Linguistic Integration of African Students in Ukraine

Kharkiv National Medical University. Source: Sayf Oluwatoki

by Ganiyat Alli

Ganiyat Alli is a second-year doctoral student in History at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Ganiyat focuses on Islam in southwestern Nigeria with a subfield in European and gender studies. Her research examines the historical interactions and influences between Islam and local cultures in the region, while also exploring the intersections of European colonialism, gender dynamics, and Islamic practices. She wrote this blog post for 418 “Languages and Minorities in Europe” in Spring 2023.

INTRODUCTION

One way to win people’s confidence is to be able to communicate with them in their language. They readily warm up to you and treat you as one of their own. The experiences of African International Students in Ukraine lend credence to this assertion. Globalization has gradually changed the world; making the world a hub for various migrations, especially for educational purposes, and compelling students at various levels of education to grapple with social adaptation to their new environment (Babushko et al, 2022). Ukraine’s educational system has been very attractive, leading to an influx of youths from various parts of the world, especially Africa.

The increasing number of international students studying in Ukraine boosts the country’s image and contributes to its economic development (Tsurkan et al, 2020). The president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave the order in 2020 to tackle problems associated with the integration of international students to ease the students’ socio-cultural adaptation into the higher school of learning and, in a broader perspective, into Ukrainian culture as well as to foster an increase in their number (Babushko et al 2022).

This blog post examines the linguistic integration of African students in Ukraine, specifically focusing on the challenges they face in adapting to the Ukrainian language and culture. Through interviews and surveys, I investigate the factors that contribute to linguistic integration, including language proficiency programs, cultural exchange initiatives, and social interaction with local communities. The findings of this research shed light on the experiences of African students and provide insights into strategies for promoting linguistic integration and inclusive education policies.

LEARNING UKRAINIAN

The process of learning Ukrainian as a foreign language at a higher educational level is complicated from the point of knowledge integration (content component) and the point of specificity of communicative activity and heterogeneity of recipients (Tsurkan et al, 2020). In 2017 around 68% of all Ukrainians considered Ukrainian to be their native language (Downer et al, 2018). This makes Ukrainian the state language. Russian is also widely used, while others speak a mix of the two.

African students struggle linguistically in Ukraine. To Seun Oloruntegbe, a former student in Ukraine, it is advisable to learn Ukrainian and Russian, the two working languages in Ukraine, especially since many people do not understand English. In Ukraine, higher education institutions put in place the adaptation program featuring round-table discussions with supervisors of the halls of residence and campus student council (International students in the socio-cultural environment of Ukraine). The program also caters to ethno-psychological and national cultural peculiarities of international students living in the residence hall.

According to Aljazeera (Report, 2022), about 10,000 African students, (about 12.5% of the total population of international students in Ukraine), were studying in Ukraine before the Russia-Ukraine war. Seun affirmed the friendliness of Ukrainians aiding socio-cultural integration but with its challenges. Proficiency in the host language greatly aids successful international adaptation. Moreover, empirical studies prove that the greater the command of the host country’s language, the more stable the adaptation process (Yan and Berliner, 2011).

Omoshalewa, also a former student, sees adaptability as crucial in learning languages as well as cultural norms, customs, values, and communication patterns of the society which allows more involving participation in communication with host nationals and leads to better psychological health. She also identified the inability to communicate with Ukrainian students informally as a considerable hindrance to socialise and, hence learning the language. This is so because many African students did not acculturate prior to getting admission.

Most African students suffer cultural shock, finding the assimilation process cumbersome and socio-cultural adaptation difficult. They do not readily flow with the verbal and non-verbal means of communication, the so-called unspoken rules of communication, not readily acquired in the language curriculum or syllabus. The African students enroll in the Ukrainian language class in their first year in higher institutions. The non-verbal means of communication — gestures, eye contact, body language, and facial expressions — could only be achieved with frequent informal communication with non-elite Ukrainians. Oloruntegbe asserted that the friendly attitude of Ukrainians makes this means of language assimilation easy and possible. No doubt, one needs to be sociable if the language barrier must be dealt with adequately. If the foreigner stays out of trouble Ukrainians are friendly. Understanding the non-verbal means of communication helps a lot here. Real proficiency lies in the mastery of both verbal and non-verbal skills.

