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Three
of the most exciting years of Kyra Janssen's life were in the
early 1990s when she taught English to elementary and secondary
schoolteachers in the Czech Republic.
Describing herself as "restless to undertake another challenging
overseas assignment in a country in transition," Janssen
applied for and won a Fulbright award to teach ESL at Kharkiv
State Polytechnic University (KSPU) in Ukraine. She was confident
that the experience she had acquired in the Czech Republic could
easily meet the specific needs of Ukraine's educational system.
Janssen taught in the newly created Department of Foreign Languages
for Specific Purposes. This department, created in 1999, provides
instruction for students in a variety of scientific and technical
fields through languages other than Ukrainian or Russian. She
conducted classes for students whose major fields were applied
mathematics, information systems and economics. The aim of Kyra's
work in this department was two-fold: to increase students' skills
in English while amplifying their technical vocabularies.
Besides teaching in the English for Specific Purposes (ESP) Department,
Janssen was also involved with the university's Program for Retraining
Women Scientists. This program helps female engineers and scientists
who are either unemployed or underutilized in the workplace. One
of the ways it empowers these women is by increasing their knowledge
of the English language. To this end, Janssen conducted seminars,
assisted in developing their library, reviewed grant proposals
and provided consultation on program planning.
Janssen also explained many aspects of American culture to faculty
and students. "I wrote a short piece for the Fulbright Ukraine
Newsletter about our Halloween and Thanksgiving celebrations in
Kharkiv, and co-authored, with my department chair, an article
on cross-cultural issues in the academic environment which was
published in the Spring 2000 edition of the quarterly magazine
American Language Review," she says.
Antonina Badan, department head for foreign languages for specific
purposes at the university, lauded Janssen's contributions. "The
most exciting part of Kyra's staying here is her willingness and
readiness to launch all kinds of out-of-class activities….in
fact she became an inseparable part of our department in spirit."
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