Ukrainian University Mulls Cooperation With Malaysia On Malay Language Studies

By Noor Bakhtiar Ahmad

KYIV, Oct 3 (Bernama) -- Building on the success of its Indonesian and Vietnamese language programmes, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv is now looking to expand its Southeast Asian language repertoire to include Bahasa Melayu.

The university’s Educational and Scientific Institute of Philology Director, Hryhorii Semeniuk, said the institute sees potential to further expand its Southeast Asian language studies owing to a strong demand for Asian languages.

The institute currently teaches 33 languages, including Bahasa Indonesia, and its experience in developing Indonesian studies showed the importance of cooperation with the relevant country, Semeniuk said.

“Looking at the success of Indonesian and Vietnamese language studies, we would like to introduce other languages such as Malay and possibly Filipino (Tagalog),” he said when met here, recently.

Semeniuk said the university’s Centre for Indonesian Language and Literature was established in 2015 with the assistance of the Indonesian Embassy.

Cooperation with Indonesia had begun even earlier, with the Indonesian government sending an Indonesian language lecturer to the university in 2014.

“Students have also benefited from scholarship programmes that allow them to further their studies and undergo language immersion in Indonesia,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Hennadii Tereshchenko, 21, who holds a bachelor's degree in Indonesian language and literature from the university, welcomed the proposed introduction of Bahasa Melayu studies.

“Bahasa Melayu is somewhat similar to Bahasa Indonesia. Learning Bahasa Indonesia is not too difficult, so I feel if Bahasa Melayu is introdcued, it would also attract the interest of students,” he said.

Tereshchenko, who now serves as a Bahasa Indonesia tutor at the university, said learning the language had helped him better understand Southeast Asian culture and society.

-- BERNAMA