Lviv Polytechnic National University has launched two large-scale volunteer projects aimed at study of the Ukrainian language, conducted by the International Institute of Education, Culture and Diaspora Relations and the Department of Ukrainian Language, the Institute of the Humanities and Social Sciences.
The desire to speak Ukrainian unites
- Our spring school "Ukrainian - unites" was conceived as a tool for learning the Ukrainian language for Russian-speaking internally displaced persons who need to improve their knowledge of the Ukrainian language. However, people from different parts of Ukraine and from far abroad responded to our announcement. During the day, while registration was going on, 1,067 people from Kharkiv, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Volyn, Zakarpattia and Lviv region applied to study Ukrainian, so we had to stop registration because we have limited resources, - says Zoriana Kunch, head of the Department of Ukrainian Language, IHSS.
To ensure the education of such a large number of people, efforts were made not only by teachers of the Department of Ukrainian language of our University, but also by their colleagues who worked at this Department at different times, teachers of Lviv Polytechnic Colleges, as well as philologists from other Higher Education Institutions in Lviv. In the end, for the course "Ukrainian - unites" managed to gather a large team. A total of 45 groups were formed. Among those registered there are people of all ages, including children: 10 people aged 5-10 and 35 aged 10 to 15. The groups consist of 20-25 persons.
The training will last twice a week from March 28 to April 30. Each group will be led by one teacher. The course "Ukrainian - unites" is an intensive eight-class course, which combines practical and theoretical components.
IECDR "arms" with the Ukrainian language
The speaking club "Let’s speak Ukrainian!" conducted by International Institute of Education, Culture and Diaspora Relations, Lviv Polytechnic, will work on a similar principle. Twice a week it will be held online in the form of casual communication on topics of interest to participants, thus helping them overcome the language barrier and switch to Ukrainian.
With vast experience of 15 years of teaching Ukrainian as a foreign language, with professionally developed manuals, the IECDR team works to help the citizens of Ukraine.
- Having started registration in our speaking club, we were impressed by the huge interest of people - in three days we received 800 applications from different parts of Ukraine. Even after we had to suspend registration, we still received requests to enroll in the course. Such demand is a very positive indicator. Our Institute resource is not enough, because we have only ten philologists. But in cooperation with the Department of Education and Science of the Lviv Regional State Administration, we managed to attract philologists from the region. Another group of teachers joined from Drohobych, from various universities in Lviv, Kyiv, Ternopil and Kharkiv, who came to us to scientific conferences and seminars. Those who taught Ukrainian as a foreign language. We have formed a strong team of 45 teachers. We have developed our own educational and methodological support: textbooks, manuals, a portal for learning Ukrainian as a foreign language (with recommendations for teachers and students), - explained the director of IECDR Iryna Kliuchkovska.
The club will be open from March 29 to May 19. The group consists of 10-15 people. They will not be taught grammar, because it is not about passing an external examination, but will be helped to be confident in their Ukrainianness. Therefore, the emphasis will be primarily on everyday vocabulary, which will give people the opportunity to feel comfortable in a Ukrainian-speaking environment. The culturological aspect will not be overlooked either. It is very important for the IECDR team that the members of the speaking club also gain knowledge about the history of Ukraine, the culture of Ukraine, and the artistic achievements of our people.