History of the Department

The unit was established in 2002-2003 out of the Theory and Practice of Translation Department which was a Branch of the Institute of International Relations at Kyiv National University named after Taras Shevchenko. At various times in the department’s history, it has been led by the philologist Dr A. Hudmanian (at present Professor and Director of the Institute of Humanities of Kyiv National Aviation University), Dr O. Mochar (1952-2008), as well as E. Esenova, Dr K. Dolhosh and L. Sidun. The success of the educational process is ensured by qualified departmental staff who are constantly improving their skills in various training centres, including those beyond Ukraine.

As for the 2014 – 2015 academic year the department consists of 10 lecturers. The teaching of foreign languages ​​such as English, German, French and Slovak is provided at a high scientific and methodical level. In the near future senior lecturer M. Veresh and senior lecturer L. Sidun will present their theses. K. Dolhosh, M.Selmenska, N. Kurah, O. Bordakova, O.Khudzei, A. Devitska and V. Boitor are on maternity leave. Professor I. Zymomrya, Ph. D. and member of the National Union of Writers of Ukraine, is Acting Head of the Department.

The Theory and Practice of Translation Department is actively involved in training professionals in the field of “International Economic Relations” and “Country Studies” as part of their degree programs, qualifying them as professional translators in the respective foreign languages (English, German and French). The educational process at the department adopts a humane approach to the training of experts, seeking the all-round development of a student’s personality, putting in relief all of his abilities, and so providing the opportunity for a deeper and more successful approach to academic materials. This aspect is especially important in the light of contemporary globalization. Today there is a constant need for translation services to facilitate the conclusion of business agreements, the signing of contracts and the implementation of international projects.

 The departmental staff provide the foreign language teaching ​​according to their own concept, maintain close ties with leading scientific and methodological institutions for training experts in international relations, such as: the Institute of International Relations of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, as well as higher educational institutions such as Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Ternopil V. Hnatiuk National Pedagogical University, Lesia Ukrainka Eastern European National University,Yurii Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, Taras Shevchenko National University of Luhansk, Oles Honchar Dnipropetrovsk National University, Taurida National V.I. Vernadsky University, Borys Hrinchenko Kyiv University, Drohobych State Pedagogical University of Ivan Franko, Kirovohrad Volodymyr Vynnychenko State Pedagogical University, Freie Universität Berlin (Germany), Polonia Academy in Częstochowa (Poland), Higher humanistic school in Gdansk (Poland), Poznan School of Banking (Poland), Poznan University of Technology (Poland) etc.

The scientific and research activity of the department is focused upon the area of translation within the sphere of international relations and the understanding of national cultural interaction. The research issues are systematically discussed at the permanent scientific seminar. The research conducted by the department bears fruit in the form of papers delivered at scientific and methodical conferences at various levels and articles published in professional scientific and methodical journals. In recent years more than 150 scientific articles have been published and two theses have been presented (K. Dolhosh, O. Khudzei).

The scientific interests of the lecturers cover a wide range of areas. Among them it would be appropriate to single out the theory and practice of translation (I. Zymomrya, M. Veresh, I. Kalynych, L. Sidun), interlinguistic and intercultural communication, the theory of literature and comparative literature (I. Zymomrya, O. Polishchuk, L. Sidun), contrastive and cognitive linguistics (E. Esenova), lexicology and stylistics (I. Zymomrya), terminology (I. Kalynych), the methodology of foreign language ​​teaching (V. Boitor, O. Polishchuk, L. Ratsiuk, L. Rak), the formation of readiness of the Faculty of International Relations students to their professional activity by means of foreign languages (N. Drabov, O. Polishchuk).

The professional and linguist abilities of members of the department are underlined by the internships they have completed in the various countries whose languages are taught by the department (including Great Britain, the USA, France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, etc.). The courses offered boast a strong methodical framework embodied in curricula, methodical guidelines, standardized testing and multiple-choice responses, with supplementary materials for video, and linguaphone courses. Professors and lecturers teaching in the “Foreign Languages” speciality actively collaborate with the professors teaching in the economic and legal spheres facilitating the integration of language and professional courses. Students are also involved in scientific research. At the annual Student Conference, “The Theory and Practice of Translation” section is always active, with reports given in foreign languages. The results of scientific research conducted by students and professors are used to improve the quality of the educational process.

The faculty manages translating internships for the students of the International Relations Faculty based on the Department of Foreign Economic Relations for European Integration, the Cross-border Partnership of the Regional State Administration, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Uzhhorod, the Regional Coordination Centre for Security Organization and Co-Operation in Europe, the Chamber of Commerce, the Regional Customs Office, the Department of Investment and Foreign Economic Activity and Tourism of  Uzhhorod City Council, the Institute of State Management and Regional Development at UzhNU, UzhNU Department of Foreign Relations, the Department of Literature and Foreign Languages of the UzhNU Scientific Library, private business, and joint projects and agencies.

