Student Spotlight: Sociology Professor Fiona Greenland Learns Ukrainian to Support her Work and Travels

University of Virginia faculty always bring such fascinating goals and research interests to their language courses with Speak! As you’ll read, Sociologist Fiona Greenland is no exception.

Fiona, tell us a bit about yourself by way of introduction. Have you studied languages in the past? 

French, German, and Italian are my primary languages for speaking and reading. I love the challenge of studying languages and the reward of thinking and communicating in different ways, with different people.

What initially motivated you to learn Ukrainian with Speak! and our teacher, Tatiana? 

About a year ago, I joined a research project that documents cultural heritage destruction in Ukraine by Russian forces. I made my first trip to Ukraine in February and decided then that I needed basic literacy and speaking skills in order to do the project well. Speak! matched me with Tatiana, and she has been a fantastic teacher of the language and guide to the history and culture of Ukraine.

What are your language-culture learning goals, both in the short and longer term? 

Short term, I hope to be able to greet and have a basic conversation with the people I meet in Ukraine. Long term, I would like to develop sufficient fluency to read Ukrainian texts about contemporary society and politics, and listen with full comprehension to native speakers when I visit one of Kyiv’s many excellent coffee shops.

What do you find most fascinating about the Ukrainian language? 

Its beauty! As I’ve learned from Tatiana, this is a language with many layers of meaning. One of the examples she taught me is туга. It means longing for something. In Ukraine right now, it’s also being used to express a dispirited nature when people are not able to do what they want, see the people they love, or visit the places they miss. I am also fascinated by the history of the language, and the Greek letter forms that speak to Ukrainian’s ancient roots.

Fiona with her teacher, Tatiana, at Speak!

What do you enjoy most about your lessons and one-on-one course with Tatiana? 

Tatiana has a lot of experience teaching Ukrainian to English speakers, and it shows. Every week, she brought topics and examples that illuminated the vocabulary and grammar points. This really helped me overcome my shyness about making mistakes or stumbling over pronunciations. Best of all, she is passionate about Ukrainian culture, history, and people, so I learned about those things, too. She has become a friend as well as a teacher.

Anything else you’d like to add, Fiona?

“Just a note of encouragement to readers who are thinking about tackling a new language but aren’t sure how to get started: Speak! is a great place to take the first step.”