Czech Center in Kyiv
As Radio Prague notes, Czech Centers organize not only concerts, exhibitions and various socially significant events outside the Czech Republic – they also strive to attract interest in the Czech language. The volunteer program of the Czech Centers, which has generated considerable response among Czechs, is intended to serve this purpose. It gives Czech citizens the opportunity, during a three-month stay, to become more closely acquainted with Ukrainians, Ukrainian realities and cities. Czech as a foreign language is taught in a total of 14 Czech foreign centers, and the greatest interest in these courses is shown in Ukraine.
– In Kyiv, the first enrollment for a course with 20 students was opened in 2004. Gradually, interest in the Czech language also increased among residents of more remote regions, and since 2013, largely thanks to the activity of the current director of the Czech Center in Kyiv, Lucie Řehoříková, Czech has been taught in six Ukrainian cities: Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Vinnytsia. This autumn, 410 people signed up for Czech language courses in Ukraine, says Ladka Kotrba, coordinator of educational programs within Czech centers.
– What, in your opinion, primarily spurred Ukrainians' interest in learning the language? Hopes for employment and study in the Czech Republic?
– Yes, undoubtedly. People want to get a job in the Czech Republic, find more acceptable working conditions here. The course participants in Ukraine, I must say, are not just motivated, but motivated to an extreme degree. They are very eager to learn the language, and they surround their teacher with attention and care, go together for coffee, dinner, meet outside of class, and also organize various parties.
– How is the satisfaction of educational needs on the one hand and the proper quality of teaching on the other ensured?
– We are trying to find a mechanism to create certain conditions. In addition to permanent lecturers who work in the Kyiv center, we must ensure the presence of lecturers in more remote regions of Ukraine. Most often this is achieved thanks to university students. We have signed cooperation agreements with the Faculty of Arts of Charles University and the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen; the universities now send their lecturers to Ukraine for a three-month period, and there is no need to obtain Ukrainian visas. The academic year is divided into trimesters, and teachers teach during one trimester. Our lecturers do not necessarily have to be Bohemists; we are primarily looking for independent people with charisma who want to teach. We will familiarize interested individuals with the teaching methodology.
Alexandra Vojtíšková is one of the volunteer lecturers who have joined the mentioned program. At the Czech Center in Kyiv, she taught Czech from January to April of this year (classes are held twice a week, lesson duration 90 minutes). What brought her to Ukraine?
– My interest in this initiative is partly explained by the fact that I graduated from university with a degree in Ukrainian Studies. I was attracted by the opportunity to spend three months in Ukraine, especially after the Maidan took place there, as we were flooded with information about events in Ukraine. I also wanted to try myself as a teacher. I aimed to visit different places, visited six Ukrainian cities where branches of the Czech Center operate, and also met with my colleagues doing similar work. This helped me get to know Ukraine better.
– Did you notice significant differences between what you saw during your stay and how everyday Ukrainian life was presented in the context of Czech media?
– I had already been to Ukraine before, so I was able to somehow filter the reports of our media, but seeing everything with my own eyes – nothing compares to that. My colleagues had the opportunity to talk about everything in an informal setting with local residents, to ask them questions. Overall I can say that I felt safe everywhere. I know that some people might have feared trips to Dnipropetrovsk or Kharkiv. My impression: these cities live their own lives, but the fact that there is a war nearby is certainly felt. A ceasefire does not mean peace; you encounter military personnel on the streets, but again, that does not mean you are under direct threat there. Ukrainians are a very warm-hearted people, and seeing that you are a foreigner, they try to protect you.
– Who mostly attends the Czech language courses?
– In our courses, there were several people interested in employment in the Czech Republic, and quite a few medical workers. There were also lawyers. In my groups, students predominated, young people dreaming of getting an education in the Czech Republic. These are very diligent and capable people; almost all of them deserve great praise, says Alexandra Vojtíšková.