The Shape of Ukraine's English Future Is Beginning to Emerge: Volunteer Conversation, Professional English and AI Point Towards a Distributed, Specialised Model of Language Learning

This working paper develops an argument about the possible future of English-language provision in Ukraine. It examines how volunteer conversation, professional and project-based programmes, specialist human expertise, and potential AI-supported rehearsal could serve different roles in a distributed model of learning. The paper distinguishes three elements that are already observable—volunteer access, professional relevance, and expert judgement—from AI-supported rehearsal, which remains a design proposition. It identifies transfer to new situations as a central unresolved challenge and considers the implications of Ukrainian language policy, occupational requirements, EU accession, and reconstruction. The paper does not claim that these developments establish a uniform commercial market; it also examines risks and the political questions surrounding English and Ukrainian.