The role of bilingual education in modern
school in Kazakhstan
This article deals with the tendency and role of bilingual education in modern school in Kazakhstan. Nowa-
days the interest in bilingual education grows in Kazakhstan. The purpose of such education is formation of
the bilingual persons capable freely to carry out communicative operations in two languages in all without
exception life situations. In comparison with many other countries where there is an acculturation of the per-
sonality, in Kazakhstan both languages are demanded and fully function.
Key words: bilingual, education, multicultural, ethnic and cultural, multilingual, social and cultural, cross-
cultural, modernization, half-lingualism, cognitive abilities.
In the conditions of multinational Kazakhstan the development of bilingual education is an essential
factor of public consent consolidation. The variety of cultures and languages is a national property of Ka-
zakhstan. In this regard the understanding of languages role in the modern world with special sharpness rais-
es for us a question of teaching productivity in languages and increase of multilingual education level of
pupils and youth in Kazakhstan who have to become multilingual as language skills assumes formation of
new Kazakhstan patriotism and opening of new opportunities for the younger generation. The responsible
language policy is one of the main consolidating factors of the Kazakh nation. The system of education in
several languages continues to develop and has been kept in Kazakhstan since the Soviet period. It is possi-
ble to note briefly some main approaches used today in bilingual education of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It
includes the use of two languages at the same time within one lesson directed on mastering the material of
any subject discipline. It relates to the basic non-use of the first language during education for creation of
more realistic language environment, also use of two and three-lingual textbooks and language guides.
Teachers had to develop the most part of them.
Bilingualism is a harmonious combination of the function of the national language, the language of the
international and interethnic communication. As Zh. Nauryzbay puts in his work «Ethnic and cultural educa-
tion» «bilingualism is an objective necessity in the multilingual society caused by the individual’s needs for
mastering native and state languages» [1]. Education in the context of bilingualism is recognized by many
scientists as one of the opportunities of the most effective organizing teaching a foreign language at school
and therefore is in the center of researchers’ attention now.
Acceptance of ethnic and cultural education idea means creation of the national system of training and
education which is based on the idea of cultural and linguistic pluralism combining world level of technical
and information equipment of education with traditional and cultural values. As one of the problems of eth-
nical and cultural education in the Republic of Kazakhstan the problem of formation of the multilingual indi-
vidual moves forward: training of the citizens capable effectively to communicate in native, state and Rus-
sian languages [2]. It implements thereby the models of «two loyalities»: in relation to own ethnic and cul-
tural group and in relation to the state. In real practice it is referred to effective knowledge of three, four and
more languages. Along with culturally focused models assuming development by pupils the lingual and
The role of bilingual education…
Серия «Педагогика». № 2(78)/2015
305
crosscultural and social and cultural knowledge subject-oriented models get the relevance in which Russian
acts as means of studying subject (mathematics, biology, physics, etc.) [3].
Lately in Kazakhstan the problem of multilingual training became an object of careful attention. There
were adopted the laws on languages, guaranteeing preservation and development of national cultures and
languages, development and improvement state language (Kazakh) and language of cross-cultural communi-
cation (Russian) and also the social and cultural context concerning learning of foreign language (English,
German, French) was changed which is demanded in modern society not only as a communication medium,
but also as the instrument of cognitive and professional activity. The concept of language policy of the Re-
public of Kazakhstan defines Russian as information source in different areas of science and equipment, as
communication means near and far abroad. In the conditions of globalization and of bipolarity of the modern
world the role of Russian amplifies which communicative rating is defined by its status of one of the world
languages. In this regard before Kazakhstan the system of education is staticized the problem of training of
the bilingual persons capable to provide competitiveness of national economy. In the solution of problems of
language education the leading role is played by an education system, first of all, system of high comprehen-
sive school.
Representatives of many ethnos live and cooperate in the multiethnic state of Kazakhstan. Languages of
these nationalities actively function at the household level, and the Kazakh language is presented at the level
of the state use. Before considering a language situation, we will stop on features of modern social and cul-
tural conditions of Kazakhstan. Social and cultural, social culture (culture of the social relations) is defined
by the regulatories, values and ideals causing behavior of people in society and their social relationship. The
main forms of social culture are moral, legal and political culture.
