A Social Experiment through Introduction of English Language as an Educational Tool: issues in Kazakhstan's Higher Education Reform

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K02712
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 09050:Tertiary education-related
• Research Institution: Yamaguchi Prefectural University
• Principal Investigator: IWANO MASAKO 山口県立大学, 国際文化学部, 教授 (70264968)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 言語政策 / 多文化教育 / 英語教育

Outline of Final Research Achievements

How do society, culture and people react and change when their government starts to introduce a language different from their national language or their language used for official or business communication? Such a nationwide experiment can be observed in a case of Kazakhstan, one of the five countries comprising Central Asia. Kazakhstan initiated an inclusion of English language as a medium of international economic communication, alongside Kazakh (officially their national language) and Russian language (universally understood and used as a language for inter-ethnic communication). The trilingual language policy aims for all ethnic groups in Kazakhstan to acquire fluency in all three languages by 2030. Through interviews implemented before/after the COVID 19, this research witnessed model universities and schools were moving towards the goal; however, public schools outside cities seemed to be struggling with a shortage of resources.

Free Research Field

教育学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

国際化やグローバル化が進む今日にあって、世界的に教育言語の英語化が進んでいる。日本でも教授言語の英語化が進んでいるが、国民全体の多言語コミュニケーション力向上までには至っていない。一方、中央アジアのカザフスタンではカザフ語・ロシア語・英語による三言語一体化政策を開始し、2030年までにすべての子ども・若者が三つの言語を修得するという目標を立て、グローバル人材育成に取り組んできた。成功のカギを握るのは一部のモデル大学やエリート学校における学校教育改革であり、この枠内では成果をあげていることから、カザフモデルの示唆するものは大きいといえる。また、政策の限界に関する検証から教育政策の課題も見える。