I am the author of the Goodacity blog, a journalist, and a translator. For 16 years, I have worked in professional journalism, contributing to regional and national publications, both in print and online media. I have written reports, conducted interviews, reviews, articles on cultural, social, and charitable topics, as well as materials in the style of "solution journalism" and communication materials.
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In the heat of war, she defended... the Ukrainian language!
“Here you go, woman, a language. / Shoot with it. / Defend yourself till your last breath!” – these lines in Ukrainian by the contemporary poetess Kateryna Kalytko echoed in my mind during our conversation with Mrs. Tetiana. Especially when I heard about the horror she experienced last spring…
“When the ‘orks’ entered our village, I ran into the forest to hide… I took my one-and-a-half-year-old daughter in one arm and grabbed three laptops with all my work in the other – knowing that the Russians would steal or destroy them. For them, Ukrainian language teachers are among the first targets…”
On the Day of Ukrainian Writing and Language – we speak with a Ukrainian language teacher from Nizhyn, Tetiana Buturlym, who defended the language amidst the war. About the language as a shield and weapon, and how easy it is to switch to Ukrainian – read in the article!
Language as a Shield and Line of Defense
Mrs. Tetiana has been teaching Ukrainian language and literature for 19 years, and five years ago, she founded the “School of Success” Language and Digital Education Center, where she educates students and even teachers, assisting anyone willing to switch to Ukrainian.
She has been recognized among the top fifty teachers in Ukraine three times (according to the National Education Award “Global Teachers Prize Ukraine”), and listing her accomplishments could easily fill half an article! Just one resume at 60 pages long speaks volumes! She has won in 72 contests, authored 8 manuals, developed around 300 tests, games, programs, and has about 400 certificates… But that’s not even the most important aspect. The key is that she is someone who is passionate about her work and has been falling in love with the Ukrainian language for many years, both children and adults alike.
As Lina Kostenko says: “Language is the face of a nation”… Let everyone see how wonderful our face is!
“I really enjoy sharing my knowledge. How to interest, inspire to learn Ukrainian? Only by personal example!” says Mrs. Tetiana.
“Well, I love this job! So much so that I work 20 hours a day! Actually, I didn’t want to leave Nizhyn, Ukraine, at the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion. We were preparing for the external independent evaluation with the kids, I thought, how can I leave them…
But my family insisted… My daughter was just over a year old, she had just learned to walk… So we left Nizhyn for our relatives in Bakaivka, 35 kilometers from the city, Ukraine. We thought it would be quieter and calmer there, but it turned out the opposite. The occupiers stationed near the village, there were very fierce battles, something was constantly flying overhead… And the ‘orks’ entered our village three times – flipping everything inside out in the houses, threatening people that they would burn their homes, looking for ‘spotter’. I wasn’t afraid for myself, I was worried for my daughter…”.
Every time the Russian troops entered the village, I would grab my child and laptops and run to the forest.
These laptops contained all my textbooks, all my pedagogical developments, the work of my entire life; I couldn’t allow it to be destroyed. At the same time, I comforted myself with the thought that the main achievement—love and respect from my students—could not be destroyed by any ‘orks.’ And what has been etched into the children’s hearts cannot be erased by anyone…
You know, I truly had no fear—even though since 2014, from the news, I saw and understood that the Russians, by occupying territories, first and foremost seized schools, abducted Ukrainian language teachers… Several times I even contemplated walking the 35 kilometers to Nizhyn, but most roads were mined, and Russian troops swarmed the surroundings. I calmed myself… by working – and worked even though we had no electricity, no communication, absolutely nothing. For a few hours a day, we turned on a generator, I charged my laptop and got down to work—not just to cope with stress, but also because I understood that language is also a weapon… Remember the photo, where in temporarily occupied Mariupol, Ukraine, the Russians are changing the sign at the entrance: replacing Ukrainian with the occupiers’ language or the story with the word “palyanytsia,” which at the beginning of the war became a marker of “us-them”.
