Teaching in Ukrainian Universities

ELT (English Language Teaching) is a widely-used teacher-centred term, as in the English language teaching . The abbreviations TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language), TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) and TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) are also used.

Other terms used in this field include EAL (English as an Additional Language), EIL (English as an International Language), ELF (English as a lingua franca), ESP (English for special purposes, or English for specific purposes), EAP (English for academic purposes). Some terms that refer to those who are learning English are ELL (English language learner), LEP (limited English proficiency) and CLD (culturally and linguistically diverse).

Most people who teach English are in fact not native speakers of that language. They are state school teachers in countries around the world, and as such they hold the relevant teaching qualification of their country, usually with a specialization in teaching local language but not English.

To Phillipson (1992), the global spread of English, particularly through English Language Teaching, is a part of linguistic imperialism. He argues that this is one of the ‘inflated claims’ about English and divorce ELT from political, social and cultural issues. Toh (2003) also argues that viewing ELT purely imparting a technical skill warrants scrutiny since it does not encourage learners and practitioners to ponder over implications concerning the presence of English and the claims about English.

In Ukraine, like in many other underdeveloped countries, the usual rationalization to promote English in the educational system is that we need scientific and technological development urgently. Since our own language is not developed enough to express highly sophisticated technical and scientific processes, the knowledge a major world language is a prerequisite for scientific and technological development.

Relation with the West, and Europe in particular, has always been an important issue on the political agenda of this country. In fact, we look at Europe as a deliberate choice of identity in foreign affairs. While The Ukraine anticipates joining the European Union soon or later, and if that ever happens, it is said that it will need civil servants who are competent in English, which is on its way to becoming the most dominant official language of the Union.

Some may say that the English language is the language of success; given that the majority of the world has ways to become fluent with it in order to succeed in foreign countries. It is definitely a necessity to succeed and make money in the modern day society in almost any country you may visit.

But why we, here, cannot properly teach using ELF (English as a lingua franca) as Germany, Netherland, Italy, Belgium etc. do it in their universities?

English speaker figures are for persons age 5 and older in the whole world are as follows. Total population age 5 and older was 262 375 152 of which 251 388 301 stated that they spoke English "very well" or "well". Third language speakers are respondents age 5 and older who reported they do not speak English at home but know it "very well" or "well": United States 95,81%, United Kingdom 97,74%, Germany 56%,  Canada 85,18%, France 36%, Australia 97.03%, Italy 29%, Netherlands 87%, Lithuania 32%, Russia 4,9%, Israel 1.37%.

Data for Russia were extracted from: Russian Census (2002). The "total" figure is the number of residents who reported English as one of the language they knew. The "first language" figure is the number of residents who reported "American" or "English" as their nationality. The "additional languages" figure is the difference. Eligible Population - 141 888 900, Total English Speakers – 6 955 315 (4,9%).

Same data for The Ukraine is not published but 5% frequency is quite a reality of higher educational teachers who can understand English. Interestingly, there is no clear correlation between the number of thоse 5% of teachers and the number of international students at an institution. Institutions with a highest proportion of international students appear to use English-medium programs as a means of "countersteering."

English-medium provision unevenly extends across Europe. Nearly one-third of all identified programs are offered by institutions in the Netherlands, the uncontested European leader in this form of education. Germany, the second provider in absolute numbers, occupies only a modest middle-rank position. The Nordic countries all score at high levels.

English-medium teaching and learning maintained that this approach in The Ukraine would inevitably lead to a loss of quality, due to the deficiencies in the command of English among both the teachers and the students. If we deal with issues such as English as an international language (EIL), the question of ownership of such a language, the status of the native speaker as opposed to that of the non-native speaker of English are very low. Strictly saying there is no any teacher here qualified by EIL international standards. The transfer of pedagogical expertise and personnel from the developed English-speaking countries to other contexts is highly problematic due to economic constrains. There are no western standards textbooks. Instructions are computer-translated from the native language programs. The lack of computer classes and multimedia is quite humiliated for the modern foreign youth.

Such ‘a trend’ to only claim ownership of a language and put their students not to access the material and symbolic resources associated with knowing the language are also seen as a threat that will ultimately lead to the extinction of scientific expression.

It may be admitted that while problems with ELF existed, they were not nearly as serious as the critics believe.

But the findings of the 2009 surveys already seemed to support the above even more clearly. 96 percent of student-respondents identified an insufficient command of English among teachers. As far as the data of some local “foreign languages” universities’ departments trials to review English fluency of  international students and stating it as insufficient are concerned, the majority of them have a valid certificate TOEFL, IATEFL or TESOL. Majority of their ‘teachers’ had never even heard what do they mean. No one foreign student had an entry control interview to check EAL, EIL, ELF, ESP, EAP, ELL, LEP or CLD to improve their chances of gaining access to an ‘English-medium higher school’.

It is not surprisingly, the most frequently stated linguistic problem concerns the lack of mastery of the English language by domestic teachers. While the problem has not changed, Ukraine's higher education institutions have become accustomed to the communication situation in the international classroom. What once created frustrations is today viewed as a normal condition.

The only 5 percent found the mastery of English among domestic academe is inadequate. The ideal teacher is the English ‘native speaker’ from one of the English speaking countries. Therefore, educational institutions would benefit from employing these people. If this is not possible, the teacher should have ‘near-native’ oral competence in one of the standard varieties of these countries. If not, all announced and ‘approved’ programs with English as a Teaching Medium in Ukrainian Universities are faked as artificial gems.

References:

Phillipson, R. (1992) Linguistic imperialism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Toh, G. (2003). Toward a more critical orientation to ELT in Southeast Asia. World Englishes, 22 (4).


Oleg Nestaiko, MD, FRCR (London) А.К.А. Теодор Буки