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Ukrainian teaching staff and students with Polish visitors
in a classroom at the English Philology Department
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In December 2012 six students from the English Department of the Jagiellonian University had a chance to visit Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University in Ivano-Frankivsk in Ukraine. Their trip to Ivano-Frankivsk was a part of the joint DICE (Developing Intercultural Competence through English) Project between the English Department at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków and the English Philology Department at Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University in Ivano-Frankivsk. During their stay they visited classes conducted by Ukrainian teachers and presented some aspects of Polish culture to their hosts.
That is what they said about the visit:
- This trip was a splendid opportunity to get to know more about the Ukrainian culture and get a first hand experience of participating, even for a short time, in the life of Vasyl Stefanyk University. Direct contacts with Ukrainian students and being able to share our cultural heritage with them was a valuable experience which made our stay in Ivano-Frankivsk unforgettable.
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| Polish and Ukrainian students with prof. A.Nizegorodcew in front of the Precarpathian University in Ivano-Frankivsk |
- Undoubtedly, the stay in Ukraine raised our intercultural awareness. It gave us a real insight into the way Ukrainian people behave, communicate and perceive the world around them. We had a chance to meet many wonderful people! We were received with great hospitality and friendliness.
- I have always thought of visiting Ukraine and the project between the Jagiellonian University and Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University created a great opportunity to finally get there. Before arriving in Ukraine, I had very few presuppositions about the country as a whole. I must admit that the December visit was an occasion to get to know Western Ukraine, its culture, the system of education and most importantly about its people, who turned out to be very friendly, open, and exceptionally hospitable. The trip helped me to increase my knowledge about our neighbour country and gain some insight into the culture.
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Polish and Ukrainian students with prof. A. Nizegorodcew
in the cake shop 'Cukiernia' in Ivano-Frankivsk
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| Polish students at the Polish "Orleta" Cemetery in Lviv |
- In order to communicate with our fellow students from Ivano-Frankivsk we used mostly English but on some occasions we also attempted to communicate in our national languages, which was a really funny experience. Also, we had a chance to participate in two classes at Vasyl Stefanyk University.
- The most striking difference between Polish and Ukrainian systems of higher education seems to be the age at which we get into universities, the Ukrainians about two years earlier than we.
- Unfortunately our trip took only a week but I came back home with unforgettable memories. I would definitely like to come back to Ukraine and find out more about this country.
We would like to thank Yakiv Bystrov Ph.D., Head of the English Philology Department of the Precarpathian University for inviting us to Ivano-Frankivsk. We would also like to thank the following students of English Philology for their exceptional hospitality during our visit: Natalya Romanchukevych, Tetyana Kovalinska, Diana Dolchuk, Natalya Haftunyak, Lilya Herasymiv.
