English teachers' impressions of Ukraine in the summer of 1999 (02/13/00)

English teachers' impressions of Ukraine in the summer of 1999

by Roman and Stephanie Karpishka

Teaching English in Ukraine in the summer of 1999 - as part of the Ukrainian National Association's ongoing English Teachers for Ukraine program - was once again an uplifting experience for us, but it was also interspersed with a number of perplexing and disturbing situations.

On the positive side, there were proud moments in June when ESL students we had taught in the town of Mykolaiv, Lviv Oblast, the previous two summers were now graduating high school and being accepted as university entrants - despite numerous obstacles their parents had to encounter to assure their entrance.

However, the negative side of the academic realities in Ukraine today were also more clearly apparent to us as we encountered the sadness of students being marginalized by some of their long unpaid and unmotivated teachers. (Unfortunately, to a large degree this educational downside is not apparent to, or being addressed by, Ukrainian communities in the diaspora.)

We were both born beyond the borders of Ukraine and our appreciation of the language, culture, history, and geography of Ukraine has become enhanced thanks to these summertime "English as a Second Language" teaching experiences. As fourth-time "veterans" we feel both entitled and obligated to speak out, to inform, and to challenge our fellow diasporans who have not given up on improving the lot of Ukrainians, and in particular that of today's young generation.

Just as it is unusual that our English language teaching efforts have made us both feel closer to Ukraine, it is also unsettling that we have come to see for ourselves the sad reality, in our opinion, of the overwhelming influence and ubiquitousness of the Russian language, even in western regions of Ukraine in 1999.

At the start of the year we asked the mother of one student whether the use of the Russian language was more evident on the streets of Lviv these past months. She replied that this was no surprise since the momentum to master Ukrainian lost much of its impact since 1991 due to the lackadaisical attitudes of government bureaucrats and since the fear of job loss was no longer a factor.

It was disappointing to visit several major bookstores in Lviv and not be able to find video cassettes in Ukrainian, whereas hundreds of titles (including translated major Hollywood productions) were available in Russian or with subtitles. We finally located one video - Kotliarevskiy's "Eneida," which was a "multik" (cartoon), but not recommended for children. It was particularly oppressive to visit a small computer boutique across from Lviv's City Hall where we were told that no Ukrainian-language computer books were available and, as to Ukrainian CD-ROMs: "nyet, nema i ne budet!" - Russian for, "no, there are none, and there won't be any!"

So what are academic circles, there and here, as well as the leadership of the Ukrainian state and the diaspora planning to do to fill this vacuum? Ukrainian authorities excuse their inaction by claiming "budget constraints and dire economic circumstances," while a young new generation loses out on its linguistic and cultural heritage.

In our opinion, attitudes must quickly and radically change, both here and there, to truly preserve a viable 21st century Ukrainian identity. Two experiences stand out and define the tribulations that the Ukrainian language faces even in Halychyna, the nationalistic heartland of Ukraine, even after eight years of independence.

In July what was purported to be a draft presidential decree was circulated (which some said was done only to discredit presidential aspirations before the upcoming elections) that would have officially permited Russian as a language for entrance exams to Ukraine's universities. Some qualified this decree as "just a draft," but others saw it as usurping Article 10 of the Constitution of Ukraine, which entrenches the official status of the Ukrainian language. Vociferous protests by Lviv's intelligentsia scuttled this project, but nowhere did a candidate aspiring to lead the country take a stand in the press - perhaps being fearful of alienating the eastern and southern oblasts that are still beholden to a Russophone populace.

A second vignette that, sadly, remains from this summer's experience is our memory of traveling on a public bus from Mykolaiv to Lviv on August 24, 1999, Ukraine's Independence Day. Russian music was being played by the bus driver. Upon loudly requesting a different station, the driver willingly complied, and other passengers nodded in approval. However, prior to our indignant outburst no other passengers would take it upon themselves to confront such typical cultural onslaughts in the form of the language of Ukraine's former masters. Equally depressing and incongruous was to hear Russian music at an outdoor rock concert at the grounds of the Bohdan Khmelnytsky cultural park in Lviv on the Sunday night before the eighth anniversary of Ukraine's modern statehood, as well as getting the general impression of indifference and acceptance of such.

