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Participatory action research explores smartphone use and digital literacy in Ethiopian immigrants, highlighting design inequities.
Despite smartphones becoming essential tools for digital engagement, English learning adult immigrants (ELAIs) face significant, yet underexplored, barriers to digital inclusion. This participatory action research pilot study examines the smartphone use of Ethiopian immigrants in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, focusing on the intersections of language, technology design, and digital literacy. Partnering with a trusted Ethiopian community‐based organization (pseudonym: “Andinet”), community members collaborated as co‐researchers to explore how Ethiopian ELAIs navigate smartphone use and overcome challenges. Initial findings highlight systemic design inequities and surface early‐stage intervention ideas, such as Amharic speech‐to‐text tools, guided digital literacy modules, and community‐led training workshops. These insights inform ongoing dissertation research and lay the groundwork for the co‐development of culturally relevant technology solutions alongside the community, emphasizing the transformative potential of participatory research and design practices to empower underserved immigrant populations.
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Kurubel Belay (2025) studied this question.
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