“Teaching Business English in Eastern Europe: Why and How?”

BESIG together with Dnipropetrovsk University of Economics and Law and Yalta University of Management were pleased to host this event in Yalta, Crimea, Ukraine on 19–20 May 2006 which was a great success. To read a thank-you note from the conference organisers please click here.

The following is an excerpt of Nick Brieger's account of the conference in Yalta. For the full article please see the next issue of the BESIG newsletter, free to all members. If you are not yet a member of BESIG why not join now!

The city of Yalta is situated on a shallow bay facing south towards the Black Sea, surrounded by wooded mountains. Having flown into Simferopol late in the evening, my first experience of my surroundings (from the 5th floor balcony window of the sanatorium where we were staying) was an expanse of sea and wonderful warm sunshine.

The 2-day conference was hosted by the Yalta University of Management, whose attentive team of administrators, caterers and technicians ensured that things ran according to schedule and to plan. Behind the scenes, Oleg Tarnopolsky’s firm hand (and Svitlana Kozhushko’s more gentle touch) ensured that every detail in the planning and execution was seamlessly attended to. Organising a conference on this scale is no mean feat and many others contributed to the preparation of the event, including Prof. Boris Kholod, Rector of Dnipropetrovsk University of Economics and Law and Leonid Vasilievykh, Rector of Yalta University of Management . (Dnipropetrovsk is Oleg’s home university and was the host of the 1st Business English Conference in Eastern Europe).

The talks themselves brought together Business English practitioners from a range of backgrounds, sharing their experiences and enriching our understanding and future practices. The cast of usual (and nouveau) BESIG suspects was complemented by leading Ukrainian scholars in the field of EFL and foreign language teaching in general, including Professors Sophia Nikolaeva, Leonid Chernovaty, Nina Sklyarenko, and Olena Petraschuk. And between organising us all, Oleg Tarnopolosky even managed to fit in a session from the podium. No account of the conference would be complete without some words about the social aspects. Our outings, blessed with appropriate late spring sunshine, took in a host of historical and cultural visits, including the Massandra winery, where, after a very informative tour round the wine-making facilities, we were invited to sample the wines of the Crimea. An invitation which was much appreciated by all. Sampling the local cuisine was also catered for through two memorable events. The first was blinis (a thin pancake filled with sweet or savoury goodies) at the restaurant inside the last Tsar’s summer holiday palace. And the second was the conference dinner for all the participants, which provided an opportunity to practise our social skills.

Sunday night was very short. At 4 o’clock as I was whisked off back to Simferopol by a boy (taxi) racer, whose reassuring knowledge of the 70 kilometre road helped to keep my blood pressure down. Next time I’d like to try a more sedate form of transport - the longest (54 miles) trolleybus line in the world.

Many thanks, Oleg. Many thanks to your team. A truly memorable event.

Chair of the Organising Committee Prof. Boris Kholod (Rector of Dnipropetrovsk University of Economics and Law) and Co-Chair Prof. Oleg Tarnopolsky opening the conference.

Delegates in the conference auditorium

Emma-Sue Prince, BESIG coordinator, greeting the conference from BESIG

Associate Professor Dr. Kimberley Brown from Portland State University (USA) giving her talk

Associate Professor Dr. Susan Conrad from Portland State University (USA) giving her talk

Emma-Sue Prince giving her talk

Chris Scott-Barrett from UCLES speaking about Cambridge BEC exams

Nick Brieger giving his talk at the conference

Sabrina Mallon-Gerland giving her talk at the conference

After the conference dinner - delegates

Chris Caridia and Pat Pledger, current/former committee members. Simona Mitocaru, Olesia Lupu and Luminita Cocarta from Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Iasi, Romania.