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Multilingual Education Programs At Ksu Through The Eyes Of Students And Teachers

2017; Linguagem: Inglês

10.15405/epsbs.2017.08.02.51

2357-1330

Bozhidara Iskreva Kriviradeva,

Central Asia Education and Culture

Multilingual education has been a part of Kazakhstan state educational policy for over a decade. Special grants for developing and implementing university multilingual programs have been put in place. The article presents a study made at Kokshetau State University about the way such multilingual programs have been operating so far according to students and teachers participating in them. The study searched for answers to the following two research questions: what is the current state of multilingual programs at the university and how students and teachers evaluate such programs. Students in second and third year of study and teachers in multilingual programs participated in the study. The main research findings indicate that the multilingual programs at Kokshetau State University are viewed positively by both students and teachers and that they provide sufficient support which ensures the development of multilingual skills in different professional fields. These programs employ a variety of interactive teaching methods and provide stimulus for students to interact with the literature in foreign languages in different academic fields which allows students learn and interact using three languages of study. Student-teachers relationships are positive and create an open and motivating environment for learning through open communication in a multilingual educational setting. Both students and teachers recognize the importance of language skills and the opportunities such programs provide for their future personal and professional development.