Nataliia Goshylyk is a lecturer in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, where she teaches Ukrainian. Dr. Goshylyk received her M.A. in Philology from Lesya Ukrainka Volyn State University, and her PhD in linguistics from Kharkiv National University. She is the recipient of the Berkeley Language Center Summer Fellowship in 2022, as well as a U.S. Fulbright Scholarship from 2021-2022, and she was an Erasmus Mundus Ianus II recipient in 2015, where she did research in Graz, Austria. Some of her main areas of focus include ecolinguistics, language pedagogy, and media discourse analysis. She currently teaches introductory Ukrainian, and advanced readings in Ukrainian.
What are your main research interests within the Department of Slavic languages and literatures? What courses do you teach to undergraduates?
I am a lecturer in the Slavic languages and literature department here at Berkeley. It is my third year of teaching. I came here in 2021; I was the Fulbright Research Scholar. I got the Fulbright Scholarship in Ukraine, where I was an Associate Professor in the English Philology Department. My main research focus has always been linguistics and media discourse analysis.
I came here to do research because I focus on ecolinguistics. My research project was about the social media narratives that work with ecological identity, sustainable ways of thinking, and the ways that Americans are trying to verbalize these aspects. I came here and was affiliated with the Berkeley Language Center and was working with Professor Emerita Claire Kramsch.
After the war started in 2022, I was lost and confused. I wasn’t sure what to do. My two young daughters were here going to schools, and we weren’t sure whether we could go back. These were the decisions that had to be made quickly. I heard about this position in March, and I wasn’t sure what was going to happen in Ukraine – on the first day of war, they bombed the city I was from and it was in Western Ukraine, far away from the frontline. I decided to apply for the position. After some interviews and demo-lessons, I was lucky to get the job and right now I am teaching.
The courses I have taught here are courses connected with Ukrainian language, literature and culture, and Ukraine itself. I have taught introductory and continuing Ukrainian courses, that are purely linguistic – language courses. I also have taught courses like ‘advanced readings in Ukrainian’ and I have a summer course about Ukraine: its history, identity, society, and environment. In this course, you can actually see the way that I was trying to combine all my spheres of expertise. The focus is Ukraine itself.
After I started teaching here in the Slavic Languages and Literatures Department, I’ve had to shift the focus. In a nutshell, for 20 years I was working with the English language in Ukraine, just to come to the US and start working with the Ukrainian language and culture. I’ve had to switch that a bit, but I try to combine. The theoretical frameworks I have been working with can be applied to different materials and from different perspectives for Ukrainian studies. I was trying to look at the way the Ukrainian identity is emerging. One of the articles I have co-authored was connected with the Ukrainian diasporic identity.
While I look at identity from the social-constructivist perspective, I was trying to see how Ukrainian Americans from the Ukrainian diaspora perform their Ukrainian identity on the individual and institutional level. I was looking at Ukrainian-American nonprofits. That was a way of combining my theoretical expertise with Ukrainian studies. I have to use all of the knowledge I have to advance the field as much as I can, on both the research level and also the language-speaking level.
Many people learning Ukrainian right now are likely invested in the political circumstances in Eastern Europe. I was wondering if you could speak more about how you can keep cultural appreciation and political awareness in mind when teaching or learning a language? Or is this something that you haven’t seen come up as much in classes?
It’s impossible to keep these things separate. As people, we aren’t learning language as a signal system. It’s not as though they are only signs you need to learn in order to communicate. We have to learn everything that comes with the sign – with the word itself. I am always trying to bring as much culture to class as possible, even in the introductory level. Of course students have to learn vocabulary and grammar, and some of the students know other Slavic languages or have heard Ukrainian from their grandparents or friends, but they are aware that to know a language can mean so many meanings. We are talking about reading in the language, speaking in it, writing it, listening comprehension. These are totally different levels. That’s why I ask every student to set two learning goals for the semester, and I emphasize that there are so many different levels, but I just want them to focus on something tangible that they can achieve. It’s important for self-reflection and self-assessment for students to be active participants in their learning. I’m only a small part of their learning, and they are more important than I am.
