Many people from migrant and refugee backgrounds struggle with the digital aspects of their new lives in Australia, a team of researchers from Monash University has found. 

By Katrina Tour, Michael Henderson, Edwin Creely, Peter Waterhouse and Xuan Pham

Digital literacies, or capacities to use digital technologies for different purposes, are increasingly important for adults from migrant and refugee backgrounds who are coming to Australia.

As people settle in a new country, they need to access essential services and information, participate in learning programs, find a job, establish new connections, join new communities, reconnect with families and networks, and engage in independent English language learning. These settlement experiences are critical but now dependent on a range of online digital technologies that require digital literacies.

Many Australians easily use a self-service checkout at the supermarket, plan a trip with Google Maps or book a medical appointment online without even thinking about the knowledge and  many different skills these experiences involve. However, as recent research from Monash University found, this is not the case for many people from migrant and refugee backgrounds.  The study interviewed 30 adults from migrant and refugee backgrounds from Ethiopia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Iraq, Somalia, Kenya, Sudan and China in their home languages as well as the staff from Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) that these adult learners attended.

One participant, 35-year-old Nafisa (pseudonym) who arrived to Australia from Sudan, shared her surprise about the highly digitised life:

“Everything in the country [Australia] has been linked to technology… You cannot work or do things without technology.”

She said that it is very difficult to engage in most of these digital activities as she did not have relevant digital literacies. For example, she reflected on her banking experience with an automated teller machine (ATM):

“I am not familiar with using it [ATM]. Nobody has taught me how to use it. It is not very common back home in Sudan. I feel it [is] very difficult to use for us Sudanese… I find this machine complex. I remember once I myself used it one time but I found it difficult and I didn’t know how to use it so I quit and I didn’t use it again…”

Research participants realised that they need digital literacies to fully participate in everyday life, learning and work in Australia. Importantly, they desperately wanted to learn digital literacies as part of successful settlement in Australia. One of the participants, 39-year-old Filsan (pseudonym) from Somalia, who only completed six years of school back home, said:

“I want to learn it [how to use digital technologies]… I never got the chance to learn… but God willing if I get the chance I will study it.”

However, despite their determination, the research participants commonly reported difficulties in moving forward with their learning.

A significant challenge for the majority of the participants was access to appropriate digital technologies to meet their needs. Mobile phones were the main technology at their disposal. Phones supported their everyday communication and leisure practices but did not allow for the development of a wider range of digital literacies, especially those more closely related to workplace demands. Mobile phones also had limited affordances for interoperability with translation tools, typically used by the participants. This made technology use in English very difficult.

Another issue was lack of on-demand support for using  technologies. Family and friends were named as the most valuable resource for learning by the participants but they were not always available or might be struggling with technology themselves. Thus, all research participants wanted to be more independent in their digital experiences. They all hoped that the English language programs in which they participated would equip them with relevant digital skills and knowledge.

It has been noted that Covid-19 restrictions resulted in a rapid increase in the use of digital technologies such as online conferencing platforms (e.g. Zoom) in English language and settlement programs. However, this has not necessarily been an easy or sustained transition. More importantly, while there has been an increase in the use of digital technologies, this has not necessarily been accompanied by an increase in explicit education related to digital literacies for full participation in everyday life and the labour market.

One of the participants, an AMEP teaching and learning coordinator, said:

“I think in many organisations, or in our case, groups of organisations, digital literacy is still in the very early stages.”

There was a clear desire by the educators in our study to include more digital literacy education, but the educators themselves were hampered by issues of access to technologies for their learners, the lack of appropriate support materials, and in many cases fragmented knowledge of how to teach digital literacies.

In sum, Monash research suggests that adult learners from migrant and refugee backgrounds needed and wanted to learn digital literacies but they had limited opportunities for this.

What can be done?

To address these learners’ needs and capitalise on their aspirations, it is important for learning programs to purposefully and explicitly plan for teaching digital literacies. This includes seeking out evidence-based approaches to teaching digital literacies in relation to settlement and employment.

In addition, there is a need to develop appropriate learning activities and resources that are relevant, use familiar technologies, and build on the strengths and successes of learners in their circumstances.

In response to this challenge a Monash University research project, funded by the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs, has developed the AMEP Digital Literacies Framework and Guide. This resource has been created in collaboration with – and tested by – educators and learners.

Digital Literacies Framework presents a pedagogical model that will guide educators in the adult EAL sector in teaching digital literacies.

An explanatory video is offered here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umcR4QdaEHA

The Digital Literacies Guide is a collection of 15 learning units that reflect this model as well as ideas about best practice for digital literacies in adult EAL contexts. The guide is a practical resource aiming to support educators (and their learners) who engage with the varied and complex challenges and opportunities that come with digital literacies.

See a video here – AMEP Digital Literacies Framework – YouTube