Former US F-16 Instructor Pilot Finally Learns Ukrainian

Though I came to Ukraine with some experience in using Russian, I have long wanted to be fluent in the language of the country I have so much taken as a part of myself – and now I’ve taken some real steps in this journey toward being a speaker of the Ukrainian language.

Apparently, I’m not alone in wanting – or needing – to speak Ukrainian.

There is even a resurgence of usage of Ukrainian in the Russian Donbas areas of Kursk and Belgorod, including those areas incurred by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). I had heard anecdotes from Ukrainian friends with acquaintances and relatives in Russia coming out of these territories of switching from the language of Moscow and St. Petersburg to that of Kyiv, Lviv and nearby Sumy.

Recently a Kyiv Post correspondent returned from reporting in Kursk and said that often when he spoke Ukrainian to Ukrainian soldiers, those originally from Eastern Ukraine responded in Russian. On the other hand, locals in their 70s and 80s who had resided their whole lives in the Russian region spoke in Ukrainian with both our American correspondent and AFU personnel.

[Incidentally, the locals were interested in humanitarian aid from the AFU, most commonly asking for potable water.]

My experience with Slavic languages

I came to Ukraine with some Russian language after self-study including a $600 purchase of Rosetta Stone. I had switched from Polish – because that Slavic language is useful in Poland and one neighborhood in Chicago. 

The first Slavic language I started learning was Polish. I was an instructor pilot at the International Military Training (IMT) center for F-16 pilots from around the world. This included new pilots from the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Greece, Portugal, Italy, Singapore, Chile, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Poland - to name a few.

My flying unit, the 152nd Fighter Squadron conducted all the training for the Polish Air Force F-16 pilots, as it now does for Ukraine’s F-16 “Viper” drivers. As recent NATO members integrating with the West, these Polish student pilots inspired me to start learning their native language.

The US Department of Defense (DoD) has one of the best language schools, widely respected by linguists worldwide – the Defense Language Institute (DLI). It trains Americans going to certain overseas posts, such as embassies, in immersion courses in Arabic, French, Mandarin, Polish, and many other languages at a Monterey, California facility and teaches English to foreign students coming to training programs or exchange tours with US military units.

The DLI has a four-category rating system for language difficulty for native speakers of American English, with Cat 1 being the easiest (e.g., Spanish) to Cat 4 the most difficult (e.g. Japanese).

In Cat 1 are the romance languages (French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian). Though English is part of the family of Germanic languages, Cat 2 includes Danish, German, Norwegian - and Indonesian!

Slavic languages are Cat 3 at DLI, along with Hebrew, Hindi, Tagalog, Thai, and others.

What initially looks daunting is the alphabet. Whereas some languages in tier 4 use picture words, like Chinese characters, adapted into Japanese kanji, many Slavic tongues use a modified Greek alphabet introduced and modified by the monk St Cyrill in the 9th century. Some Western Slavic languages use a modified Latin alphabet, with certain markings added.

However, many Eastern Slavic languages use the Cyrillic alphabet. In these languages, the Cyrillic letter Ж is like the French J and the Ukrainian И is like saying ee or i while swallowing your tongue.

But that’s the easy step. Not only do they conjugate verbs, changing them depending on the subject, but these languages also decline all nouns, adjectives, and quantifiers, such as numbers. These noun cases in English are mostly limited to personal pronouns, such as I and me, he and him, she and her. But in Ukrainian, there are seven cases depending on how the word is used or in what part of the sentence it appears.

After fumbling my way around Ukraine for a long time, I decided to (finally) commit to formally learning the local language. At a recent Big Meet event in Kyiv, I learned about Language Lab which could offer some real training from a qualified teacher in their school.

After over a month of study, I can say that the selection of Language Lab was a great choice, and the backstory I learned about their organization made me especially happy I selected them. They tailor the program to what each individual needs, what they are interested in, and what their goals are.

So, I had a conversation with the founder, Ksenia Golubytska, about their operation, approach to teaching, and the entrepreneurial spirit that makes them a great resource for Ukrainophiles, adopted Ukrainians (i.e., expatriates like me), and the Ukrainian diaspora.

My interview with Ksenia Golubytska, founder and director of Language Lab

Hello, Ksenia. What exactly is Language Lab?

Hi, Chris. Language Lab is a language school to teach Ukrainian to foreigners, in-person and online, for individuals and companies.

