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Teaching English in post-Soviet Kazakhstan

  • Elchin Ibrahimov ORCID logo EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: June 24, 2025

Abstract

Today, education in Kazakhstan is carried out in three languages due to economic and socio-political necessity. The development of a high level of trilingualism requires extensive support regarding the availability of qualified teaching staff, teaching materials, and technological tools for training. Although the Russian language plays the role of an intercultural communication language in Kazakhstan under the current conditions, it is observed that this tendency is gradually weakening. English provides access to the world economy and society, and the highest goal of the state is to unite the Kazakh society around English. The purpose of this study is to investigate the problems that have arisen in the teaching of English in the Republic of Kazakhstan during the post-Soviet independence years and today. The article analyses the language situation and policy in general in Kazakhstan and includes comparison with the current language policy models in other post-Soviet republics. It then addresses the particular problems in the teaching of English and indicates possible solutions.


Corresponding author: Elchin Ibrahimov, Karabakh University, Khankendi, Azerbaijan, E-mail:

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Received: 2024-08-30
Accepted: 2025-05-26
Published Online: 2025-06-24
Published in Print: 2025-07-28

© 2025 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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