There’s an ecosystem we’re trying to build in the classroom, and it is influenced by so many factors – by the situation in Ukraine, by the culture, by the materials that I’m bringing, and by us. This ecosystemic approach is my focus. In ecolinguistics, we try to think about the language and everything that surrounds the language as an ecosystem. We are not separating the human, the environment, and the language – they are all influencing each other.
What is your advice to undergraduates who are attempting to learn a new language for the first time?
First of all: Don’t ever be afraid. It’s a very smart decision to start learning a new language. Neuroscience proves that we have to work on our brains; it can be compared to a muscle that has to exercise every day. It helps us open our world view. If people only know one culture and one language, they have limited capabilities. If they learn a different language, they will know more. My advice would be not to be afraid of making mistakes, being confused, or of failure. We all have different learning preferences. We have to try out and work out the best possible algorithms for us. You have to try and fail for success to come. Success should not be the ultimate goal; that’s the process.
If you decide to embark on this learning journey, that’s the journey you will be taking your whole life. When we are learning the language, we are intimidated by our limited capabilities, and there’s a myth that we will never reach the level of a native speaker. What is this imaginary native speaker? Our main goal should be to express ideas and comprehend at different stages of language learning, and have concrete aims. Try to make a detailed plan, and work in small chunks every single day. If something is not working, try something new, and learn from your mistakes, build on this process.
How have you seen AI affecting language learning and pedagogy? I was wondering if you would be able to discuss both the positive and negative effects you’ve seen of AI with language models?
That’s a very important topic, and I’m very happy that we focus on it here at the Berkeley Language Center. There is a group of people who created this space for every educator who wants to think about the AI influx. AI influences our life and language learning. We have to take that into account. I’m always telling students that there are times when AI can be helpful, but I would say that my students are reluctant to use AI. They want to perform themselves, which is a great thing. Some assignments have to be AI-proofed – if I don’t want students to use AI on their assignments, I very specifically tell them.
In our first classes, we always discuss ground rules and expectations, AI included. There will be some assignments where I don’t want AI, and I want students to use their ability to form sentences, and respond, and write. But there are some assignments where students can check their mistakes using AI. It can be a kind of tutor, which can show and explain mistakes. If students want to do that, they can of course do so. Generally, students I have want to do things on their own and don’t want AI to tell them what the sentence should sound like. AI can be helpful when writing, but cannot help with speaking or listening. Students have to train themselves, and create those neural connections which will be the basis for their future success in language.
Can you speak about teaching for UC Online?
Yes. When I started in 2022, I was teaching online, and now I’m teaching in a hybrid mode. Some students are in the classroom on campus, while some are on the big screen over Zoom. I had my fears about that. I was very conscious about making this an inclusive space. I wanted everyone to feel they were participating in the maximum capacity, despite their whereabouts. I’ve had to re-think some of the assignments, and, overall, I’m totally used to this format. It’s great that students from other UCs can join online. No other UC campus offers Ukrainian – I’ve had students from UCLA, Santa Cruz, Davis and other campuses. It’s also really good for students in Berkeley. If they get sick, they can come online and participate nevertheless.
I know that you received your graduate degrees in Ukraine. What were the main differences between pedagogy in Ukraine and in the US? What would you recommend to students who are thinking of getting their advanced degrees in Europe?
Of course, there are differences. I was always thinking, “What would I do if I were a student in the US?” but I’m certain it would be pretty similar for me. I would read books and study. That’s what I see my students doing, and that’s what I was doing back in Ukraine.
I was lucky enough to have many great teachers in Ukraine. For instance, the supervisor of my Master’s Degree thesis was on Fulbright here in Berkeley, and she came back in 2002 with this copies of Journal of Pragmatics. That was a rare thing. You just can’t imagine how scarce the resources were. We didn’t have so many internet resources; everything is online now but that wasn’t the case 20 years ago. She came back with this journal from Berkeley, and she pointed out a few articles, and told us that that would be the theoretical framework for my master’s thesis. That was fantastic. It was very challenging, but it was great.