Values of social culture (mercy, humanity, equality, democracy, a law and order, civil liberty) are real-
ized only in human relations whereas cultural wealth (for example, the maintenance of a work of art) appeals
to spiritual perfection, enrichment of an inner world of the personality aren't capable to approve in the socie-
ty of behavior standard, providing the movement to the values and ideals proclaimed by them [4]. The words
«moral», «morals», «ethics» are similar in meaning, but they were in three different languages. The word
«ethics» — comes from the Greek ethos — temper, character, custom. The word «morals» — a Latin origin
of mores — customs, customs. Cicero formed from it the word — moralis — moral and moralitas — morals
which became a Latin equivalent of the Greek words ethical and ethics. And «moral» — the Russian word
(temper). For the first time it appeared in the Russian dictionary in the XVIII century and began to be used
along with the words «ethics» and «morals», «the rules defining behavior, spiritual qualities». In practice of
the word usage they are interchanged.
The form of social culture is morals, all spheres of human life and activity are subordinated to the moral
principles, and the mechanism of social culture is the public opinion. The knowledge in the modern society
turns into the real wealth and into that force which will make shift of the power. As for the language situation
of the state, it is always directly connected with social, economic, cultural and other processes which proceed
in society. Language processes are historically caused; they are a result of the last development and comprise
prerequisites for the future. In any public system there are conditions of social interaction, there are charac-
teristic forms of language interaction peculiar to it which are called bilingualism or multilingualism. History
convinces that bilingualism as a special phenomenon of language life among the people of different conti-
nents exists since the mankind invented language as a means of communication. This Means was formed
during vital needs and need at different stages of development of human society differently and had the fea-
tures, besides the attitude of society towards it was not identical [5].
In our history Russian was the main means of international communication for a long time. The modern
state language policy is directed to strengthening and expanding the Kazakh language, keeping common cul-
tural functions of Russian and development of people’s languages of our state. Setting up language prefer-
ences among pupils will help to plan the ways of regulating language balance in Kazakhstan. We have all
opportunities for transition to parity (Latin — equality) of Kazakh, Russian and other languages functioning
in the country. In modern social and cultural conditions of Kazakhstan the development and distribution of
bilingualism on the basis of the state Kazakh language is urgent, as relating to the main directions of devel-
opment and interaction of languages. In the present situation the knowledge of the Kazakh language by rep-
resentatives of all other ethnos is an important condition of consolidating the Kazakhstani people.
Modernization of school education brought about in our country nowadays, first of all, is connected
with the qualitative update of the contents and ensuring its developing culture character. In this regard the
special attention is paid to creating conditions for development of the pupil’s creative personal potential and
A.K.Temirbulatova, T.V.Em.
306
Вестник Карагандинского университета
expansion of opportunities of modern advanced education, including language. Within the frame of advanced
language education such conditions are provided in the process of learning on the bilingual basis. Meanwhile
in recent years the discussion of the problem of bilingual education is more often conducted, relevance and
progressiveness of this technology is confirmed.
Interest of the Kazakhstan school in bilingual education grows by means of native and foreign lan-
guages, there are practiced its various models and separate elements. All this is caused by entry of Kazakh-
stan into Bologna Process, the declarations «About Creation of Uniform European Space of the Higher Edu-
cation», after all «integration of the educational markets is impossible without ensuring access of people to
global systems and sources of information, without compatibility of educational standards» [5], activization
of the international activity of higher educational institutions, increase of the academic mobility of students
and teachers, possibility of participation of the Kazakhstan citizens in the international educational projects.
It is received broad development the direction focusing the teacher on training in cross-cultural com-
munication and which is based on a paradigm: culture — the purpose, language — means [6]. Any language
is a cultural code which forms human life philosophy, its system of values, style of behavior and mentality.
Bilingual education, which we consider necessary, is new not only for such multilingual state as Ka-
zakhstan, but also for the whole world. In comparison with many other countries where there is an accultura-
tion of the personality, in Kazakhstan both languages are demanded and fully function, both cultures interact,
continuous cooperation of different ethnos takes place, therefore, acculturation is out of the question. The
backbone of bilingual education is reduced to the program in which two languages act as training languages.
The purpose of such education is formation of the bilingual persons capable freely to carry out communica-
tive and activity operations in two languages in all without exception life situations.
It is necessary to note the need of the consecutive, coordinated performance of all principles revealing
the essence of some principles of bilingual education. Children at this age are sociable and emotional, their
feature is inquisitiveness and sharpness of perception, and they are open for any sort of communication. Joint
activity unites children of different nationalities, causes in them a direct emotional response.