During these, the most terrifying 43 days of my life, without light or communication, when shots and explosions never ceased, except for maybe 2-3 hours at night, and the village was terrorized by the occupiers, I recorded and edited five Ukrainian language video lessons, developed 100 personal growth cards, linguistic trainers on orthography and morphology, and continued work on the manual “Organizer for the New Ukrainian School Teacher (an innovative approach to teaching Ukrainian language in 5th grade)”. This was my shield and my line of defense. And when I returned to Nizhyn in early April, I launched a free online project for children “Let’s repeat orthography together!”, understanding how much they needed support at that moment, also held eight webinars for Ukrainian educators, organized an international online intensive, and donated the collected funds to the needs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. I helped in every way I could – and continue to do so today, because I understand that I have the opportunity to be at home and teach thanks to our defenders. There’s a popular saying now: “Thank your teacher that you can read this. Thank a soldier that you can read this in Ukrainian”. And it’s true. Sometimes I think about going to the front myself – but as long as I’m here, I’ll do what I do best. I’m an entrepreneur, yet I carry out some events on a charitable basis: online marathons, webinars, video content on social media. I record video lessons for students and post them on my YouTube channel (now there are over 100!), because I want to popularize the Ukrainian language. Some webinars and online courses can be viewed for free on my YouTube channel”: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeyfPqmd3v-VNpzCHyncuSg “.
In Ukrainian, Please: A Surge of Interest in the Ukrainian Language
“I was educated in a regular rural school in the Ichnia district, Ukraine,” shares Mrs. Tetiana. “I had wonderful teachers, especially in Ukrainian language and mathematics, and later, when I decided I wanted to become a teacher, it was hard for me to choose between these two subjects. But eventually, my choice leaned towards Ukrainian language – my heart was truly in it…
I still remember my Ukrainian language and literature teacher, Valentyna Ivanivna – a soulful and intelligent woman! She was very kind, always supportive, engaging with us. But she was demanding about her subject. I will never forget my first Ukrainian language lesson with her, where I received… a failing grade! Instead of learning the rule, I tried to ‘improvise’ on the topic and as a result – got a failing grade, though ‘in pencil’. It was, of course, a shock (laughs…).
By the end of the day, I had learned the rule and retook it, corrected the grade, and remembered the lesson for life. – After that, I never allowed myself to be unprepared for a lesson. My mom is also a teacher, a former school principal; she inspired me for this work. As long as I remember, I taught my younger sister, and in higher grades, when for various reasons teachers could not conduct a lesson, I was always the ‘backup’: ‘Tanya, please, conduct the lesson’.
So, one could say, I was undergoing pedagogical practice right from school (laughs). I’m so glad I became a teacher and, no matter how hard it was, I never regretted it once.
Five years ago, I founded my ‘School of Success’, and now I’m developing it, putting my soul into what I do, so I’m open to any collaboration that enriches our native language and the methodology of teaching Ukrainian.
There’s currently a huge interest in the Ukrainian language: people all over the world want to chirp like nightingales! “In Ukrainian, please” – is increasingly heard today. Foreigners say: “Out of respect and admiration for the courage of Ukrainians, we’ve taken up learning Ukrainian”. Russian-speaking Ukrainians confess: after February 24, they no longer want to speak the language of the enemy. And, to ensure that interest in the Ukrainian language does not wane over time, it’s important to continue promoting our language in every possible way. Invent new formats of engagement, be creative in Ukrainian, so our language becomes ‘viral’ in a good way. As they say, save the language – and the language will save us. And to those who are afraid to speak Ukrainian, because they consider their knowledge imperfect, I want to say, now is the time to start: if not now, when?! Don’t be afraid or worry – you will succeed! Ukrainian is inspiring, interesting, colorful, it’s awesome! So – in Ukrainian, please!”.
Happy Ukrainian Writing and Language Day, Ukrainians! Language does not live without people. The language needs us! Let’s learn it, love it, and it will make us a Nation!
