Former US F-16 instructor pilot finally learns Ukrainian

Although I already had some knowledge of Russian when I came to Ukraine, I’ve long wanted to become fluent in the language of the country that has become such a big part of me. And now I’ve taken some real steps toward learning Ukrainian.

Apparently I am not the only one who wants – or needs – to speak Ukrainian.

In Russia’s Donbass regions of Kursk and Belgorod, including the areas occupied by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Ukrainian is even being used again. I have heard anecdotes from Ukrainian friends with acquaintances and relatives in Russia from these areas who switched from the language of Moscow and St. Petersburg to that of Kyiv, Lviv and nearby Sumy.

Recently, a Kyiv Post correspondent returned from a deployment in Kursk and said that when he spoke to Ukrainian soldiers in Ukrainian, they often responded in Russian if they were from eastern Ukraine. Locals in their 70s and 80s who have spent their entire lives in the Russian region, on the other hand, spoke to both our American correspondent and AFU members in Ukrainian.

[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, having studied it on my own and having bought Rosetta Stone for $600, among other things. I had switched from Polish because this Slavic language is useful in Poland and a neighborhood in Chicago.

The first Slavic language I learned was Polish. I was a flight instructor at the International Military Training (IMT) center for F-16 pilots from all over 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 Wing, conducted all the training for the Polish Air Force’s F-16 pilots, just as it now does for the Ukrainian F-16 Viper pilots. As recently integrated NATO members in the West, these Polish student pilots inspired me to learn their native language.

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

The DLI rates language difficulty for American native English speakers in four categories, with Category 1 being the easiest (e.g., Spanish) through Category 4 being the most difficult (e.g., Japanese).

Category 1 includes the Romance languages ​​(French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian). Although English belongs to the Germanic language family, Category 2 includes Danish, German, Norwegian – and Indonesian!

Slavic languages ​​are in Category 3 of the DLI, along with Hebrew, Hindi, Tagalog, Thai and others.

What seems daunting at first is the alphabet. While some Level 4 languages ​​use picture words, such as Chinese characters transcribed into Japanese kanji, many Slavic languages ​​use a modified Greek alphabet introduced and modified by the monk St. Cyril in the 9th century. Some West Slavic languages ​​use a modified Latin alphabet with certain markings added.

However, many East 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 and change 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, like I and myself, he and him, she and her. But in Ukrainian, there are seven cases, depending on how the word is used or in which part of the sentence it appears.

After a long time of finding my way around Ukraine, I decided (finally) to learn the local language formally. At a recent Big Meet event in Kyiv, I learned about Language Lab, who were able to offer real training by a qualified teacher at their school.

After over a month of learning, I can say that choosing Language Lab was a great decision. The backstory I learned about their organization made me especially happy that I chose them. They customize the program to each individual’s needs, interests and goals.

So I chatted with the founder, Ksenia Golubytska, about her work, her teaching approach, and her entrepreneurial spirit that makes her a great resource for Ukrainophiles, adopted Ukrainians (i.e. expats 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 that teaches Ukrainian to foreigners in person and online, for individuals and companies.

Why is it a laboratory and not just a school? What makes your school different from others?

I think it is the added value that we offer in our student community, which we continue to develop with a family atmosphere, support, cultural immersion, and various language events and other meetings.

What does it offer expats like me living in Ukraine?

Foreigners living in Ukraine who do not speak Ukrainian have difficulties in daily communication, work and social interaction, which leads to a feeling of isolation. This makes it difficult to just go shopping, don’t you think?

Yes, I agree. I start by asking if the salesperson speaks English when it’s more complicated than pointing and saying “one kilo, please”.

Kyiv Post has a lot of readers in the US and Canada. Looking at our population structure, I would say that we have a large number per capita in Canada, which I think is due to the Ukrainian diaspora. What do you offer the diaspora, their descendants and other foreigners who want to learn Ukrainian?

We have quite a few of them among our online students. For foreigners abroad, especially in the US and Canada, especially those with Ukrainian roots feel isolated 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 that your company improves the opportunities of Ukrainian women.

Yes, Language Lab is a woman-founded company and all team members are women. That’s part of what makes us special.

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

And we really want to contribute to the progress and recovery of Ukraine and create more employment opportunities for Ukrainian women.

How did you start this school?

I founded Language Lab in 2016 as an English school with a total investment of only $3,800. Due to demand, we soon started teaching Russian and Ukrainian languages. When the large-scale invasion began, we focused specifically on Ukrainian.

I gather from our discussions so far that you have attracted some international attention.

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

This is the only Ukrainian project among the four winners; all the others are Portuguese. AWE is a program that has been running in nearly 100 countries around the world since 2019 and is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State to support women’s entrepreneurship.

In the third version of the 2023-2024 programme in Portugal, 46 projects (Portuguese and Ukrainian) participated, 24 projects were admitted to the final round and four received awards, one of which was Language Lab.

What makes you so happy about this language lab you founded? What achievements are you proud of, Ksenia?

Perhaps my greatest achievement at this point is that I managed to start a business with an initial investment of $3,800, despite having no knowledge of business, marketing or economics in general, but with 100% dedication and hard work.

Or that we have not stopped working for a single day, not even during the COVID-19 pandemic and at the beginning and throughout the invasion. The physical office in the center of Kyiv has been operating all these years.

I think it is important to emphasize that Language Lab has existed for almost eight years without any marketing or PR, relying solely on the quality of its services, the persistence of the team and word of mouth from students.

Since spring 2024, we plan to focus on marketing and PR to achieve our big goal: to grow the business and become a benchmark for Ukrainian teaching in Ukraine, Canada and the USA, and to promote Ukraine internationally.

Our teachers apply a modern communicative approach to language teaching that prioritizes real-life communication over memorization. However, to provide a structured and holistic approach, our courses integrate vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation and the four language skills – listening, speaking, reading and writing – while incorporating cultural elements for context.

Our curated learning materials combine the latest textbooks with tailored resources to ensure a comprehensive and up-to-date learning experience. These materials are tailored to each student’s ability level and learning style and are selected to optimize language acquisition and fluency.

What are the qualifications of your staff? What is the educational level of your teachers? And your achievements so far?

First, 100 percent of our lecturers are professional linguists with a degree in philology, some have a doctorate, others a master’s or bachelor’s degree.

As for our track record, we have over 7 years of activity with proven results. Concrete statistics show that we have had over 800 satisfied students, held over 50,000 lessons and successfully organized over 100 language, cultural and other events.

How can our readers contact Language Lab if they want to find out more?

Your readers can find out more on our website:

You can also find us on LinkedIn:

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