The principle of co-development of pupils’ communicative and cognitive abilities. Children’s interest in
game is of great importance at this age. It gives the opportunity to interest pupils in a natural way, using
game methods of teaching, to develop communicative abilities in speaking, understanding the foreign speech
aurally. Developing educational and informative (ability to see the purpose and to work in compliance, abil-
ity to control and estimate your actions and actions of other children), speech, social and cultural, language
competences of preschool children and younger school children, it is necessary to remember that game activ-
ity is harmoniously connected with educational and is the fundamental, forming basis of this activity.
The principle of multicultural orientation on studying a foreign language. In the environment of bicul-
turalism game activity in the educational process not only solves various problems of the cross-cultural rela-
tions, upbringing, education, but also offers a wide range of real-life and educational situations.
At the same time, competence of literary standards in two languages means understanding, perception
and preservation of fundamental cultural values of two nations. In this regard the practical purposes of bilin-
gual language education can be defined as:
1. mastering subject knowledge with use of two languages (native and foreign);
2. formation and improvement of cross-cultural competence;
3. development of communicative competence in the native and learned foreign languages;
4. development of ability to receive additional subject (extra language) information from different
spheres of functioning of a foreign language.
Realizing these purposes means to create a pupil’s language personality that is the personality capable
to generate and understand speech statements [7].
Normally the bilingual know at least one language fluently. However chances when communication of
the individual with his native language speakers is limited, and the level of the communicative interaction
with native speakers dominating in language community is low. In a similar situation the adequate
knowledge of the native language is lost, and the second language is mastered in limits.
This phenomenon gets the name the half-lingualism. The lexical structure of both languages is limited,
and the grammatical structure is simplified. Special forms of half-lingualism are formed in conditions, when
the contacting languages are closely related.
Problems of languages and cultures interaction, language construction and language policy gain special
relevance both at the level of the individual, and at the level of society multilingualism of which surely as-
sumes bilingualism and multilingualism.
The role of bilingual education…
Серия «Педагогика». № 2(78)/2015
307
In the conditions of the bi-and multilingualism sometimes rather uncommon is a question of the native
language and in general a question of ethnic consciousness. Not by accident this problem is widely discussed
now.
Khasanov B.H. considers: «For the personality its bilingualism is a means of thought expression, of
knowledge of reality and of communication in multilingual society: thus its main component (native lan-
guage) is a characteristic component of national, other component (the second language) — a learning tool of
the persons representing multilingual nationalities and development of cultural values of other people [8].
The main difference of bilingual education from the traditional one is that teaching language is not only
the means for teaching and training, but also its purpose. There is no doubt that mastering the language most
successfully happens in the case of a significant and actual context. It follows that it is necessary to balance
continuously between the lesson focused on the academic content and the lesson of a specific language ori-
entation to achieve both purposes in the coursework. As in the phrase «bilingual education» we emphasize
the noun (education), the bilingual lesson turns into a place where the academic and nonacademic content of
a subject meet. It means that explaining the essence of difficult issues and scientific (academic) concepts we
have a right to use more down-to-earth (nonacademic) language taking into consideration the pupils’ insuffi-
cient level of language teaching proficiency [8]. The concept bilingual programs in literature denotes various
devices by means of which it is possible to help children to get compulsory (academic) education in the se-
cond language (or to continue education in the language which isn't the first or mother tongue). We con-
sciously avoid the definition «mother tongue» as it is very difficult under the conditions of the modern dy-
namic world.
We can differentiate bilingual programs on the purpose and the audience. In case when the purpose of
the bilingual program is transition to education only in the second language, these programs are called as
transitional programs. Even in such tough wording it turned out to be necessary to support and in some ways
develop the child’s first language proficiency level for maintaining the quality of education. The restriction
of the importance of the first language slowed down the general development and mastering the program. In
the modern world such transitional programs are unique in the case when the only common feature of the
audience is the poor command of the language (state language), and children can have a various first lan-
guage. It is necessary to note that these are mainly children from needy families (and often low-intelligent).
Unfortunately, nowadays the bilingual and multilingual personality hasn’t become a model yet on
which the society is focused on. Mainly a bilingual masters one of the languages so poorly that his commu-
nication opportunities in this language are very limited [9]. It is easy to switch from language to language if
to aspire to forming the ideal bilingual/multilingual personality who will know two languages rather freely
and depending on circumstances, it would be necessary to bring some innovations within the system of
school education, having included the bilingual education in it. Though it is an absolutely hard thing de-
manding big expenses and assuming the solution of a set of scientific, methodical, organizational, adminis-
trative, social and economic, psychological issues. But as a result we will have the highly educated bilinguals
who are equally fluent in two literary languages. All this in total makes a basis of the educational process in
such multicultural and multilingual community as Kazakhstan which needs the educated, moral, enterprising
experts [10]. They should be capable independently to make crucial decisions in choice situations, predicting
their possible consequences; capable to cooperation, differing in mobility, dynamism, constructability, pos-
sessing the developed identity.
