First Courses in Ukrainian at Amsterdam University
Date: 2023-09-19 Author: Dima Zakharov Categories: DIASPORA
A Multinational Enrollment
At the University of Amsterdam (UvA), the courtyard is abuzz with students wearing traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirts known as "vyshyvanka." Among them are 30 students hailing from the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Poland, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Taiwan, and even Russia. Some already speak a bit of Ukrainian, while others are diving headfirst into learning the language.
The Inaugural Lesson
On September 11, 2023, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) commenced the first-ever Ukrainian language courses in the Netherlands. Liam Huang, originally from Taiwan, is one of the participants. He praises Ukrainians for their hospitality and passion, drawing parallels between Ukraine and Taiwan as two countries facing similar challenges and threats.
Love for Ukrainian Culture
Liam's journey into Ukrainian culture began with a chance encounter with a Ukrainian girl, Elena Denyschuk. Their love story coincided with the onset of the conflict in Ukraine. He decided to delve deeper into understanding the feelings stirred by the war and realized that to truly grasp the culture, he needed to learn the language. Liam also fell in love with the melodious Ukrainian language and expressed a desire to read works by Ukrainian poet Lina Kostenko.
Embroidered Unity
Liam proudly wears his vyshyvanka, similar to the one worn by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Elena, his Ukrainian girlfriend, gifted him this embroidered shirt, and she also showed him a photo of President Zelenskyy wearing a similar one. Liam was so impressed that Elena arranged for him to have one, ordering it during her visit to Kyiv.
Learning Together
Elena, who is Ukrainian, discovered that the University of Amsterdam was launching a Ukrainian language course and suggested that Liam give it a try. He eagerly agreed, considering it an opportunity to better understand Elena, her culture, and her language.
Three Years of Progress
Over the course of nearly three years together, Liam has learned many words, can construct simple sentences, write a bit, sing Ukrainian songs, and even knows the Ukrainian national anthem by heart. Elena mentioned that after Russia's full-scale invasion, many of their foreign classmates and friends began showing a keen interest in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Language Instructor
The Ukrainian language course at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) is taught by linguist Oksana Kononchuk. Last year, due to the full-scale war in Ukraine, she relocated from Kyiv to Amsterdam and is now a guest researcher at UvA. She conducts the course in English. In the first lesson, she started with basic words and phrases, which the students diligently recorded and repeated.
Diverse Motivations
Following the introduction to the language, Oksana Kononchuk shared a bit about herself, highlighting her academic background as a candidate of philological sciences and an associate professor at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. She has dual degrees in Oriental Studies and Art History. The subjects she taught in Ukraine included Persian language and literature, Eastern art, and Ukrainian as a foreign language. The students, when introducing themselves, had to write their names, surnames, and their home countries in Ukrainian.
