Master’s Pre-Defence: Future English Teachers Present Their Research

On 6 November 2026, full-time and part-time master’s students of the programme “Secondary Education (English Language and World Literature)” held the pre-defence of their qualification theses. The online session brought together students, academic supervisors and teachers.

The students presented research that combines modern English language teaching, literary studies and digital technologies. Anhelina Krechun presented her thesis “Integrating ICT into the Study of World Literature: Effective Practices and Methodological Approaches” (supervisor: Prof. Viktoriia Zarva, Doctor of Philology). Kyrylo Zvoryhin spoke about developing pupils’ critical thinking through work with authentic literary texts in English (supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Andrii Moroz, PhD).

Svitlana Mykhailenko’s study “Using Artificial Intelligence in Teaching Speaking to Senior Secondary School Pupils” (supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Iryna Shkola, PhD) drew particular interest. She proposed a system of 12 exercises, from preparatory to communicative, including AI interviews, role-plays and an “AI at School” debate. Ihor Hryhoriev presented a methodology for developing senior pupils’ academic writing skills in English (supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Andrii Moroz, PhD). He designed a step-by-step system of practical tasks and tested its effectiveness experimentally.

Mariia Skrypchenko (supervisor: I. Shymanovych, PhD in Pedagogy) shared her own teaching experience, and her thesis was one of the highlights of the pre-defence. Bohdan Tsymbalistyi presented a thorough study, “Methodological Foundations for Developing Critical Thinking in English Lessons through Task-Based Learning (TBL)” (supervisor: Assoc. Prof. H. I. Tabakova).

Two students supervised by Assoc. Prof. O. A. Dubrova also presented their research. Maryna Herdova explored gamification as an innovative technology for mastering English grammar structures, and Andrii Yurchyshyn examined the use of artificial intelligence and chatbots in teaching English at senior secondary school.

After each presentation, committee members and colleagues asked questions, gave advice on finalising the theses and noted the practical value of the research for today’s schools. The pre-defence was an important step towards the final attestation. We wish our master’s students a successful defence!