CGI U 2016: Commitment to Action

Gendered Influence on Language Teacher Identity in Ukraine

In April, Clinton Global Initiative Institute holds a conference that brings people from different countries to discuss their projects - commitments to action. I have applied for the conference and was chosen to present my project, as well as hear valuable feedback from the conference attendees. Below is the description of my commitment to action:

My research interest is Gender and NNES Teacher Identity in Ukraine. More specifically, it relates to the gender having an impact on the formation of the teacher’s identity. I would also like to touch upon some of the problems teachers face in the system of Ukrainian education and what impact it has on the students, like the problem of teaching Standard English (British variant). The gender topic has not been discussed in the Ukrainian education sphere, so I would like to fill in that gap. I would like to focus on the problem of female dominance in the Ukrainian English teaching field. I am also interested in the ways of national identity formation of the English teachers. As our nationality has a strong impact on us, especially because of the war.

There are specific goals for my research study. Primarily, they are:

1. To understand how gender influences language teacher identity in Ukraine

2. What problems do female and male teachers face in local context?

3. Nonnative/native speaker teacher identity in the Ukrainian university.

4. The "Western" English standard and actual English in Ukraine

5. Silencing the gender differences in Ukrainian context.

Planned activities:

June-July 2016 - data collection (interviews, surveys with local English language teachers)

August - November 2016 - compiling all the information, writing articles about the issue.

September 2016 - attending the Women in Making conference, presenting my research.

November 2016 - presenting my research at Three Rivers TESOL conference in Pittsburgh

December 2016 - Presenting my research at the IUP.

May 2016 - defending thesis.

June-August 2017 - implementing my research into a summer course for English language teachers on identity formation and Gender influence. Location - Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine. Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University

May 2016 - presenting proposal at the 51st TESOL conference

The topic of gender is silenced in academia. When I entered the Specialist’s program at my university in Ukraine, I had to write a thesis. My research interest was Gender differences in Second Language Acquisition. However, my advisor suggested another topic for me, as gender is not explored in Ukraine, so I would not have a literary support. However, I did not stop dreaming about researching the topic of gender in the sphere of English language education. I participated in the Fulbright program and proved that this is a necessary research to be done. I am happy that I am able to research a topic of my interest and I am sure it will benefit not only me as a researcher, but my fellow classmates and teachers in Ukraine as well.

My ultimate goal is to introduce a specific course into my university curriculum, which will be Teacher's Identity. I understand that it will be hard to do, as it will be against the rules and system, though I hope that after my summer course for English Language teachers, this course will be interesting for the majority of students. Before introducing this course, I will conduct a survey for students, where I will explain the purpose of the course and the outcomes. Therefore, my impact can be determined in the number of students interested in this course and their practices after the course, so to say, their understanding of the course's goals and objectives.