Belonging, Conflict and Loss: Learning Ukrainian Online During COVID-19

Abstract

This paper draws on findings from a duoethnography of two adult, heritage language learners of Ukrainian who began language learning online during pandemic restrictions. In duoethnography, researchers place life histories side by side with the goal of sharing multiple understandings of a social phenomenon. In this paper, we weave our life histories together to find meaning in how we are learning Ukrainian online during the pandemic and the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict. The differences between us, including race and proximity to heritage language speakers, have affected our upbringing and development as people but they haven’t affected our emotional attachment to Ukrainian. We recognize this same attachment in the adult diasporic learners we meet through online classes. Ultimately, our narratives of belonging and acceptance in an online language learning community may have something to offer language education researchers and practitioners working with communities of diasporic heritage language learners.

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