Fortunately not all of Ukraine's youths are indifferent or insensitive to these situations, since one of our Prosvita ESL students was clearly uncomfortable when, as a surprise to her, a contestant recited Pushkin, in Russian, during a youth event she was emceeing on August 22, 1999. Neighbors can be part of your history, but it is hard to passively swallow the lingering dominance of their cultural and literary icons.

To somewhat mitigate feelings of course, we availed ourselves of contemporary teaching tools to rectify Russophilic tendencies. We were able to show various videos, including not only Hollywood classics, but also several productions from North America that promoted Ukraine's history and national identity. Our ESL students then had to write one-page English compositions evaluating these films.

The "Wizard of Oz" appealed to all age groups for its story and allegories of wisdom, courage, and love, and transcended any language barrier. Disney's "Iron Will" movie portrayed the challenges of an Alaska dog race, and Pat Bilon's "E.T." was a favorite of the younger ESL students.

The advanced group viewed Alfred Hitchcock's "Torn Curtain." That movie may be dated by today's standards, but following Paul Newman's film exploits as the American nuclear physicist - Dr. Armstrong - it brought into focus some of the realities of the Cold War.

As a reflection of the world's two superpower solitudes, only one student recognized the existence of another, more famous, Armstrong during the week in July 1999, commemorating the 30th anniversary of the American astronaut's first walk on the moon. The former Soviet Union did not encourage Western contacts, nor celebrate our scientific successes, and this alienation continues to leave an impoverished legacy with the youth of Ukraine even today.

One small step to rectify this imbalance is to expose youths in Ukraine to Western values, attitudes and philosophy. A practical and enriching contemporary way to meet such a challenge would be with modern media, videos and real-time communication technology (e.g., the Internet, e-mail, video conferencing, etc.).

UNA-sponsored and Prosvita-endorsed ESL teaching programs in Ukraine should also actively involve North American youth associations, schools of Ukrainian studies (Ridni Shkoly), church groups, etc. Though we should not expect Ukrainian youth to uncritically adhere to our Western culture, at least - in the context of learning English - they would have a chance to learn about our lives and also be encouraged to strive for a better life in their own homeland.

We were particularly fortunate that an older brother of an ESL student addressed our classes soon after returning from a one-year university exchange program in the United States. For our students this 20-year-old was like a contemporary Columbus - they realized it could happen to them as well.

It was also encouraging for our students to personally hear the comments of another teacher, Thomas Yurchuk of New Jersey who had taught ESL in Mykolaiv in the summer of 1996; Mr. Yurchuk said that he could not distinguish the young English-speaking Ukrainian recently arrived from America from native English speakers. We ESL teachers were highly impressed at how well Ukrainian exchange students applied their knowledge of English and even developed an American accent, compared to the British style they were taught in their regular schools.

One animated and encouraging discussion in a Lviv coffee shop with our advanced students related to the biography of Ghandi. Whereas some students were initially cynical, in light of their own restricted opportunities to attend university, a discussion of the life of that 20th century Indian hero at least partly convinced them that real change is possible in a nation's social fabric, that monolithic empires can be challenged by persistent idealistic individuals, and that they should re-think some of their "go with the flow" tendencies. Thus, English-language courses in Ukraine also gave us opportunities to confront and stimulate the thinking processes of our students.

We found that in general our students, most of whom had not traveled beyond Poland, were well attuned to the potential of English language use, and in fact by the end of the summer three of our former ESL students from Mykolaiv were successfully admitted to the Lviv University linguistics/professional translators program. All of our students were hoping to soon have better access to computers (virtually unknown in high schools in Ukraine today), and this would indeed be a worthwhile project for educators, academics and youth organizations in Ukrainian communities in the diaspora to consider.

With travel to Ukraine being relatively unrestricted, many visitors could endow their former village schools or Prosvita organizations with used computer equipment donations. From personal experience we know that such, as gifts, would not encounter customs problems.

Furthermore, the use of updated CD-ROM language programs by teachers would streamline and modernize the process, as well as perhaps set proficiency standards.

Prior to embarking on our latest teaching mission to Ukraine, it was a bit of a disappointment to learn that less than 20 teachers constituted this past summer's ESL cadres, whereas at the outset of this project several years ago up to 80 persons a year were involved in this joint UNA/Prosvita effort.

