In the article the current situation in the sphere of foreign language education in the Kazakhstan is discussed. The goals are to show the prerequisites and reasons for the development of this field in accordance with the world situation; to identify factors contributing to the development of personnel training and special programs for its improvement. As the result derivation of such other factors occurring in the process of foreign language development as principles and requirements of the State Educational Standard of Languages and English teachers’ skills and qualification is discussed.
Keywords: foreign language education, concept of education, teaching methods, English language teaching, international education, multilingualism.
В статье обсуждается текущая ситуация в сфере иноязычного образования в Казахстане. Цели — показать предпосылки и причины развития этой области в соответствии с мировой ситуацией; выявить факторы, способствующие развитию обучения персонала и специальные программы по его совершенствованию. В результате обсуждается вывод таких других факторов, возникающих в процессе освоения иностранного языка, как принципы и требования Государственного образовательного стандарта языков, а также квалификация и квалификация учителей английского языка.
Ключевые слова: иноязычное образование, концепция образования, методы обучения, преподавание английского языка, международное образование, многоязычие.
Education, as an institution of human culture, has occupied one of the most important places in the life of society since ancient times. However, the very concept and interpretation of the “education” term has many meanings: according to T. Babakova, education is a process and result of learning, self-learning, upbringing, self-education and development [1, p. 35]. Also, in a broader sense, education can be interpreted as an integral process of development and formation of an individual, personality; the process of concept and acceptance of moral values by a person; assimilation of professional knowledge, abilities, skills, norms of behavior; the process of transferring knowledge and cultural values 6accumulated by generations [2, pp. 8–9]. According to these concepts, education as an institution should have a system, and since ancient times this system of education has been continuously changing.
In the absence of sufficient scientific data, which, as known, take place much later, in ancient times, education was mostly considered as having skill in art, or the foundations of mathematics. Directly, in accordance with the study of Novikov, the development of each state as an integral entity is accompanied by the internal structure development, the development of qualified specialists. Thus, at present there is a formulation of post-industrial education, which will take place in accordance with the post-industrial society [3, pp. 37–39]. However, at the same time, the process of transition to a more innovative form of education — the so-called education for sustainable development (ESD) — has been going on for a considerable amount of time. That is due to the formation of a new general civilization strategy adopted in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 at the UN Conference on Environment and Development [4]. Globalization in the field of education implies a necessity as well as an opportunity to study abroad. Its goal is to expand the potential choice of the studied disciplines and the preparation of qualified professors who teach them. A comparable system of study credits provides the foundation for the accumulation of mastered material and, most importantly, for the mutual recognition of graduates by various educational institutions.
Methods and materials
In our article the main research methodology is comparative analysis of the past and current situations in the studied areas; as well as the historical method where for improving the future, the past steps research in important. The goals of the research are discussing and then underlining the specific methodology of foreign language teaching and learning; getting and summarizing data of researches conducted. In order to came and discuss the above goals and objectives it is needed to take a look at the preconditions and consistent steps of Kazakhstan in the field of educational international relations. Multilingualism as one of the important directions in human development appeared long ago. Today it is impossible to imagine a country where people knew only one language. The formation of bilingualism and multilingualism is essential for the normal functioning of any multinational state.
A program for the implementation of the «Trinity of Languages» project is being implemented in the republic. The basis for the generalization and consolidation of the existing developments in the sphere of the theory of intercultural communication by Professor S. S. Kunanbayeva identified the modern methodological basis of foreign language education, consisting of cognitive-linguocultural methodology and the theory of intercultural communication. The idea of the languages trinity got a real start and a program for its implementation with the proposal of the Leader of the Nation in his Address to the people of Kazakhstan 2007 “New Kazakhstan in a new world” to start a step-by-step implementation of the unique cultural project “Trinity of languages”. The President noted that for ensurance for the country's competitiveness, the development of three languages is required: Kazakh language — as the state language, English language — as the language of successful integration into the global market and Russian language- as the language of interethnic communication inside country [5]. Professor S. S. Kunanbayeva developed the «Concept of language education in the Republic of Kazakhstan» and the State Standard of Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan «Languages of the Trinity» as a single universal system for managing multilingual education in the Republic of Kazakhstan. In the above documents, two successive levels of its implementation can be distinguished. The first stage should provide development of a methodological basis for language education; development of a regulatory framework, determination of the composition of requirements for the content, the volume of the academic load, the quality level of training of bachelors in each of the 3 languages, taking into account the specifics for linguistic and non-linguistic specialties. The second stage was to ensure the modernization of the system of training pedagogical personnel in the languages of the trinity on the basis of a unified methodological «cognitive-linguoculturological» base. [6, pp. 14–16].
