Updated: 7/1/2026
History of the Department
The history of the department dates back to May 1992, when the Department of German Language was established at Kherson State University. It was headed by S. M. Soldatova.
On 1 July 2017, the Department of German and Romance Philology was established through the merger of the Department of German Language and the Department of Romance-Germanic Languages. The department was a graduating unit and provided instruction in German, French and Spanish. Over the years, its academic staff included N. V. Romanova, L. A. Kovbasiuk, I. V. Hoshtanar, O. V. Holotiuk, O. M. Honcharenko and others.
The department trained students in the programmes Secondary Education (German, French, Spanish Language and Literature) and Philology (Germanic Languages and Literatures, including Translation; First Language – German). Its academic staff also contributed to the teaching of foreign languages within other philological and non-philological programmes.
Since July 2026, the department has been named the Department of Romance-Germanic Languages and Intercultural Communication, reflecting the expansion of its educational, research and professional profile.
Research Activities
The department's research focuses on Germanic and Romance studies, linguistics, literary studies, intercultural communication, linguoculturology and foreign language teaching methodology.
Its research has been conducted within the following themes:
- Linguistic and Speech Units of the German Language: Structure, Semantics, Functions, History (No. 0116U005790), led by N. V. Romanova;
- Functional-Pragmatic, Cognitive-Discursive and Linguocultural Aspects of the Study of Linguistic and Speech Units of Modern German (No. 0116U008711), led by S. M. Soldatova;
- Structural-Semantic and Communicative-Discursive Aspects of the Study of Linguistic and Speech Units of Germanic and Romance Languages (No. 0121U110816).
Current research is carried out within the latter research theme under the supervision of I. V. Hoshtanar.
The department's academic output includes research publications and teaching and methodological materials, among them German Language (S. M. Soldatova, I. V. Hoshtanar), Practical German Grammar (L. A. Kovbasiuk), History of German Literature (S. V. Khmelkovska), German as a Second Specialisation (N. V. Romanova), Analyse und Interpretation der literarischen Texte für die Studierenden der Germanistik (I. Hoshtanar, S. Soldatova), and Modern Linguistic Theories (L. A. Kovbasiuk, N. V. Romanova, 2024).
The academic staff actively participate in professional associations and international academic communities. L. A. Kovbasiuk is a member of the Association of Ukrainian Germanists, FaDaF, EURALEX, the International Society of Onomasiological Researchers, and the IREX media literacy trainers' club Media Literacy Workshop. I. V. Hoshtanar is a member of the Internationale Herbart-Gesellschaft e.V. and the All-Ukrainian Association of Translation Teachers.
L. A. Kovbasiuk also serves on the editorial boards of Scientific Bulletin of Kherson State University. Series “Germanic Studies and Intercultural Communication” (Category B) and Current Issues in Foreign Philology (Category B).
Thus, the department's research activity combines academic research, publishing, methodological development and professional expertise.
Student Research
Students of the department participate in academic conferences, research groups and the All-Ukrainian Student Research Competition.
Among their achievements are:
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in 2015, Alina Skorokhod won first place for her research on the idiolect of Erich Maria Remarque;
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in 2016, Kateryna Liakhovska won first place for her study of the image of women in postmodernist discourse;
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in 2017, Kristina Abramova won third place for her research on compound metaphors in contemporary German;
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in 2017, I. S. Subot received third place in the second round of the All-Ukrainian Student Competition in Romance-Germanic Languages and Literatures, including methodology of teaching;
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in 2019, O. S. Kasatkin received a third-degree diploma for research into the verbalisation of the concept of REFUGEE in Elfriede Jelinek's Die Schutzbefohlenen.
The academic staff also supervise research conducted by pupils participating in the Minor Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. In 2020, O. Borydko won first place under the supervision of I. V. Hoshtanar. Department staff also participate as members of competition juries.
International Cooperation
The department develops international academic and educational cooperation.
L. Kovbasiuk has participated in programmes and initiatives supported by DAAD, BAYHOST, the Goethe-Institut and IREX, as well as in academic internships at German universities, the Philipp Schwartz Initiative and PushFar.
I. Hoshtanar has participated in academic training and internships in Germany, Poland and France, worked as a guest lecturer at Pomeranian University in Słupsk within the Erasmus+ KA131 programme, and participated in the DigiUni project.
O. Stavenko has participated in an international summer school at Adam Mickiewicz University focused on internationalisation, virtual exchange and Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), as well as in the PushFar programme.
Students have opportunities to participate in DAAD and Erasmus+ programmes and undertake study and internship placements in Germany, Austria and Poland.
International cooperation contributes to student and staff mobility, professional development, academic networking and the University's integration into the European educational and research space.
Educational Activities
The department's main educational objective is to train competent specialists who are able to use foreign languages effectively in professional, educational, translation and research contexts.
The educational programmes develop students' language, communicative, professional, research and intercultural competences. The teaching process is student-centred and problem-oriented and incorporates interactive, project-based and digital technologies, as well as independent learning.
Graduates can pursue careers in education, research and culture, translation services, publishing, media, public relations, non-governmental organisations and other fields requiring philological, language, communication and intercultural competences.
Current Focus of the Department
The contemporary profile of the department combines Germanic and Romance studies with intercultural communication, linguoculturology, communicative linguistics, foreign language teaching methodology, translation studies and modern language education.
Particular attention is paid to multilingual and multicultural communication, academic and professional language, and the use of digital technologies in language learning and teaching.
The intercultural component is central to the department's current activities, with emphasis on the relationship between language and culture, the development of intercultural competence and the study of language in diverse socio-cultural contexts.
The department follows current European trends in language education, academic mobility and internationalisation, while promoting international cooperation and the professional and academic development of both students and staff.