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The Associate Professor of the Department of Foreign Languages and Linguodidactics Iryna Liashenko completed a course of study from the he Regional English Language Office at the U.S. Embassy Kyiv on Online Institute on Teaching Creative Writing for tertiary teachers of English from Ukraine.
The online course lasted from the summer of last year until May 2023 and aimed to develop the teaching of writing skills and creative writing for university students and beyond. After the war, creative writing is an important tool for students to express their emotions and share their stories with the world.
Creative writing can offer a variety of benefits to second language learners. This can reduce the problem of alignment by focusing on individual expression and personal progress rather than a final standard, and increase motivation, group cohesion, and student autonomy. In addition, it helps develop language at all levels, from grammar to real-life dialogue, and can help with academic writing by developing healthy writing skills, critical thinking, and close reading. Creative writing can also increase students' appreciation and understanding of published stories by bringing play, experimentation, and exploration back into the classroom. Finally, telling personal and fictional stories can reduce stress and aid healing.
We are delighted to announce that Associate Professor Iryna Liashenko has successfully completed the OPEN Community Lead Training Course instructed by the OPEN Program. This program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
The objective of this course was to prepare participants to serve as Community Leads on the OPEN Community of Practice (CoP) online platform. During the course, participants learned about the CoP, including the vision for the community, how to navigate the CoP online platform, and how to answer questions about the CoP.
In addition, participants learned how to create engaging discussion forums, moderate discussions through conversation-driving comments, and understand the Community Lead expectations and roles, which they will complete over their 6-month term.
Congratulations to Associate Professor Iryna Liashenko on completing this valuable training course and we look forward to seeing her utilize these skills in our community.
On April 29, 2023, the lecturers of the Departments of Foreign Languages and Linguodidactics, and Germanic Philology attended the next session of the academic mobility course featuring Stuart Carroll.
Traditionally, the course began with developing communicative techniques for enhancing communication skills, emotional support, and strengthening team spirit to be used in classes with students. The unique academic mobility course with Stuart Carroll puts these strategies and methods into action for use in student groups. Teachers have the opportunity to significantly enhance their professional growth by learning effective methods and tools in such sessions, studying modern experiences, and choosing the appropriate approach to meet student's educational needs.
The session continued with a presentation by Yuliya Korobova, a teacher of the Department of Foreign Languages and Linguodidactics, sharing her experience in applying social-emotional learning strategies, which includes acquiring and using knowledge and skills for the development of a healthy personality, including emotional regulation, empathy, and interpersonal communication skills. Social-emotional learning involves four key competencies: self-awareness and awareness of others, positive attitudes and values, responsible decision-making, and social interaction skills. Yuliya shared her experience learning such strategies from American programs and how she applies them to her students, noting the positive outcomes.
All teachers agreed that the opportunity to gain practical experience with modern teaching methods and strategies from leading specialists significantly strengthens the methodological base for teaching, enhances teachers' positive emotional state, unites them in joint problem-solving in education, and inspires better teaching practice.
On April 29, 2023 a Final Spring Tournament in badminton was held in Sumy. The representatives of Sumy State University took part in this competition. Senior teacher of the Department of Foreign Languages and Linguodidactics Oksana Hladchenko and senior teacher of the Physical Education Department Antonina Siryk took the first place in the tournament in category C.
Congratulations to the winners!
Associate Professor of the Department of Foreign Languages and Linguodidactics, Iryna Lyashenko, was invited to speak at the international online conference "Strategies for optimizing learning and assessment in teaching languages and literatures in modern conditions." The Taras Shevchenko Educational and Scientific Institute of Philology of KNU acted as the organizer of the conference, and Iryna spoke as an expert at the symposium on the topic "How to optimize teaching and assessment and ensure their quality in times of crisis."
Iryna shared the experience of Sumy State University in overcoming difficulties in teaching and assessment in times of crisis. After the symposium, parallel sessions were held, where teachers of Ukrainian universities discussed problematic areas of teaching and assessment. This included topics such as the role of Chat GPT as an assistant in foreign language teaching and assessment, optimizing the teaching and assessment of writing with the ZenGengo online platform, teaching independent listening online with assessment tasks and many others.
The conference also presented a new international project for teachers of Ukrainian universities regarding the use of CEFR/CV to disseminate the results of the ERASMUS+ international cooperation project. In addition, foreign speakers from Germany, Great Britain and the USA shared their opinions on the features of language skills assessment and the principles of CEFR/CV assessment.
Sumy State University recently hosted an engaging and collaborative session on teaching dilemmas led by Professor Stuart Carroll from the College of New Jersey. The session, which was attended by professors from the Foreign Languages Department and German Philology Department at Sumy State University, aimed to find solutions to methodological challenges in the classroom and foster collaboration and engagement among participants.