Why is it a laboratory and not just a school? What sets your school apart from others?

I think it’s the added value we provide in our student community that we keep building with a family-like atmosphere, and the support, cultural immersion, and various language events and other meetups.

What does it offer to expats, like me, living in Ukraine?

Well, foreigners living in Ukraine without knowledge of the Ukrainian language face difficulties in daily communication, work, and social interactions, leading to feelings of isolation. It makes it hard just to go shopping, wouldn’t you say?

Yes, I agree – I start by asking if the shop assistant speaks English when it’s more complicated than pointing and asking for “a kilo, please.”

Kyiv Post has many readers in the US and Canada. Looking at our demographics I would say per capita we have a large number in Canada, which I think is the Ukrainian diaspora they have. What do you offer to the diaspora, their descendants, and other foreigners interested in learning Ukrainian?

We have quite a few of them among our online students. For foreigners abroad, yes, mainly in the US and Canada, especially those with Ukrainian roots feel disconnected without knowing the native language of their ancestors. And, of course, they are looking for ways to express solidarity and support for Ukraine.

I understand your business is advancing opportunities for Ukrainian women.

Yes, Language Lab is a woman-founded business, and all the team members are women. It is part of who we are.

Our overall goal is to become the benchmark for teaching the Ukrainian language in Ukraine, Canada, and the US, and to promote Ukraine internationally.

And we genuinely want to contribute to the advancement and recovery of Ukraine, as well as create more employment opportunities for Ukrainian women.

How did you start this school?

I started Language Lab as an English language school in 2016 with a total investment of only $3,800. Very soon, demand led us to begin teaching the Russian and Ukrainian languages, and with the onset of the full-scale invasion, we have focused specifically on Ukrainian.

I understand from our previous discussions that you have received some attention internationally.

That’s true. One recent achievement is that our project won one of the prize places in the AWE (Academy for Women Entrepreneurs) program in Portugal [where Ksenia currently resides] and won a grant of $3,000 for development.

This is the only Ukrainian project among the four winners; all the others are Portuguese. AWE is a program held in almost 100 countries worldwide since 2019 and is sponsored by the US State Department to support women’s entrepreneurship.

In the third version of the 2023-2024 program in Portugal, 46 projects (Portuguese and Ukrainian) participated, 24 projects were admitted to the final pitch, and four received awards, one of them being Language Lab.

What makes you so happy with this Language lab you’ve created? What achievements are you proud of, Ksenia?

Perhaps the main achievement at this point is that I managed to start a business with an initial investment of $3,800, with zero knowledge in business, marketing, or economics in general, but with a hundred percent dedication and hard work.

Or that we haven’t stopped working for a single day, even during the COVID-19 pandemic and at the beginning and throughout the full-scale invasion. The physical office in the center of Kyiv has also been operational all these years.

I think it’s important to emphasize that Language Lab has existed for almost eight years without any marketing or PR, relying solely on quality service, the team’s perseverance, and word-of-mouth student recommendations.

Now, since the spring of 2024, we plan to focus on marketing and PR to achieve our big goal – to grow the business and become a benchmark for teaching the Ukrainian language in Ukraine, Canada, and the US, and to promote Ukraine on an international level.

Our instructors employ a modern communicative approach to language teaching, prioritizing real-life communication over rote memorization. However, to have a structured and holistic approach, our courses integrate vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and the four language skills – listening, speaking, reading, and writing – while also incorporating cultural elements for context.

Our curated learning materials blend the latest textbooks with custom-designed resources, ensuring a comprehensive and up-to-date learning experience. Tailored to each student’s proficiency level and learning style, these materials are selected to optimize language acquisition and proficiency.

What about the qualifications of your staff? What’s the education level of your teachers? And your track record?

First, 100 percent of our instructors are professional linguists with a degree in philology some with PhDs, and others with master’s or bachelor’s degrees.

As for our track record, we’ve had over 7 years of operation with proven results. In actual statistics, we’ve had over 800 satisfied students, conducted 50,000 plus lessons, and successfully organized more than 100 language, cultural, and other events.

How can our readers get in touch with Language Lab if they want to learn more?

Your readers can learn more on our website: https://languagelab.ua/about-us

They can also find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lngglab/

Thank you very much for your time, Ksenia! And for helping me be a better American-Ukrainian!