You're reading: Voice of America: Euro 2012 prompts Ukrainians to learn English

While members of the Ukrainian parliament are fighting over the status of the Russian language in Ukraine, English is becoming more popular in the country - without any government directive. Market forces - in which supply dictates demand - as well as the Euro 2012 football (soccer) championship, co-hosted by Ukraine and Poland, are having an impact on Ukrainians becoming trilingual.

Euro 2012 has changed Ukrainians’ daily routine, especially those who
live in the host-cities.  The championship has attracted many tourists
to the country, who remind Ukrainians that while the national parliament
struggles to decide which language they should speak – Russian or
Ukrainian – more and more people around the world are turning to
English, especially in international business.

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