The session was designed to encourage open sharing of issues and genuine suggestions for ways to overcome teaching challenges. Professor Carroll's expertise and insights provided valuable guidance on incorporating speaking techniques in the classroom, including fair splitting of roles among students and motivating them to share advice and offer help.
One of the highlights of the session was the opportunity for participants to communicate in a native speaker's environment, which helped to polish their speaking skills and satisfy their urge for communication. The corporate spirit among the participants was strengthened, and their teaching skills were enhanced through active discussions and practical activities.
The session also provided a platform for participants to unload their professional and psychological burdens, as they exchanged ideas and learned from each other's experiences. The collaborative atmosphere created during the session fostered a positive and supportive learning environment, where participants felt encouraged to contribute and learn from each other.
Professor Carroll's expertise and the interactive nature of the session were highly appreciated by the participants, who found the session to be a valuable opportunity for professional development and growth. The event concluded with a sense of accomplishment and renewed enthusiasm among the participants, who left with practical ideas and strategies to implement in their classrooms.
Overall, the academic mobility course with Professor Stuart Carroll was a resounding success, providing a platform for meaningful discussions, collaboration, and skill development among the professors from Sumy State University. The session was a testament to the importance of continuous professional development and the power of collaboration in finding solutions to teaching dilemmas in the classroom.
Dear colleagues, students, friends of Sumy State University!
The spirit of Easter is all about hope, love, and joyful living. The fantastic signs of springtime bring the true spirit of Easter. Enjoy this happy time of cheerfulness and hope. Wishing you a blessed Easter filled with love, peace, and happiness! May this Easter bring you new hope, new faith, and new beginnings.
Stay blessed and happy. But most importantly, stay safe! Have a wonderful Easter!
We are excited to share news of the 4th session of our academic mobility course, which featured a hands-on method in facilitating problem-solving and decision-making through group discussion and collaboration. The session was led by Stuart Carroll, a professor from the College of New Jersey, and focused on the topic "Our dilemmas in teaching and learning."
During the session, the professors were introduced to a new methodology called "The Consultancy Protocol" or "The Dilemma Protocol." This structured approach to group problem-solving and decision-making encourages collaborative thinking and active participation. It was first developed in the field of group relations by the Tavistock Institute in London and is commonly used in various fields, including business, education, and psychology.
On March 25, 2023, the teachers of the Departments of Foreign Languages and German Philology held their third meeting with Stuart Carroll, a professor from the College of New Jersey. The session was dedicated to the topic of "Music, Song, and Poetry" and was aimed at developing speaking skills with students in the classroom. The teachers used the Structured Academic Controversy (SAC) method, which was developed by cooperative learning researchers David and Roger Johnson of the University of Minnesota.
The SAC method is a discussion technique that moves students beyond either/or debates to a more nuanced historical synthesis. The method provides an alternative to the “debate mindset” by shifting the goal from winning classroom discussions to understanding alternative positions and formulating historical syntheses. The SAC’s structure demands that students listen to each other in new ways and guides them into a world of complex and controversial ideas.
During the meeting, the teachers explored a question by reading about and then presenting contrasting positions. They worked in pairs and then came together in four-person teams. They helped students track their analysis and prepare their positions. Dyads then came together as a four-person team and presented their views to one another. Rather than refuting the other position, the listening dyad repeated back to the presenters what they understood. Listeners did not become presenters until the original presenters were fully satisfied that they had been heard and understood. After the sides switched, the dyads abandoned their original assignments and worked toward reaching consensus. If consensus proved unattainable, the team clarified where their differences lay.
Overall, the SAC method provided a structured and focused way to explore complex and controversial ideas. The teachers found it to be an effective way to engage students in critical thinking and to develop their speaking skills in the classroom.
Dear students, postgraduates, teachers!
We have the pleasure to invite you to participate in the XVII-th all-Ukrainian Scientific and Practical Conference “To Make the World Smarter and Safer”, which will be held online on March 30-31, 2023.
Objectives of the conference:
• developing students’ motivation to learn foreign languages;
• developing research skills;
• improving presentation abilities using foreign languages;
• improving academic communication skills, both oral and written;
• exchanging teaching/learning experiences.
Conference panels:
• Teaching foreign languages at difficult times.
• High-tech and information technology advances.
• Engineering advancements. − Innovation in medicine and modern life.
• Financial and economic changes of today.
• Intercultural communication as a tool of mutual understanding in the national diversity of the modern world, journalism and multimedia technologies.
• The importance of learning foreign languages in the modern world.
• Linguistic research of the present: challenges and perspectives.
• Maintaining a healthy environment for future generations.
• Postgraduate research.
• Extracurricular activities and life-long education in foreign languages teaching.
Conference languages: English, German, French.
The New Deadline for full paper submission is set to 30. March
Get more details below: call for papers
