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Ukraine's Wartime Classrooms: Shifting Ideologies of Bilingualism.

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Ukraine's Wartime Classrooms: Shifting Ideologies of Bilingualism.
Authors: Kudriavtseva, Natalia
Source: Sociolinguistic Studies; 2025, Vol. 19 Issue 3/4, p283-303, 21p
Subject Terms: UKRAINIAN language, BILINGUALISM, IDEOLOGY, ACADEMIC discourse, ETHNOGRAPHIC analysis, LANGUAGE acquisition
Abstract: The article examines the language practices in a Ukrainian language classroom in Kherson that functioned as part of a grassroots language popularization project known as Free Ukrainian Language Courses. The primary focus of the study is on language ideologies underpinning classroom discourse shaped by the instructor's aim to extend Ukrainian to adult L1 Russian speakers as a second language. The data analyzed in the article come from ethnographic observations of Ukrainian language classes conducted before and after the 2022 full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine during 14 months in total. The interviews recorded with the courses' instructors, including the instructor from Kherson, are also included in the analysis presented in the article. The findings reveal that two seemingly contradictory positions—separate bilingualism and flexible bilingualism (the latter also referred to as translanguaging)—are simultaneously played out in classroom discourse. While the "separate" position demarcates and reifies identities, a heightened concern in the time of war, translanguaging serves to facilitate language acquisition, creating a "safe space" for students transitioning from Russian to Ukrainian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Abstract:The article examines the language practices in a Ukrainian language classroom in Kherson that functioned as part of a grassroots language popularization project known as Free Ukrainian Language Courses. The primary focus of the study is on language ideologies underpinning classroom discourse shaped by the instructor's aim to extend Ukrainian to adult L1 Russian speakers as a second language. The data analyzed in the article come from ethnographic observations of Ukrainian language classes conducted before and after the 2022 full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine during 14 months in total. The interviews recorded with the courses' instructors, including the instructor from Kherson, are also included in the analysis presented in the article. The findings reveal that two seemingly contradictory positions—separate bilingualism and flexible bilingualism (the latter also referred to as translanguaging)—are simultaneously played out in classroom discourse. While the "separate" position demarcates and reifies identities, a heightened concern in the time of war, translanguaging serves to facilitate language acquisition, creating a "safe space" for students transitioning from Russian to Ukrainian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:17508649
DOI:10.3138/SS-19-3-4-0003