The first emergency Spanish textbook for Ukrainians published by the UNED in Torrevieja will be presented on Wednesday.

The first Spanish-learning book for Ukrainians living in Spain, promoted by the UNED Classroom in Torrevieja, will be launched this coming Wednesday, May 21, at the Palacio de la Música, at 7:30 p.m.

The presentation will be attended by the Deputy Mayor of Torrevieja, Rosario Martínez; the Councilor for Education and Universities, Ricardo Recuero; the Councilor for International Residents, Gitte Lund; and the Director of the UNED in Elche, Francisco Escudero.

The event will consist of a musical gala, with songs in Ukrainian and Spanish, several interventions by institutions and associations involved in the project, and a concise explanation of the method and the entire project: dialogues, contrasting cultural notes, practical grammatical explanations, and finally a double lexicon: a Ukrainian-Spanish vocabulary and a Spanish-Ukrainian dictionary with more than 500 full-color illustrations.

"Emergency Manual: Spanish for Ukrainians " was the initiative of Professor Juan Antonio Cebrián Flores. Developed by Professor and Doctor of Philology Jesús Riquelme, currently the coordinator of the UNED Elche branch in Torrevieja, it has become a useful teaching-learning material for a language aimed at foreigners who live within the linguistic area where that language is spoken: Ukrainians who wish to communicate in Spanish because they live in Spain, specifically in the Torrevieja area, which is home to the largest population in the entire country.

Once the natural language learning approach was designed, through real communication situations (introduction upon meeting, the need to travel, shopping requirements, details regarding going to the doctor, habits at school, curiosities when buying food, etc.), with the help of numerous Ukrainian speakers (Valeria Dovbysh, Andrii Kulyk, Sofia Kuznetsova, Anastasia Kozakova and Nataliya Khomyak) and the support of the clarifications of three Ukrainian language philologists who work in Torrevieja, Orihuela Costa and Murcia (Oksana Grygoriv, Inna Lymar and Oksana Bilostotsk), it was possible to finalize a valuable learning tool for our greatest cultural asset: the Spanish language.

The official, or co-official, language is an essential means of communication for full integration into our society as citizens and workers. The work has been written in an almost completely bilingual format so that, with the guidance of a teacher, students can develop their Spanish language skills in a creative, gradual, progressive, and participatory manner.

The project has the support of Ukrainian associations in Torrevieja and the province of Alicante, in Mutx amel, whose presidents will speak at the presentation: Natalia Zhezhnyavska, director of the Official Ukrainian School, and Antonina Rohalska, respectively. A presentation event has been scheduled, accompanied by various musical performances, with lyrics in Ukrainian and Spanish: Elysaveta Khomyak, the brothers Simon and Yefim Kurochkin, the Tando children's choir, directed by Taras Khomyak, and soprano Viktoriya Svyshch, accompanied by pianist Nataliya Khomyak, will perform. The event will close with a double musical performance by Anastasia Kozakova.

The authors, doctoral candidate Juan Antonio Cebrián and Dr. Jesucristo Riquelme, report that a reduced first edition has been prepared, with the intention of publishing a second, revised and expanded edition during the next academic year to meet the widest range of needs of professors and students. Should authorities from all spheres of the Spanish state express interest, the book's length (currently 128 pages, folio size, in full color) would be expanded with many more bilingual dialogues, and the print run would be expanded. The goal would be to cover the pedagogical needs of a broader area in the Valencian Community and Spain. A joint publication with the Valencian publisher Micomicona, which would handle distribution, is tentatively proposed.
Admission to the presentation is free with an invitation. Invitations can be picked up at the concierge desk of the Palacio de la Música until the day of the event.