Language biography of a teacher in the study of the dynamics of the language situation in school education in Ukraine

Abstract

The article outlines trends that indicate the dynamics of the language situation in Ukraine in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and their manifestation in school education. It is noted that the most significant impact on the field of school education is exerted by the following dynamic processes in language interaction: Communicative strengthening of the Ukrainian language in unofficial and semi-official domains, a widespread transition to Ukrainian in daily communication, and civil society’s involvement in language usage regulatory measures. Changes in the status of languages, the factual transformation of the Ukrainian language into a language of interethnic communication in Ukraine, the decline in the prestige of the Russian language, a reassessment of the roles of languages in the educational ideals of Ukrainians who no longer want their children to learn the Russian language, strengthening of civic initiatives aimed at creating a Ukrainian-language educational environment. Involvement of civil society in choosing language policy instruments in the field of education. Expansion of active language interaction in new linguogeographic areas. The effectiveness of the method of language biographies is substantiated by investigating socially determined relationships between components of the language situation in the educational sector of a linguistically heterogeneous post-totalitarian society. The language biographies of teachers are analyzed in the context of post-colonial deformations of the language situation in school education, which represents an attempt to apply this research method within the macrosociolinguistic paradigm. The conclusion is drawn regarding the prospects of studying the state and conditions of language functioning in the field of education based on language biographies, to develop effective mechanisms for strengthening the communicative position of the state Ukrainian language in the sphere of school education and providing recommendations for enhancing the language competence of educational professionals as a fundamental condition for the sustainable development of the education system in Ukraine. Keywords: language biography, language situation, language policy, language personality, language behavior.