From June 29 to July 3, 2026, Hanna PODOSYNNIKOVA, Head of the Department of English Philology and Linguodidactics, represented Sumy State Pedagogical University at the TESOL-Ukraine 2026 Summer Institute “Classrooms of Courage: Teach On. Teach Strong. Teach with Heart,” held in Odesa under the auspices of the Regional English Language Office, U.S. Embassy in Ukraine.
Dr. Hanna PODOSYNNIKOVA, PhD in Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor, Head of the Department of English Philology and Linguodidactics, Director of the Inter-University Research Laboratory of Modern Technologies of Teaching Foreign Languages and Cultures, Director of the Center for English Language Teaching Excellence, and Vice-President of TESOL-Ukraine, took part in the Institute as an invited presenter. The event was held at the Private Educational Institution “International Ukrainian-Armenian School” (Arcadia district, Odesa) and brought together English language teachers, trainers, and methodologists from across Ukraine. The Institute's keynote trainer was internationally recognized communication expert Mark Powell (United Kingdom), an accredited teacher trainer from Trinity College London.
The five-day program included an opening ceremony, plenary sessions, thematic workshops, experience-sharing sessions, and a closing “TESOL Talks: Big Ideas. Bold Voices. Lasting Impact.” panel. Hanna Podosynnikova presented the workshop “Beyond Words: Digital Storytelling Projects as Tools for SEL and Emotional Resilience in Teacher Training.” During the session, participants explored the concept of multimodality in digital storytelling, connected the stages of creating a digital story to CASEL's five social-emotional learning (SEL) competencies, examined real student entries from the International Digital Storytelling Contest “Life stories to heal and inspire” – an annual contest run by Sumy State Pedagogical University together with the Regional English Language Office, U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, and TESOL-Ukraine – and created their own short digital stories using Storybird, Genially, and Wakelet.
During the Institute, H. Podosynnikova discussed opportunities for further cooperation with colleagues and established contact with representatives of Odesa I.I. Mechnikov National University.
This form of professional engagement once again confirmed that Sumy State Pedagogical University named after A.S. Makarenko is actively contributing to the development of social-emotional learning in Ukraine's English language education, introducing innovative approaches to teacher training, and supporting professional unity and knowledge-sharing within the Ukrainian pedagogical community.