English language choices in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan

Ahn, Elise S.; Smagulova, Juldyz

doi:10.1111/weng.12552

Cited by 16 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Article 14 of the Constitution promises protection of the language rights of every citizen of Kazakhstan, granting all citizens the right to use their native languages and choose their language of communication. Although language rights are protected, the minority languages are confined mostly to the community activities (Ahn & Smagulova, 2021). Being part of the former Soviet Union, Kazakhstan was deeply affected by Soviet language policy whereby Russian was highly rated and considered to offer the best opportunities for academic, political and social growth as well as being mandatory in the public administration, technical and scientific spheres.…”

Section: Sociolinguistic Changes Of Post-soviet K a Z Akhstanmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emergency remote English language teaching and learning: Voices of primary school students and teachers in Kazakhstan

Hajar

Manan

2022

Review of Education

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This qualitative study documents the experiences of 38 Grade 5 students and their six female teachers from four state‐maintained schools in Kazakhstan teaching/learning English during emergency remote teaching and learning (ERT&L). It was guided by Kearney et al.’s (2012) framework that provides three dimensions that influence individuals’ teaching and learning experience when using technological devices: personalisation, collaboration and authenticity. The data collected through online individual interviews and students’ drawings suggest that the participants asserted their agentive reflexivity and critical awareness of the advantages and drawbacks of their ERT&L experiences. Several teachers indicated that although ERT&L helped them make financial and professional gains, they had difficulty assessing their students’ progress online, and work overload had negative impacts on their well‐being and quality of life. Many students criticised some English teaching practices during COVID‐19, including the allocation of more homework, and lack of co‐operative activities and individual attention. The study has pedagogical implications and provides further evidence of the need for stakeholders to take the well‐being of teachers into account, promote collaboration between different social actors and provide teachers with proper training in the use of online platforms. It also stresses the importance of using participatory research methods involving children to capture their thoughts and interpretation of their emergency remote learning experiences.

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Section: Sociolinguistic Changes Of Post-soviet K a Z Akhstanmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emergency remote English language teaching and learning: Voices of primary school students and teachers in Kazakhstan

Hajar

Manan

2022

Review of Education

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“…Moreover, despite a large number of investigations into linguistic landscapes around the world, the linguistic landscape of Kazakhstan has not received enough attention from sociolinguists. To the best of our knowledge, only two studies of the language landscape of the capital of Kazakhstan (Astana or Nur-Sultan 1 ) are known at the moment (Moore, 2014;Juan & Mukhamedzhanova, 2022). The first study, conducted in 2013, showed a significant discrepancy between the official language policy and actual practice.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Translingual Practices in the Linguistic Landscape in the Western Region of Kazakhstan

Utegenova,

Umarova

et al. 2024

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In spite of the sharp rise of research interest in linguistic landscapes worldwide, little attention has been given to the multilingual urban discourse of Kazakhstan. Being first in the investigation into the multilingual practices characteristic of the linguistic landscape in the western region of Kazakhstan, our study adds to the number of linguistic landscape analyses through a translanguaging lens. This paper explores translingual practices on local "bottom-up" commercial public signs by the example of four major cities in the region: Aktau, Aktobe, Atyrau and Uralsk. The study uses a mixed method research design combining qualitative and quantitative analysis of multilingual urban texts accompanied by semi-structured ethnographic interviews with owners of commercial establishments. In our analysis, we specify various dynamic and creative forms of mixing the state Kazakh, interethnic Russian, international English and/or other local languages such as Uzbek and Arabic. We demonstrate how these languages are involved in the creation of symbolic meanings and attraction of potential consumers and contribute to the construction of the urban space of the western region of Kazakhstan. We provide illustrations of the ever-growing presence of English in multilingual written urban texts of the region as a symbol of modernity, high quality, innovation, technical progress and prestige. We also show the indexical potential of the Kazakh and Russian languages as markers of local affiliation and tradition, and the Uzbek and Arabic languages as symbols of the Turkic and Islamic cultures.

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“…The language situation in Kazakhstan is largely due to historical and geographical factors. Compared with the peripheral position during the Soviet Union, the status of Kazakh as the state language has increased significantly -a symbolic capital, giving access to political and social resources (Ahn & Smagulova, 2021). Since Kazakhstan has state borders with Russian-speaking countries, The Russian language is a powerful means of international communication.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, learning English as a foreign language is still difficult, largely due to the lack of a language environment (Zhilbayev et al, 2019) and using outdated language teaching methods (Yeskeldiyeva & Tazhibayeva, 2015). As Ahn and Smagulova (2021) note, English in Kazakhstan remains inaccessible to the majority of the population while relatively small group was mostly accessible to a relatively small group of wealthy middle class having better access to English language resources. However, a high level of motivation to learn English as a prestigious language opens many economic (Djuraeva, 2021) and educational opportunities (Zhilbayev et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sociolinguistic aspects of polylinguistic (trilingualism) education in the Western region of Kazakhstan

Sadulova Kemaladinovna,

Abdrakhmanova,

Bokenbaiuly

et al. 2023

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The introduction of multilingual education in the Republic of Kazakhstan meets the requirements of the time since globalization processes give rise to the need to integrate the state into the world community. Solution of topical issues of multilingual education necessitates solving problems with conscious regulation of the language situation. The aim of this study is the determination of the degree of implementation of multilingual education in the western region of Kazakhstan, which plays a significant role in the economy of the country as a whole. For diagnostics and measurement language processes, a questionnaire survey was used. The results of the study showed that the implementation of multilingual education in Kazakhstan is carried out purposefully and systematically: the social communicative functions of the state language have significantly expanded and strengthened in all spheres of society, and the development is proceeding quite rapidly English language and its practical application; positions of the Russian language remain stable as a language of international communication. At the same time, among children of preschool and primary school age, a tendency to prioritize the Russian language over Kazakh, which in the near future may greatly weaken the position state language. As a result, scientific recommendations are given for the adoption of timely and adequate management decisions in the field of language building in the region under study.

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English language choices in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan

Cited by 16 publications

References 28 publications

Emergency remote English language teaching and learning: Voices of primary school students and teachers in Kazakhstan

Emergency remote English language teaching and learning: Voices of primary school students and teachers in Kazakhstan

Translingual Practices in the Linguistic Landscape in the Western Region of Kazakhstan

Sociolinguistic aspects of polylinguistic (trilingualism) education in the Western region of Kazakhstan

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