Following the implementation of the program of the «trinity of languages», the program «System of centralized management of languages of the trinity» was developed and universalized for all languages of the national linguistic standard, which provides the following composition of new principles and requirements of the State Educational Standard of Languages. They are:
1) universalization of language education through the principles of cognition, conceptuality, communication, linguistic and sociocultural basis;
2) level ranking of subject content and final indicators of language proficiency;
3) distribution of these levels successively for each stage of school, university, postgraduate education; unification of qualification and quality requirements for language proficiency by standard levels;
4) competence basedness of language and foreign language education with a qualitative assessment of the final results by the composition of formed competencies;
5) availability of developed educational, methodological and training complexes for each level.
According to this system, the object of formation also changes: in the conditions of learning a native language. We are talking about linguistic and professional communicative competence, in terms of learning a second language — about linguistic and communicative competence, in terms of learning a foreign language — about intercultural and communicative competence.
Results
Today, English is one of the most widely spoken in international communication. Thus, the foundation of English proficiency is laid, the conversational level of the language is mastered. The program "100 Steps», named by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan N. Nazarbayev «Plan of the Nation», involves teaching a number of subjects in English. The main goal of such a reform of the education system is to increase the competitiveness of graduated specialists, as well as to improve the export potential of the educational sector.
In 2017–2019, studies were carried out to show the readiness of schools to introduce teaching in English. Out of 4815 schools that took part in the monitoring, 53.4 % of educational institutions agreed. The highest rates were demonstrated by «English» schools in Astana and Almaty. Among the teachers who agreed to conduct classes in their subject in English, the majority are experienced teachers with more than ten years of experience working with students. Parents of students appreciate the teaching of disciplines in English. Conducting lessons in English will allow students to study the subject in more depth, improve their English proficiency, and provide an opportunity to get acquainted with the latest publications in these disciplines. [7]
So, in most cases, English language is considered as one of the most important conditions for integration into the world community, an indispensable element of positive social change, economic well-being and new technologies. At the moment, knowledge of the English language in Kazakhstan is included not only in the list of mandatory conditions for studying abroad, but is also a determining element of the competitiveness of a young specialist in the labor market, both in the country and abroad. Recently, the English language has been designated as a condition for successful entry into the global economy and has come to be seen as one of the main priorities of public policy [8, pp. 130–135]. According to a study conducted by M.Sh. Sarybai, knowledge of the English language became a requirement in 98 ads (out of 101) for the position of a manager, engineer, operator, secretary, accountant and administrator. Moreover, 40 % of the advertisements placed in the newspaper in 2003 were published in English. The activities of more than 50 embassies and representative offices of branches of foreign companies, 700 foreign enterprises and 1500 representative offices of foreign companies are conditioned by business communication in English [9, pp. 34–36].
Discussion.
The task of an English teacher is now not only to teach grammar and vocabulary, but also to provide the student with the opportunity to understand the cultural background, introduce it into the linguistic context and prepare it for real communication. According to a November 2017 study by the British Council in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, English teachers need to develop the following skills to stay competitive: ability to use innovative teaching methods taken from world pedagogical practice; ability to use new technologies; application of effective methods for assessing the educational process to optimize lesson planning.
