In SUNY Broome’s first COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) connection with Ukraine, Katherine Bacon’s Effective Speaking class met with Iryna Liashenko’s English class over Zoom on Monday, 11-17-25. Professor Liashenko’s students at Sumy State University in Ukraine regularly attend class remotely, via Zoom. Although they generally meet earlier in the day, they met later, at 6 p.m. their time, to be able to connect with the SUNY Broome 11 a.m. class.
The SUNY Broome students worked in the hyflex classroom in Titchener, first as a large group, and later meeting up with small groups of their Ukrainian counterparts in Zoom breakout rooms. The US students shared information about their persuasive speeches, and the students from both countries talked about their studies and their interests.
Reflections from Iryna Liashenko, at Sumy State University in Sumy, Ukraine:
The meeting aimed to foster cross-cultural communication and understanding. Students were divided into breakout rooms to discuss topics such as social media, education systems, and personal experiences, with each group sharing insights and reflections. The session aimed to bridge cultural differences and highlight similarities between the two countries.
Despite the current power outage, which affected the participation of Ukrainian students less than they anticipated for this teleconference, those who joined, some sitting in the darkness but connecting through mobile phones, actively took part in discussions demonstrating the highest level of engagement and inclusivity.
For Ukrainian students, this speaking practice was an invaluable authentic practice with US students, but also a possibility to share their real-life experiences on how to live and study at the university during the war. Students were actively engaged in speaking, even with some language errors, since this practice was a speaking therapy / laboratory for them. The topics they were talking about were social media, future careers, education systems, free time and personal experiences.
The US students actively supported their virtual guests and kept the conversation going, sometimes patiently repeating what they had said for those Ukrainian students who struggled with catching the new pronunciation.
Reflections from Katherine Bacon, at SUNY Broome:
Iryna and I worked closely together to make the plan for this one-time meeting. She is the technical expert who made it happen and I concur with all that she has written. I would like to add that my hat is off to the SUNY Broome speech students and the Ukrainian students who took part so eagerly in this wonderful opportunity.
SUNY Broome students tried to stay open and let the Ukrainian students take the lead on what was discussed. In a few groups the subject was about our public speaking course, the types of assignments and how it is all put together. Beforehand the US students agreed to have them see the titles of their Persuasive speeches and that led to some discussion. BOCES was discussed and some Ukrainian students said they wished they had an entity like that.
They discussed the areas of interest as Iryna noted, social media, video games, sports, and personal goals. The US students were impressed with the fact that the Ukrainian students spend much of their time studying and doing school work, often because they cannot go out. And though there were awkward moments due to very limited time and language, technical and power issues, they seemed to feel it was an “eye opening” experience. It was especially pleasing to me to see them all conversing and making this special opportunity happen.
Professor Kathleen McKenna was present the whole time and extremely helpful in bringing this together. From our end it wouldn’t have happened without her support.
From both professors:
Such meetings are critically important for this generation. To become global citizens, they must understand the world from multiple perspectives, being able to be aware of all possible ways to develop themselves and their countries.
A note from Kathleen McKenna, the SUNY Broome COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) Coordinator:
Kudos to both teachers and their students for their creativity and flexibility in making this opportunity happen! Faculty who are interested in collaborating with their peers elsewhere in the world should reach out to me. I’m very happy to support you throughout the whole process. mckennakm@sunybroome.edu.
Submitted by: COIL
Tags: Diversity
