The Linguist

26 The Linguist Vol/65 No/1 ciol.org.uk/thelinguist FEATURES Why Katerina Manoff established a free language learning platform for Ukrainians, and how it was impacted by war Please start by telling us about ENGin… ENGin is a global nonprofit that helps Ukrainians of all ages improve their lives through authentic English-language conversation with volunteers worldwide. The model is simple: we recruit, vet and match Ukrainian English learners with volunteers, and they meet for an hour a week over videochat. Most of our sessions are 1:1, which creates space for personalised practice, though we also offer mini-groups. We handle all the logistics, and provide resources, activities and conversation starters, but there's no formal curriculum – these are real conversations between people who share interests, swap cultural insights and often become friends. How did you get the idea? ENGin was born out of personal experience. I was mentoring a talented Ukrainian student who excelled at reading and writing English but struggled with spoken conversation – a challenge I recognised from learning English as a child. I realised that what young Ukrainians needed wasn't more grammar drills or textbooks, but authentic practice with fluent English speakers. Bringing Ukrainians to English-speaking countries (or vice versa) would be extremely expensive – but this was 2020 and the whole world was moving to Zoom. I've always preferred to learn by doing, so I jumped right in. I found a couple of smart Ukrainian students to help me with operations, built a basic website, and started recruiting and connecting people to see if it would work. So what was your background? I was born in Ukraine and immigrated to the US as a child, so I speak Ukrainian, English and Russian. I started my career on Wall Street and developed a strong analytical skillset, but my goal was to do work that makes a positive impact on people's lives. After two years in banking, I earned my Master's in Education and spent a decade in the education space, working with nonprofits like Ukraine Global Scholars, edtech start-ups and charter schools. Did you have any support when developing the nonprofit? I initially thought ENGin could be a student- led volunteer initiative, with me serving as a mentor and advisor. But it quickly became clear that running a quality programme required more time commitment and leadership experience. I became CEO and, using my own funds, I hired a couple of full- time Ukrainian interns. We built everything from the website to the matching process. Soon I connected with an angel investor who is passionate about opening doors for Ukrainian youth. He wrote me a small cheque. Then a bigger cheque. Then an even bigger cheque. He gave me the greatest gift: the opportunity to fail, learn and grow, over and over again. He saw something that I couldn't see in those first months – that my little project could become a global organisation. ENGin was designed to be scaleable and replicable. Why was that important? Most education programmes make tradeoffs between access and human-centred learning. Interventions that aim to provide access to all do so by removing the human element. We are one of the first low-cost, human-centred education programmes. We can accommodate nearly any schedule and It's a match for Ukraine

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