Students here feel the responsibility for their own studies, and I also felt that when I was a student in Ukraine. At the same time, there are, of course, many differences. Since 1991, Ukrainian educators have been trying to rethink and abandon Soviet practices and work in terms of academic integrity and responsibility in a very broad sense. A tiny but tangible example: when a professor has a course, it is great when there are assessment criteria, and we didn’t have that before. Right now, with all of the connections between Ukraine and other European countries, as a result of numerous projects, Ukrainian syllabi have that. Moreover, it would be great for American students if they were able to go to any university in Europe for a semester or two because they would be able to compare things. Even though American universities are ranked best in the world, and it’s something we are proud of, comparison can be helpful for individual students. Then, they can take the best from all the systems they are in.
Can you speak more about your experience as a Fulbright scholar, as well as generally about the Fulbright Program for students who may be interested in applying?
Fulbright is a fantastic program. I encourage everyone to apply. When I was in Ukraine, I got my degree in English linguistics, and after graduation, I started working in the International Relations Office at the university. I was the head of the department after a few years, and only afterward did I pursue my graduate studies. I always worked with foreigners who came to the university. I also know Polish, there were many scholars coming from Poland, as well as PeaceCorps volunteers and Fulbright visitors. I always appreciated all the people who came to Ukraine and worked at the university. I can say that it helped me learn languages. It’s great when people are coming to a country; the students appreciate the effort. It helps to build the context between cultures.
Fulbright is a very competitive program. About ten scholars are selected across the country in Ukraine, and the first time I applied I didn’t get it. So, if you don’t get it the first time, don’t give up. I had the most wonderful time here. Afterward, everything has been shadowed by war, but because of that, I also met a huge amount of wonderful people who wanted to help.
I also knew that when you are coming to an American university, you have to be proactive about your stay. Don’t be shy. That’s something that I had to learn. I’m not the person who would step in all the time, though I love to participate. I had to learn to be proactive. But that was the most wonderful time of my life.
That was the second time I was on a research stay, but this was the first time in the US. The first one was the Erasmus Mundus program funded by the European Commission. I won a scholarship to go for one month at Graz University in Austria. It is a wonderful city. If you ever have a chance to go to Austria, go to Graz. I met one of the co-founders of ecolinguistics. His name is Alwin Fill. I was working with him on an article on ecolinguistics, where I was trying to look at the conceptual metaphors in sustainable discourse. I was trying to show that discourse reframes some of the regular metaphors. So, a basic metaphor we use would be “more is good,” but with sustainable development discourse, some new metaphors appeared, like “less is good”.
I have been lucky to have a few great research stays, which give me the time to think and work. Time is one of the most valuable assets. You need time to get your ideas onto paper and into the world. Those research stays give time and a change of scenery, which is always very helpful for any kind of academic or professional development.
What book would you recommend to everyone reading this interview?
We recently had a visit from a Ukrainian writer who is currently in residence in Pittsburgh. His name is Volodymyr Rafeyenko, and I want to recommend his book, “Mondegreen: Songs and Death and Love.” This book was translated into English and published at Harvard University Research Institute. The word mondegreen means a mishearing or misinterpretation of a phrase in a way that gives it a new meaning. The author is from the East of Ukraine, and he worked and lived there as a publisher. In 2014, he was forced to leave Donetsk and relocate to Kyiv, and being on the train, he decided to switch to writing in Ukrainian rather than Russian. The book tells about a refugee professor with similar life experiences who is struggling with dislocation and languages. The novel has an extraordinary figure of a mare’s head, a Ukrainian fairy tale figure, which brings up a question of the coexistence of real and imaginary elements in our lives. It’s a book about languages and identity, so that’s why I would recommend it to everyone.