Bridget Goodman
The working title of Bridget's dissertation is "Language, Education, and Policy in the Borderland: Ethnography of a Medium-of-Instruction Policy at a University in Ukraine."
"In plain English," Bridget explains, "I'm based this academic year (2010-2011) at a university in Ukraine that is teaching courses (economics, later psychology) in English. I'm observing classes of first through third year students, and later I plan to conduct interviews with teachers and students."
Teaching classes in English at high schools and universities is a growing trend worldwide, but is almost unheard of in Ukraine.
Understanding what English means at this university at this time can help us understand two aspects of society. One aspect is the relative status of the Ukrainian language (the official state language) and the Russian language (the language of power in the Soviet Union and the preferred language in a big eastern city like Dnepropetrovsk) as compared to English.
The second is understanding better Ukraine's relationship with Russia and the European Union, and the role that teaching in English plays in that. For example, part of the reason courses are being taught in English is that this university is developing a joint-degree program with a university in Wales.
A more recent development in the research is that students from Nigeria are planning to take courses here as well. That raises new questions about both ethnic diversity and language diversity as it relates to teaching in English as Nigerian students are not likely to speak British or American English, the two main varieties that are valued here (in that order).