The instructor of the foreign languages department Nina Maliovana did a professional development course in Germany in the education center for the adults of VHS DVV International in Fridrikhsgafen. The topics of the course included: Globalization (Ulrike Müller von Kralik), Cross-Cultural Difference, Challenges and Choices in an insecure world (Anne Kuypers, Andrea Veit), Challenges to National Security, The Challenge of Moral Leadership, Personal Security: Challenges and Choices, Economic Security: The Challenges of Poverty, Millennials’ Attitudes Toward IT Consumerization in the Workplace (Dante Ackermann, Kim Beck), Education : Scale or Fail, Speech Emotion Recognition, Never Ending Learning, Toward Sustainable Access; the Future Communication etc.

On July 19-21, Sumy hosted the All-Ukrainian Badminton Competition "Summer Cup 2019". The instructor of the Foreign Languages Department  Oksana Hladchenko, along with Antonina Sirik, got the first place.

Congratulations to the champions!

The English for Universities Project initiated by British Council Ukraine (2015 – 2018) involved thirty-two Ukrainian universities aiming to improve the quality, in higher education contexts, of both English for Specific Purposes (ESP) teaching and of English-Medium Instruction (EMI). On February 19, 2019 the impact of the project in Ukrainian Higher Education was officially presented. The instructor of the Foreign languages department Svitlana Mikhno was honoured to visit the presentation. There is strong evidence that it influenced significantly on the design, organisation and assessment of ESP courses, the classroom practices of ESP teachers changed, EMI lecturers felt it led to changes in the way they plan and deliver lectures.

The teacher of the Foreign languages department Inna Zaitseva participated in the Language Training Course  “Teaching Technical German”  that was held at Kyiv National Polytechnic University on December 2-9. The lecturers of the course Ania Lange and Silmenau Selma Zagman  tackled the issues of different approaches on teaching technical German to university students.

Trainings on building assessment skills of University teachers took place at Sumy State University. The instructor of the Foreign languages department Svitlana Mikhno participated in the trainings guided by professor John Pill. The obtained skills and knowledge help effectively evaluate students’ progress while teaching English for Specific Purposes.

An instructor of the foreign languages department Oksana Gladchenko has been selected to train volunteers at the US Peace Corps in Ukraine. American volunteers may serve in three projects: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Youth Development, and Community Development. The projects include teaching English in secondary schools, universities and teacher training schools, cooperation with local departments of family, youth and sport to provide young Ukrainians assistance needed to achieve success in their career and in life, cooperation with non-governmental organizations, local government organizations, local executive authorities and business structures. For three months Oksana works as a language and cultural facilitator with volunteers who will later work with students, teachers, youth and local communities. We wish our colleague success!

The teacher of the Foreign Languages Department Svitlana Mikhno passed the second stage of the training within the British Council project "English for Universities", which took place on July 1-6 in Irpin (Kyiv oblast), at the Summer School of Professional Development.

 The trainings were devoted to modern approaches of the development of speaking, reading, comprehension, listening and writing skills of students, the use of electronic teaching aids, lesson planning and its analysis under the guidance of British Council professional tutors. The CIVELT 2: Language of ESP course that lasts 36 hours involves the obligatory dissemination of knowledge among other teachers of our university.

On April 15, on the basis of the Department of Foreign Languages of the Sumy State University, the second round of trainings was held for young people within the project "Young WIT". Highly-honored coaches Andriana Kostenko (Sumy State University) and Stefan Stirling (US Peace Corps in Ukraine) taught students to present themselves to future employers, highlighted the peculiarities of the development of the IT sector and the opportunity for young people to get promising work. Each participant took a video of a resume lasting 60 seconds which was presented and analysed by the trainers. We thank Benjamin Stewart, the training director (US Peace Corps in Ukraine), for one more interesting event.

On March All-Ukrainian Scientific and Practical Conference of Students, Postgraduates and Teachers "To Make the World Smarter and Safer" was successfully held at the Department of Foreign Languages of Sumy State University. The conference takes place at the initiative of the Linguistic Educational Center and the student's scientific club of the Department of Foreign Languages. The purpose of the event is to involve students and post-graduate students into the discussion in a foreign language, to improve the ability to present materials and express their own point of view in professional and academic field. Reports were devoted to the innovations in the field of medicine, socio-cultural technologies, engineering, electronics. Students demonstrated the ability to present their own ideas in a foreign language and at the end of the conference each participant was awarded with a certificate.