About visiting academic Nataliia Faryna in Sheffield
The Ukrainian language classes helping Britons talk to refugees.
The lessons are being taught by Nataliia Faryna, an associate professor of applied linguistics at the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv.
The city in the west of the country has not been hit as hard by fighting as some other parts of Ukraine. A number of the university’s buildings have been used as a shelter for people who fled conflict zones. While classes were paused when war broke out, Ivan Franko has since resumed teaching with air raid shelters installed in all educational buildings and dormitories as well as generators to guard against blackouts.
Ms Faryna, who is staying in Sheffield to teach the course for six months, says her classes are “a way to tell people about Ukraine, about our culture and worldview”.
Speaking as students grapple with the Cyrillic alphabet, she admits getting to grips with Ukrainian can be “a little difficult”. But adds: “If you have the motivation, you will learn this language.”While she is not a refugee herself, she feels she is giving something back for the support the UK has shown to her country. “I’m very grateful for the people of the UK for standing in this war, so it’s way to say thank you,” she tells me.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-64993843