UKRAINIAN AID IN LEARNING UKRAINIAN

Ukrainians are uniquely helpful in helping International students to learn Ukrainian. The experiences of Sayf al-Fattah, an African medical student still in school, are instructive. According to Sayf, Russian is easier to learn than Ukrainian, which is more complex. The two languages are similar, so it is a plus to learning the two. Kharkiv is a Russian-speaking region, and learning Ukrainian is more intense. Learning Russian is easier; it is more widely spoken and it is easier to find Russian-speaking Ukrainian to interact with and practice.

Until recently, many Ukrainians did not speak English; the advantage of translating to English to explain is absent and brings additional challenges to learning. Mastering non-verbal communication in Ukraine gives additional socio-linguistic challenges for the African International student. In a grocery store or a supermarket, Sayf explains, the student has to use gestures to buy hair products. Since Ukrainians’ hair texture differs from Africans’, they use hair spray. You rub your hands together and rub them on your head, Ukrainians offer you shampoo, which is not what you want.

When Ukrainians meet a new foreigner who is proficient in Ukrainian or Russian, they are excited and elated; they eagerly go into conversation with such a person. Sayf met a female Senior Citizen in a hospital where he took his ill friend to see a doctor. Seeing that he spoke Ukrainian well and he is a medical student at a particular university, they discussed this at length; she was an alumna of the same school, a paediatrician with thirty years of practice, and she even advised him on how to make successful medical practice. In their excitement when they meet a foreigner who speaks their language well, they become very friendly.

In this digitalized era Google Translate helps someone to learn a language. Ukrainians readily tell you to translate to understand you. In superstores, bus stations, etc., if your card is not working or two people in a conversation are frustrated and it is not rush hour, a Ukrainian readily volunteers to be an interpreter and advises on how the two can master the language; he or she recommends the use of Duolingo (English-Ukrainian, Ukrainian-English). They may tell you their ancestral history or anything to interest you in knowing the language more.

CONCLUSION

Ukrainian universities have adaptation programs that make a smooth sail of the assimilation of students into the Ukraine socio-cultural environment for the period of their study. As gathered from African students, it is often necessary to go the extra mile to develop an informal relationship with Ukrainians so as to get acquainted with the language due to its complicated nature and considering the fact that Russian is also widely spoken, many African students end up being proficient in both languages, verbal and non-verbal.

References:

Maria V. Tsurkan, Anna Ilkiv, Oksana V. Maksymiuk, Ivanna M. Struk and Nataliya O. Shatilova  (2020). Role of Emotional factors in Learning Ukrainian as a foreign language at Higher School (Article in International Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 9, No. 7).

Ann Downer, Anna Shapoval, Olga Vysotska, Iryna Yuryeva and Tetiana Bairachna (2018). US e-learning course adaptation to the Ukrainian context: Lessons learned and way forward by BMI Medical Education,  https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-018-1349-1

Babusko, Solovei & Solovei, L. (2022). How to Smooth International University Students Adaptation in Ukraine. Romanian Journal for Multidimensional Education/Revista Romaneasca Pentru Educatie Multidimensionala, 14(1), 93-114. 

Yan, K., & Berliner, D. (2011). Chinese international students in the United States: Demographic trends, motivations, acculturation features and adjustment challenges. Asia Pacific Educational Review,12 (2), 173-184. https://doi:10.1007/s12564-010-9117-x

Interview chat with Seun Oloruntegbe, a graduate of Electrical Engineering from Kyiv National Technical University.

Interview chat with Omoshalewa, a graduate of Pharmacy from Kharkiv National Medical University (2010-2015).

Interview chat with Sayf al-Fattah, a 500 Level Medical Student of Kharkiv National Medical University, 20/03/2023.

Aljazeera report 2022 retrieved from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/13/african-students-who-fled-war-in-ukraine-fight-to-keep-studying

Posted in: Africa,Ganiyat Alli,international students,Russia-Ukraine War,Ukraine,Ukrainian language