TESOL Ukraine

Ukraine's TESOL (Teachers of English to Students of Other Languages) Conference was held last week out west in the little town of Kamianets-Podilsky (yes, it's a mouth full!) at the Kamianets-Podilsky Ivan Ohiyenko National University. Okay, so the Ukrainians and Russians aren't particularly known for their brevity in naming things, but both the university and the conference proved inspirational escapes from the cold, gray days of Lugansk living:

All three of the English Language Fellows here in Ukraine, including myself, were a part of the large panel of people who gave workshops and presentations to the conference participants. Mine dealt with using authentic English language materials such as eJournal USA in the classroom alongside the text:

I received quite a bit of positive feedback and am thrilled when I can give teachers something useful and engaging to take back to their classrooms and students!

In true Ukrainian hospitality, the first night of the conference was a grand banquet complete with wine, food, and a lot of dancing:

I can't say how motivating it is to be around such a group of teachers who are dedicated to learning and sharing new, applicable, varied, and interesting ideas for the teaching of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) in their country, especially in a country where the hard, Soviet, route-memorization techniques of "learning" continue to dominate. Will be interesting to see the shape of EFL in Ukraine within the next decade or two!

Up next, a jaunt around the host town of Kamianets-Podilsky...