The departmental staff initiate a variety of educational and extracurricular activities carried out in foreign languages at the Faculty of International Relations such as​​:

• various group projects e.g. "The role of advertising in modern business" and "Modern English: its variants and their features"
• wall-posted newsletters in foreign languages
• the celebration of Interpreter’s Day
• the celebration of cultural events with competitions and quizzes
• the organization of meetings and tours for guests of the university and  foreign students.

The scientific achievements of the department

Monographs:

"Emma Andiyevska’s novels: psychological discourse"; "Austrian literature: models of the text reception"; "Short Prose by Thomas Bernhard: context and reception of genology"; "Short Austrian prose of the twentieth century: the artistic universe" (I. Zymomrya)

Study guides, lecture courses, methodical recommendations:

“English for Professional Communication” (O. Mochar); “Socio-political vocabulary for students of international relations faculty. Part 1” (O. Mochar, E. Esenova, I. Kalynych); “Socio-political vocabulary for students of international relations faculty. Part 2” (H. Humeniuk, M. Selmenska, L. Sidun); “Grammar: English articles and their usage” (O. Mochar, E. Esenova, V. Boitor, L. Sidun); “Guidelines on analytical reading of the English Language” (A. Devitska); “Shopping” (A. Devitska, N. Drabov), “Travelling and holiday” (E. Esenova, V. Boitor); “Guidelines on doing the translation practice training for the international relations faculty students” (K. Dolhosh, I. Kalynych, O. Polischuk, M. Veresh, O. Ratsiuk); “Sport” (I. Kalynych); “Business English Correspondence. Guidelines on business writing” (L. Sidun ); “Spoken topics in German for students of the international relations faculty (second foreign language)” (M. Veresh, K. Levchak); “Conversational topics in English for students of the international relations faculty (second foreign language)” (L. Sidun);  “Formation of students’ readiness for creative professional activity by means of a foreign language: Guidelines” (K. Dolhosh); “Das Verb: German grammar for students of the international relations faculty in 2 parts. Part 1” (K. Dolhosh, M. Veresh); “Das Verb: German grammar for students of the international relations faculty in 2 parts. Part 2” (M. Veresh, K. Dolhosh); “Das Substantiv: German grammar for students of the international relations faculty” (K. Dolhosh, M. Veresh); “Der Mensch: conversational topics in German for students of the international relations faculty” (K. Dolhosh, M. Veresh); “Guidelines for practical training in a first foreign language (German, conversation)” (M. Veresh); “Lexical difficulties of the French language” (O. Pavlova, O. Ratsiuk); “French. Guidelines for students of the international relations faculty” (O. Pavlova, O. Ratsiuk); “Speak English with Ease” (L. Sidun); “The Verbals” (L. Sidun, O. Polishchuk, N. Drabov); “Listening for Law Students: tutorial” (O. Polischuk); “German. Part I. Textbook” (I. Zymomrya); “German-Ukrainian speaking workshop” (M. Zymomrya, V. Lopushansky, G. Shvets, I. Zymomrya); “German-Polish speaking workshop” (M. Zymomrya, R. Müller, V. Lopushansky, I. Zymomrya); “Textual interpretation with the language of purpose. Textbook” (M. Zymomrya, O. Bilous, I. Zymomrya); “Phraseology: significant values. Textbook for students of foreign languages faculties” (I. Baran, M. Zymomrya, O. Bilous, I. Zymomrya); “Practical Course for the second language: texts and tasks for home reading. Textbook” (V. Vyshynsky, N. Sokolovsky, I. Zymomrya); “Text, System, Theory of Poetry. Textbook” (I. Zymomrya).

Translations:

Dmytro Pavlyčko. Europas Fürstin. Gedichte. Ukrainisch und Deutsch / Deutsch von Jona Gruber, Irena Katschaniuk-Spiech, Iwan Zymomrya, Mykola Zymomrya; hrsg. und mit einem Nachwort von Mykola Zymomrya» (Dresden: Thelem, 2010);

Anatoly Moisienko. Poetry. Gedichte. Translations into Russian and German / Compilation, editorship: I. Zymomrya; trans. from Russian: O. Briginets, L. Vysheslavsky, V. Drobot, O. Rudyakov, V. Shevchenko, V. Shtylveld; translation from German: A.-G. Gorbach, E. Erb, I. Zymomrya, M. Zymomrya (Kyiv-Drohobych: Kolo, 2013).