In modern programs an ultimate goal of education and mastering the language as a means of communi-
cation is the pupil’s communication competence. In the Republic of Kazakhstan there is a concept of the lan-
guage identity of a new type knowing several languages (three languages: Kazakh, Russian, English), inte-
grated into the world culture, tolerant and possessing universal values. The foreign language is included in
the list of compulsory subjects [11]. In accordance with the International European language standard the
state educational standard on a foreign language was created.
The role of bilingualism in formation of harmoniously developed personality is great, for which it is an
important means of all-round development and self-expression in multinational society in the concrete histor-
ical period — from the middle of the XX century to our time». Bilingualism (multilingualism) is the phe-
nomenon socially natural and necessary in the multinational state. [12]
There is an opinion that use of the principles of bilingual education is a direct way of language assimila-
tion of the population. But otherwise we doom those citizens to inevitable language and common cultural
isolation. Both in that and in the other case it is possible to see signs of internal unity weakening of Kazakh-
stan nation, so it is necessary to look for ways of overcoming these remaining disintegration moods.
A.K.Temirbulatova, T.V.Em.
308
Вестник Карагандинского университета
According to many experts, mastering the native language, i.e. taking all its measures can be possible
only by learning any foreign language. Nothing can be learned without comparison, and the unity of lan-
guage and thinking doesn't give us the chance to separate thought from ways of its expression. The bilingual
language education gives us this chance, helping to reveal various means of expression both in the foreign
and the native language.
References
1 Наурызбай Ж.Ж. Этнокультурное образование: мнение учителей / Наурызбай Ж.Ж. // Саясат, 1997. — 1. — С. 36.
2 Послание Президента РК народу Казахстана «Let’s build the future together!» from 28.01.2011. [ЭР]. Режим доступа:
http://www.akorda.kz/ru/page/poslanie-prezidenta-respubliki-kazakhstan-n-a-nazarbaeva-narodu-kazakhstana-28-01-2011-g_1340624589
3 Сулейменова Э.Д. О казахстанской лингвистике: к десятилетию независимости Казахстана / Э.Д. Сулейменова //
Вестн. Казахского национального ун-та им. Аль-Фараби (сер. филологическая). — Алматы, 2001. — № 16. — С. 19–30.
4 Хасанов Б.Х. Языки народов Казахстана и их взаимодействие / Б.Х. Хасанов. — Алма-Ата, 1976. — С. 216.
5 Кашкимбаев З. Билингвизм как средство формирования культуры межнационального общения нравственного воспи-
тания школьников / З. Кашкимбаев // Поиск. Гуманитарная наука. — 2000. — № 4–5. — С. 171–175.
6 Закирьянов К. В условиях активного билингвизма / К. Закирьянов // Народное образование. — 1998. — № 5. —
С. 74–75.
7 Исаев М.К. Билингвальное образование: вызов времени / М.К. Исаев // Русский язык и литература в казахской школе.
— 2004. — № 3. — С. 3–6.
8 Михальченко В.Ю., Крючкова Т.Б. Социолингвистика в России / В.Ю. Михальченко, Т.Б. Крючкова // Вопросы язы-
кознания. — 2002. — № 5. — С. 116–142.
9 Кубаева И. Учебники казахского языка как иностранного в США и РК / И. Кубаева // Казахский язык и литература в
русской школе. — 2004. — № 1. — С. 98–108.
10 О нормах русского языка в современном Казахстане // Русский язык и литература в казахской школе. — 2004. — № 3.
— С. 6–12.
11 Минасова К.Р. Двуязычие как способ культурной интеграции этнических меньшинств в многонациональном обще-
стве / К.Р. Минасова // Социологические исследования. — 2002. — № 8 (220). — С. 49–56.
12 Искакова А.С. Двуязычие как основа полиязычного образования в стране // Народное образование. — 2006. — № 3.
— C. 48–58.
А.К.Темірболатова, Т.В.Эм
Достарыңызбен бөлісу: |