In one of my most brilliant moments over these last few
weeks on Thursday 3rd of March my Ukrainian lesson went
ahead. This was from Kyiv and was as scheduled. This
lesson was translating a Ukrainian test about war. This
included a lot of jokes about news reports I have seen,
memes and social media. It also included a lot of realities
of a country now at war. In a very short amount of time
Yelyzaveta pointed out how language is changing. Some of
this text is in Russian, some in Ukrainian and there are
derivates of Russian, Ukrainian and English works all
merging. There are also examples of language shifting,
changing, shortening and becoming more brutal, abrupt and
derogatory to adapt to new circumstances in Ukraine. This
is fascinating. This lesson was moving and an
emotional experience.



Text extract 2022. Source: Yelyzaveta Taranukh.



Ukrainian Lesson notes 2022. Source: Author.



Ukrainian Lesson notes 2022. Source: Author.

My homework from two weeks ago is about normal life in
England. This was in response to a Ukrainian textbook piece
about normal life in Ukraine. Reflecting back on this is
heartbreaking. Whatever happens in Ukraine from now, things
will always be different. My text describes average
family life, lifespan, occupation and hobbies in UK.
Ukraine’s boundaries and borders are shifting and changing and
will forever be different as from this moment.



Ukrainian Homework Звичайний британський 2022.
Source: Author.



Ukrainian Homework Звичайний британський notes. 2022.
Source: Author.


I am learning grammar using podcasts on ukrainianlessons.com.
My Ukrainian Duolingo is now complete. I have
loved this and it has been a brilliant way to practice
and learn a lot of vocabulary. My practice now is more
grammar, reading, writing, speaking and translating. I am
reading a lot of Ukrainian articles and social media posts.



Duolingo 2022. Source: duolingo.com, n.d.



References:

Duolingo (n.d.) Duolingo: Learn [Online]. Duolingo. Available from: <https://www.duolingo.com/learn> [Accessed 5 March 2022]

Ohoiko, A. (2020) Ukrainian Lessons [Online]. Khmelnytska, Ukraine: A. Ohoiko. Available from: <https://www.ukrainianlessons.com/> [Accessed 5 March 2022]