One of the largest international forums dedicated to teaching, researching, and promoting the Ukrainian language outside Ukraine — the 3rd International Scientific and Practical Conference “Ukrainian as a Foreign Language in Poland” — took place on June 12–13 at Jagiellonian University in Kraków, with the support of the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation.
Over 100 scholars, teachers, researchers, education managers, and students from Poland, Ukraine, Austria, France, Italy, and Canada attended the conference. The event was held under the honorary patronage of the Embassy of Ukraine in Poland.
Ukrainian as an Official Matura Language
The 3rd Conference took place against the backdrop of historic changes for Ukrainian language education in Poland. In May 2026, Polish school graduates sat the national school-leaving exam (matura) in Ukrainian as a foreign language for the first time. Ukrainian has thus officially become one of the languages available for selection alongside English, German, and French.
According to the head of the conference organizing committee, Associate Professor at the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences Paweł Lewczuk, interest in Ukrainian in Polish schools has grown significantly since the introduction of curricula and the first matura exam.
“Poland is the only country in Europe where the teaching of Ukrainian within the national education system is developing. From September, we plan to introduce Ukrainian in five more educational institutions. The Polish experience of integrating Ukrainian into the Polish education system shows that the status of Ukrainian is changing — it is already showing signs of becoming an important language in the educational space of other countries,” Lewczuk emphasized.
Today, Ukrainian is taught as a second or additional foreign language in ten Polish schools.
The Threat of Linguistic Assimilation
One of the central themes of the conference was the threat of the gradual loss of the Ukrainian language among children from Ukrainian families who have been living in European countries since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Conference participants stressed that learning Polish, Czech, German, or other languages is a necessary condition for successful integration, but it must not come at the cost of losing one’s native language.
Yaryna Yasynievych, Program Director of the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation, addressed the conference participants. She noted that Ukraine is experiencing a historic moment: whereas previously the focus was mainly on preserving the Ukrainian language in the diaspora, Ukrainian is now increasingly establishing itself as a full-fledged foreign language in European universities, schools, and educational centers.
“Along with this comes a growing responsibility — to create standards, methodologies, curricula, and quality materials. That is why the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation supports this conference and the development of Ukrainian language education in Poland,” she said.
The “Koreni ta Kryla” Program and the Foundation’s Educational Initiatives
The Foundation supported the development of a curriculum for teaching Ukrainian as a second foreign language in Poland and is implementing educational initiatives for Ukrainian children across Europe.
In particular, through the “Koreni ta Kryla” (Roots and Wings) program, coordinated by Nataliia Omelchuk, Ukrainian children and teenagers in the Czech Republic and Denmark have the opportunity to maintain their connection to the Ukrainian language, history, and culture.
“The native language is not just a means of communication. It is access to one’s own history, culture, contemporary Ukrainian thought, and a living connection to Ukraine regardless of where one lives,” Yaryna Yasynievych emphasized.
The “Ukrainska Shchodnia” Handbook
The conference also saw the presentation of a free digital handbook titled “Ukrainska Shchodnia” (“Ukrainian Every Day”), created on the basis of research into children’s multilingualism and family language policy.
The handbook was authored by Olha Shevchuk-Kliuzheva and Paweł Lewczuk.
The concise booklet contains “30 small steps for a big language story” and is designed to help parents develop their own family language strategy and support the Ukrainian language in their child’s everyday life. You can download the material here:
Organizers and Partners
The event was held under the honorary patronage of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Poland, Vasyl Bodnar. Partners of the Conference included the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation, Donbas State Pedagogical University, and the Department of Ukrainian Language at Borys Hrinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University.
Media partners: the Ukrainian-Polish Media Platform and Radio Opole.
