BridgeUSA Ukrainian Fellow Spotlight: Dr. Nataliia Safonova

By Larissa Martins, LSI Communications Assistant

From a childhood passion to a revered teaching career, Dr. Nataliia Safonova has dedicated her life to advancing English education in Ukraine. As one of four BridgeUSA Ukrainian academic fellows hosted by Florida State University (FSU), she has spent this past summer in an immersive pedagogical experience that increased her expertise, best practices, and research interests.

During the intensive month-long program, Dr. Safonova engaged with FSU mentors, attended workshops, explored campus facilities, and participated in various enriching academic and cultural activities. She initially applied for the fellowship in hopes of growing as an educational leader by improving her teaching methods and curriculum, and she ended up leaving with an expanded repertoire, as well as meaningful partnerships with FSU faculty members.

A natural-born leader, Dr. Safonova is a professor in the Department of English Philology, the director of the Master’s Program for English Teachers, and is responsible for international cooperation efforts in the Department of English Studies at Oles Honchar Dnipro National University. She also presents webinars and seminars on innovative English teaching methods for senior educational trajectories in the Dnipropetrovsk region of Ukraine. 

Additionally, Dr. Safonova’s role as an associate professor for pre-service English teachers inspires her to continuously seek innovative techniques to implement in her classroom. During her stay at FSU, she enjoyed visiting several advanced English classes taught by different instructors. 

“I’m impressed by the extent of the unique methodology of teaching the language,” remarked Dr. Safonova.

One of Dr. Safonova’s favorite teaching methods involves using poetry. She prints out poems by writers like Emily Dickinson for students to read and analyze and also engages them in creative tasks such as writing haikus. 

“We try to do some activities to make them not only speak the language but understand the language and feel it emotionally,” Dr. Safonova explained. “Mostly, my interest now is to teach English on the basis of literature, especially American poetry, because it develops critical thinking, and we also understand that poetry is very emotional.” 

Dr. Safonova believes that tapping into students’ emotions is highly beneficial for learning. During her fellowship, she deepened her knowledge on social and emotional learning practices through FSU’s mental health programs available and a three-day mental health training with Angi Yoder-Mania, Director of FSU’s Resilience Institute.

Dr. Safonova’s interest in social and emotional learning began when she participated in a project by the Regional English Language Office at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv. She continues to incorporate the approach in her teaching practices and encourages her students to do the same. One simple way she utilizes social and emotional learning is by taking five minutes to check in with her students before each class, a routine she finds especially important given the current state of emergency in Ukraine.

Upon arriving at FSU, Dr. Safonova was surprised to discover the university’s commitment to creating and maintaining a task force to assist Ukraine’s developing needs amidst the war. She noted how the Ukraine Task Force played a pivotal role in organizing programs that catered to each fellow’s interests while connecting them to different departments at FSU. 

“I’m really impressed by FSU’s Ukraine Task Force here and by the dedication of our coordinator Dr. Vilma Fuentes,” said Dr. Safonova. “It seems they are ready to help us and give us a hand of support.”

Upon returning to Ukraine, Dr. Safonova intends to share her newly acquired knowledge with her university colleagues, such as the benefits of creating a structured syllabus. She also plans to immediately start modernizing the English Teacher Master’s Program curriculum. In the future, she’s hopes to conduct research on the combination of Ukrainian and English culture with FSU’s Dr. Robert Romanchuk and Dr. Lisa Ryoko Wakamiya. 

“I am just happy to have been selected by Florida State University,” stated Dr. Safonova. “I met a lot of amazing people and it’s fantastic place to stay and study different methods of education.”