We respectfully submit that, after almost ten years, it is perhaps time to seriously re-evaluate who can and should teach, opening the doors to more non-pedagogical professionals and to other serious individuals prepared to dedicate four weeks of their summer to teach in, and learn about, contemporary Ukraine.

Perhaps a problem has been that there are too few current requests from Ukraine concerning these ESL courses, but an active advertising initiative, involving governmental and academic contacts, as well as youth organizations, could probably change that. Imagine if youth associations offered proficiency badges or traveling summer scholarships to their best members - perhaps that would generate some new enthusiasm.

Also, it might not be a bad idea for the teaching volunteers to in fact invest a modest sum (e.g., $50 per week) towards their upkeep while in Ukraine. Whereas now, teachers get free room and board during the four weeks of their duties, community benefactors could absorb some of these costs, thereby becoming more involved in this volunteer program.

Several days after our courses began we were discretely informed that some poor parents of gifted children, not having regular sources of income and embarrassed to admit this, held back their children from the ESL courses. (The parents were expected to pay 20 hrv - about $4.50 U.S. - for 80 hours of English teaching, and half that for other siblings.) Surely such minimal tuition could somehow be waived or funded by diaspora communities.

Furthermore, if we truly want to confront the threats of assimilation and the erosion of Ukrainian identity, we in the diaspora must first acknowledge the nefarious nature of what is happening in Ukraine today, where the media are largely influenced by neighbors endowed with state television programs, computers and software, CDs, etc. - all in addition to the printed word.

Such one-sided pressures can be counter-balanced by positive input from the diaspora in many ways. For example, through the medium of ESL teaching, Ukrainian youths will not only acquire a greater global awareness, but can also better understand their own history, traditions and contemporary society, while realizing that their nation includes great multitudes living beyond the borders of Ukraine. Ironically, some of our ESL students learned more about their culture and contemporary politics by reading about such on the pages of The Ukrainian Weekly, back issues of which are a staple of our ESL teaching curriculum.

Lest our readers be left with too negative an impression of our 1999 experiences, it must be said that the memorable highlights of our Ukrainian summer far outweighed the less auspicious moments. In particular we recall with pleasure several trips to Lviv's Zankovetskii Theater with some of the older students and their parents. Also, it was enriching to visit museums and outdoor art exhibits, and just to view the historic architecture of nearby Lviv, often referred to as the "Slavic Vienna," or Piedmont of Ukrainian nationalism. Other high points were the after-school marshmallow toasts and barbecuing of "shashlyky" on the "Halya" hilltop in Mykolaiv. The parents of some students took videos of these outings, as well as of graduation day ceremonies and of baseball games on the local soccer field.

Perhaps the most exhilarating weekend field trip was our van ride to Kosiv's picturesque bazaar, and to the Carpathian mountains. On August 15, 1999, with four of our advanced ESL students, we climbed to the top of Mount Hoverlia, Ukraine's highest peak at 2061 meters. After over three hours of vigorous exercise, exhausted, we reached the extremely windy summit, where we were favored with unforgettable views of Ukraine's verdant Hutsul countryside.

After teaching these ESL courses over four summers, we look forward to more such wonderful school days in the new century. Very few people have had the good fortune, time and opportunities like we have to recently teach English in Ukraine. These courses present a fantastic potential - both for youths and for those who teach them.

If you truly relate to your Ukrainian heritage, or want to feel like a valued member of that country, don't just talk about it - do it. And, share some happy adventures in today's fascinating Ukraine. The people you will encounter, even after just one summer's efforts, will forever value your personal contributions to and interest in the future of Ukrainian youths.

And yet, a volunteer's best satisfaction will be internal: that one acted with enthusiasm now, and did not just dream about doing so some distant future day.

Our recollections of teaching English in the summer of 1999 remain as cherished memories of the academic challenges, shared interests and travels in the now not-so-unfamiliar country of our forefathers.

The land beckons, and in the coming months we will rekindle our love of friends, recall the fun of teaching eager faces, repeat our trips to historic Lviv, and once again rediscover our roots in Ukraine, our "batkivschyna."

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