Poland and 13% from Germany. This is consistent with displacement patterns published in studies from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which show substantial internal displacement within Ukraine and major influxes of refugees in Poland and Germany in the months following the invasion. Across markets, more than 59% of learners are choosing to study English.

The launch of courses for Ukrainians did also drive Babbel’s ratings in the Ukrainian app stores: Babbel is seeing an average rating of 4.9 in both Google Play and the Apple app store. 

The language courses are available in Babbel’s app, available for download within the Apple app store, Google Play store, via babbel.com and via the dedicated landing page, which includes further offerings for Ukrainian refugees: ua.babbel.com. This broad offering has enabled access through multiple mediums, of which the most used is mobile. Babbel believes a large component of information exchange is through word-of-mouth amongst community members, as well as social media platforms and messaging apps.

In addition to language courses, Babbel has offered language-based resources, including a phrasebook of key Ukrainian phrases for citizens in host countries. Babbel continues to host Ukrainian humanitarian organisations in the Berlin office, where a volunteering centre offers support for the care and accommodation of refugees. All Babbel initiatives for refugees from Ukraine can be found here: ua.babbel.com. 

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