3. Preparedness of Kazakhstani schools and universities for trilingual education | 161
ҮШ ТІЛДЕ БІЛІМ БЕРУДІ ҰЙЫМДАСТЫРУ
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ОРГАНИЗАЦИЯ ОБУЧЕНИЯ НА ТРЕХ ЯЗЫКАХ
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TEACHING IN THREE LANGUAGES
3.
Preparedness of Kazakhstani schools and universi-
ties for gradual implementation of trilingual education
In order to analyse the preparedness of Kazakhstani schools and
universities for gradual implementation of trilingual education, JSC “In-
formation-Analytic Center” (tasked by the Ministry of Education and
Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan) conducted research in Septem-
ber – December, 2016.
Research participants:
35 urban, rural and ungraded schools in Astana, Almaty and 7
regions of Kazakhstan
17 teacher training universities (in “Physics”, “Biology”, “Chem-
istry”, and “ICT”)
3.1. Research findings for 35 schools
Research methods: English language proficiency assessment based
on CEFR, interviews, focus groups, lesson observations, and document
analysis
According to CEFR results, majority of English language teachers
assessed their proficiency as B2 (28%) and C1 (39%). However, lesson
observations showed that their actual level is at A1-A2
School management team and teachers expressed lack of clear un-
derstanding of the stages, implementation mechanisms and methodo-
logical aspects
of trilingual education
Trilingual education is generally supported by teachers and school
management
However, teachers expressed a range of challenges preventing effi-
cient trilingual education implementation (especially in regards to Eng-
lish):
- lack of unified guidelines,
- psychological barrier due to teachers’ low language and methodo-
logical level,
162 | 3. Preparedness of Kazakhstani schools and universities for trilingual education
ҮШ ТІЛДЕ БІЛІМ БЕРУДІ ҰЙЫМДАСТЫРУ
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ОРГАНИЗАЦИЯ ОБУЧЕНИЯ НА ТРЕХ ЯЗЫКАХ
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TEACHING IN THREE LANGUAGES
- possible quality deterioration in teaching subjects in English, which
may be due to students’ low language level, insufficient number of
hours for English language lessons (2 hours per week), and lack of lan-
guage environment to practice speaking,
- trilingual education may not be suitable for all students – speedy
transition towards trilingual education may have a negative effect on
children’s physical and mental condition,
- lack of continuity between higher education and schools in lan-
guage education: at universities, school leavers learn subjects they al-
ready covered in school because they did not achieve an expected level
of proficiency (B2)
in school
3.2. Research findings for 17 universities
Research methods: English language proficiency assessment based
on CEFR and EFSET among faculty and students, interviews, focus
groups with administration and faculty, lesson observation and docu-
ment analysis (regulations for multilingual education)
There are 1,773 students in multilingual groups; 1,006 (57%) partic-
ipated in this research
Administration and faculty support and have positive attitude to-
wards the trilingual education policy
However, 97% of students in multilingual groups are not proficient
in English (A1-A2) and do not achieve an expected school level lan-
guage outcome (B1)
Such level (A1-A2) is insufficient to take
subjects in English
No improvement in English proficiency was demonstrated during
the academic process in multilingual groups (1st year A1 – 52%, A2 –
44%; 4th year A1 – 52%, A2 – 44%)
Possible reasons for this may be: inefficient English teaching meth-
ods, lack of clear criteria for student selection into multilingual groups,
and lack of language environment
3. Preparedness of Kazakhstani schools and universities for trilingual education | 163
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ОРГАНИЗАЦИЯ ОБУЧЕНИЯ НА ТРЕХ ЯЗЫКАХ
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TEACHING IN THREE LANGUAGES
Only 12% of faculty members are advanced in English (C1-C2)
57% of faculty members’ demonstrated intermediate proficiency
(B1-B2)
31% of faculty are beginners in English (A1-A2), which is insuffi-
cient to provide quality in teaching subjects in English. However, these
faculty members do teach sciences in English.
41% of participants noted the threat of Kazakh losing its status as a
result of parallel teaching in
three languages
Universities do show initiative towards trilingual education. Every
year the number of majors, students and faculty involved in trilingual
education increase
Teaching and learning resources have been developed (trilingual
dictionaries and textbooks); provisional models of implementing trilin-
gual education have been designed (language distribution, list of sub-
jects, etc.); measures have been created to motivate faculty teaching in
multilingual groups (decrease in overall workload and bonuses)
Universities successfully implementing trilingual education demon-
strate that: (1) the share of faculty teaching in multilingual groups is 15-
30% of the total number of university faculty; (2) share of students in
multilingual groups in Chemistry, Physics, Biology and ICT is 25-75% of
the total student population in these majors; (3) English proficiency level
among faculty teaching in multilingual groups in these majors is B2-C1;
(4) English proficiency level among students in multilingual groups is A2;
(5) CLIL is actively used to teach subjects in English
