Review of Michael S. Flier and Andrea Graziosi, editors. The Battle for Ukrainian: A Comparative Perspective. Ukrainian Research Institute, Harvard University, 2017. Distributed by Harvard UP. Harvard Papers in Ukrainian Studies. x, 626 pp. Map. Tables. End-of-chapter notes. Index. $29.95, paper.
The present study focuses on processes and transformations in language practices and attitudes in the newest wave of the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada, notably following the 2014 Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine. Specifically, multilingual language practices in social media and in off-line environments (Ukrainian, Russian, English), participants' beliefs about language(s), and participants' views about the language question are analyzed. The analysis also relates the speakers' practices and beliefs to issues of identity construction and negotiation that are observable in the context of this diasporic community.The socio-cultural approach to studying identity in interaction developed by Bucholtz and Hall is used as the premise for the main theoretical foundation of the study. In this framework, identity is defined as "the social positioning of self and other" and is best studied at an interactional level because it is in interaction that language resources gain social meaning.Basing the analysis on the "discourse-centered online ethnography" approach (Dailey-O'Cain), the data were collected from two sources: one social media communication network and in-person interviews with this network's members. Therefore, the analysis combines a study of multilingual interaction in social media communication with an investigation of how participants report on their language practices overall, including their views about the language question. The domains of language and discourse about language constitute the organizational core of the analysis, as both contribute to the discussion of language attitudes and speakers' shaping and reshaping of their identities. The domain of language incorporates a study of code-switching, including language choice and language practices of the participants, observed or reported. A discourse about language focuses on the importance of the language question to the participants, their positioning toward language(s), and/or language practices, as well as participants' associations with and disassociations from particular languages, concepts, or entities. The discussion relates the functions of different languages in the studied community to larger questions of the diaspora studied. The prominence of "real" and "ideal" code-switching phenomena are highlighted. The code-switching, along with language choice and language practices, as well as discourse about language, are all shown to be resources employed by the speakers to position themselves in specific associations or disassociations. Overall, the study investigates the newest Ukrainian diasporic community, demonstrating how language practices in human interaction display and construct identity(ies) and signal participants' negotiations of their own identities and those of others.
<strong>Michael Moser. <em>Language Policy and the Discourse on Languages in Ukraine under President Viktor Yanukovych (25 February 2010–28 October 2012)</em><em>.</em></strong><strong><em> </em></strong>Stuttgart: <em>ibidem</em>-Verlag, 2013. 495 pp. Preface. Introduction. Bibliography. €49.90, paper.
This study is an inquiry into popular children's magazines produced in Ukraine. The focus is on the construction of childhood in texts via both verbal and visual elements. The Critical Discourse Analysis framework is the principle theoretical and methodological tool used for the study of media language and addressing questions of social significance. The visual analysis rests on premises of the social semiotic framework by Kress and van Leeuwen (1996) and Machin and van Leeuwen (2007). Linguistic analysis considers address and reference forms, focusing on the distribution and meaning of these forms in the three magazines studied. Both verbal and visual analyses devote special attention to "individualization" or "collectivization" elements of text, which contribute to the presentations of identities of both the magazine and its readers. The results are linked to a discussion of cultural practices and social changes in contemporary Ukrainian society.
This article reports on the development of a new blended-learning model for beginners' Ukrainian language learning and instruction, an innovative approach in foreign language education. This model is a combination of face-to-face and online learning and is a response to new realities in education, and language learning in particular, in our fast-paced, technologically enhanced everyday life. The authors focuses on the design of their new blended-learning textbook Подорожі.UA (Travels.UA), which contains a considerable online component, closely interconnected with in-class, or face-to-face, learning and teaching materials. They discuss their approach to the pedagogical design of this new model, used in the textbook, and also address piloting challenges. The study concludes with a report on the overall success of this project and invites others who teach Ukrainian at postsecondary levels to pilot the project in their institutions.
The study investigates postsecondary student motivation and demotivation for studying Ukrainian language, culture, folklore, literature, linguistics, and history. Four groups of students from one Canadian postsecondary institution are studied: (i) students taking Ukrainian language courses; (ii) those in Ukrainian content courses; (iii) students who took a language course at the postsecondary level in the past but did not continue; and (iv) students active in the Ukrainian community who have never taken any Ukrainian studies courses at the postsecondary level but are potentially interested in Ukrainian studies.The analysis is grounded in Dörnyei's motivational framework, which categorizes L2 motivation into three levels: the language level (in this study, 'subject area'), the learner level, and the learning situation level ("Motivation"). The subject area level deals with reasons to learn certain subjects: instrumental and integrative motivation. The learner level focuses on learners' personality traits and cognition. The learning situation level relates to learning environment. Dörnyei's framework is employed to develop a motivational questionnaire, used as an instrument. The results are analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The quantitative data are elicited through participant responses to close-ended questions, showing the distribution and significance of various motivational factors in different groups of students under study. The qualitative analysis is based on participant responses to open-ended questions, allowing us to analyze both responses and perspectives on how their motivation relates to learning experience and the learning process overall. The combination of the two methods of analysis contributes to a multi-faceted understanding of motivational factors and yields pedagogical implications. The article concludes with a list of recommendations that stem from these analyses.