Most of the techniques in teaching English have already been invented and tested, it is difficult to come up with something new. It is important to understand that no technique can be considered 100 % effective. It all depends on the goals and objectives of learning, the needs of the student, because each method is based on a certain vision and understanding of the language. The study done is able to give a combination of several techniques. Grammar Translation — is the study of grammar rules and their application in the process of translation from a native language into a foreign one. Direct Method, also known as “natural”, originated in the early 20th century as an alternative to traditional Grammar Translation. The main emphasis is on the formulation of pronunciation, conversations in a foreign language without translation into the native one, and less time is devoted to grammar. Audio-lingual Method. This method aims to create a mechanical habit by repeating the basic patterns of word and phrase formation. The Communicative Language Teaching Method is based on the idea that successful learning of a foreign language occurs when it is used in real situations. The goal of the language policy in Kazakhstan is the integration of the republic into the world community, the rise of science, economy and socio-cultural level of the country. The gradual transition to trilingual education in schools began already in 2017, 500 classes across the country are testing the innovation. The strategic goal of the innovation is to create the necessary conditions so that Kazakhstanis can master three languages: Kazakh, Russian and English. For this, some of the disciplines in schools will be taught in the state language, some in Russian and English. The most suitable method is CLIL — integrated subject and language teaching. To support the process of introducing trilingual education in Kazakhstani schools, in February 2018, the British Council launched the «English for Employment» project, based on the results of an assessment of the needs of English teachers.
Conclusion.
That a way how it can be concluded: as a longtime project of modernization of an education system, the development of language learning and creation of modern teaching methods will take their steps further and further alongside with the constantly developing world. These techniques are based on a number of general methodological principles. Based on the analysis, the following trends in the development of methods of teaching English at the present stage can be distinguished: — the increasing differentiation of methods, techniques and content of education, depending on the goals and planned levels of language proficiency, on the characteristics of the student population and the conditions of learning and culture; — steady trends in the reduction of transfer methods; — strengthening the role of interaction and speech activity of students; use of mental states in the educational process; — application of new technical means in teaching; — integration of elements of different methods in modern teaching systems.
References:
- Babakova, T. A., Akinina, T. M. (2013) Pedagogy and psychology of high school: methods of work with definition apparatus [Pedagogika I psikhologiya vysschey schkoly: metody raboty s opredelyayemym apparatom] — Petrozavodsk state university press, 64, p 35.
- Novgorodtsev, I. V. (2017). Pedagogy in accordance with the teaching methods of special disciplines (2 nd ed.) [Pedagogika v sootvetstvii s metodami obucheniya specialnyh distsiplin] FLINTA, 378, pp 8–9.
- Novikov, A. M. (2008). Postindustrial education [Postindustrialnoe obrazovanie] Agves, 136, pp 37–39.
- Ursul, A. D., Ursul T. A. (2012). Evolution paradigms and education models of XXI century [Evolutsiya paradigm iobrazovatelnyh modeley 21 veka] Modern Education. URL: https://nbpublish.com/library_read_article.php?id=59. Accessed August 4, 2021
- Nazarbayev, N.A. (2007). Address of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the people of Kazakhstan «The third modernization of Kazakhstan: global competitiveness» [Poslanie prezidenta respubliki narody Kazakhstana] URL: http://adilet.zan.kz/rus/docs/K1700002017. Accessed September 14, 2021
- Kunanbayeva, S. S., Karmysova, M. K., Ivanova, A. M., Arenova, T. D., Zhumagulova, B. S., Kuznetsova, T. D., Abdygappariva, S. K. (2009). Concept of the development of foreign languages in Kazakhstan [Kontseptsiya razvitiya inostrannyh yazykov v Kazakhstane] — Kazakh Ablai khan university of international relations and world languages press, 21, pp 14–16.
- Castells, M. (2001). The Internet Galaxy: Reflections on the Internet, Business, and Society [Internet vselennaya: otrazhenie interneta, biznesa i obschestva] — Oxford: Oxford University Press. 292. http://doi.org/ 10.1093/joc/53.4.737
- Sarybay, M. Sh. (2004). On the role of the English language and the position of a translator in a modern Kazakhstani organization [Rol` angliiskogo yazyka i positsiya perevodchoka v sovremennoi Kazakhstanskoi oraganizatsii] — Communication at Work: Issues and Challenges. 2 nd Annual CAABC. 400. pp 130–135.
- Aimoldina, A. A. (2012). Features of the functioning of the English language in the modern Kazakhstani business community [Osobennosti funktsionirovaniya angliiskogo yazyka v sovremennom Kazakhstanskom biznes soobschestve] — Karagandy state university press. № 3. 191. pp 34–36.
