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Problems for Learners in KazakhstanKazakhstan is a big country in Central Asia. It was part of the Soviet Union, and became its own republic twenty years ago with the fall of the u.s.S.R. The teaching system still remains like that of the strict communist rule. The teacher is at the center of every lesson. He or she sits at the desk in front of the class and lectures or yells at the students. They suppress creativity and teach through rote memorization. Students are forced to learn through rote memorization, and therefore are just cramming the information and not actually digesting the material. Furthermore, in most ordinary schools students have Kazakh language five times a week, Russian language three times a week, and english twice a week. english is taught by teachers who cannot speak it themselves, and teach it in such a boring way that most people would despise the language. If the teachers are not a good role model for how the language is used how should students be expected to want to learn the language. The traditional Kazakh student is faced with problems in learning the english language. For eighteen years there was a partnership between the Kazakh and American government for an influx of Americans to come to the classrooms in Kazakhstan for a 27 month commitment to help re-invigorate the english classroom. This organization is called the Peace Corps. The Americans brought with them resources such as colored paper, lots of markers, endless games, big smiles, and a new technique of the communicative method with a focus on student centered teaching. Each American Peace Corps Volunteers? experience was different and therefore over arching generalizations cannot be made. From the Northern region of Kazakhstan where I served I can say the kids responded extremely well to being allowed to get out of their seats and do lots of group work. They liked playing games that involved grammar and vocabulary review. They also got used to me roaming the classroom while I taught and, therefore, were forced to pay attention. With my first hand experience I found students interests were peaked in the english language. They even started attending after school grammar clubs, tutoring, and various english Clubs. Over the Summer I had an english summer camp that resulted in an amazing turn out and students declaring to continue studying english. With their peaked interest they devoted more time outside of the classroom to reading additional articles, learning the lyrics to english songs, and watching movies with english subtitles. Problems students face in Kazakhstan is inherently in the system that puts them at a disadvantage. Who wants to go to a language class in which they sit and get yelled at and barely speak the language when it is in fact a language and meant to be spoken. Add that to the fact that they use a different alphabet-Cyrillic, and their native language is extremely different. All of this makes a recipe for disaster in learning english. However, there are some amazing native teachers in Kazakhstan who have produced very knowledgeable students and are the glimmer of hope for Kazakhstani?s learning english.
