This article deals with the tendency and role of bilingual education in modern school in Kazakhstan. Nowadays the interest in bilingual education grows in Kazakhstan. The purpose of such education is formation of the bilingual persons capable freely to carry out communicative operations in two languages in all without exception life situations. In comparison with many other countries where there is an acculturation of the personality, in Kazakhstan both languages are demanded and fully function.
In the conditions of multinational Kazakhstan the development of bilingual education is an essential factor of public consent consolidation. The variety of cultures and languages is a national property of Kazakhstan. In this regard the understanding of languages role in the modern world with special sharpness raises for us a question of teaching productivity in languages and increase of multilingual education level of pupils and youth in Kazakhstan who have to become multilingual as language skills assumes formation of new Kazakhstan patriotism and opening of new opportunities for the younger generation. The responsible language policy is one of the main consolidating factors of the Kazakh nation. The system of education in several languages continues to develop and has been kept in Kazakhstan since the Soviet period. It is possible to note briefly some main approaches used today in bilingual education of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It includes the use of two languages at the same time within one lesson directed on mastering the material of any subject discipline. It relates to the basic non-use of the first language during education for creation of more realistic language environment, also use of two and three-lingual textbooks and language guides. Teachers had to develop the most part of them.
Bilingualism is a harmonious combination of the function of the national language, the language of the international and interethnic communication. As Zh. Nauryzbay puts in his work «Ethnic and cultural education» «bilingualism is an objective necessity in the multilingual society caused by the individual’s needs for mastering native and state languages» [1]. Education in the context of bilingualism is recognized by many scientists as one of the opportunities of the most effective organizing teaching a foreign language at school and therefore is in the center of researchers’ attention now.
Acceptance of ethnic and cultural education idea means creation of the national system of training and education which is based on the idea of cultural and linguistic pluralism combining world level of technical and information equipment of education with traditional and cultural values. As one of the problems of ethnical and cultural education in the Republic of Kazakhstan the problem of formation of the multilingual individual moves forward: training of the citizens capable effectively to communicate in native, state and Russian languages [2]. It implements thereby the models of «two loyalities»: in relation to own ethnic and cultural group and in relation to the state. In real practice it is referred to effective knowledge of three, four and more languages. Along with culturally focused models assuming development by pupils the lingual and crosscultural and social and cultural knowledge subject-oriented models get the relevance in which Russian acts as means of studying subject (mathematics, biology, physics, etc.) [3].
Lately in Kazakhstan the problem of multilingual training became an object of careful attention. There were adopted the laws on languages, guaranteeing preservation and development of national cultures and languages, development and improvement state language (Kazakh) and language of cross-cultural communication (Russian) and also the social and cultural context concerning learning of foreign language (English, German, French) was changed which is demanded in modern society not only as a communication medium, but also as the instrument of cognitive and professional activity. The concept of language policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan defines Russian as information source in different areas of science and equipment, as communication means near and far abroad. In the conditions of globalization and of bipolarity of the modern world the role of Russian amplifies which communicative rating is defined by its status of one of the world languages. In this regard before Kazakhstan the system of education is staticized the problem of training of the bilingual persons capable to provide competitiveness of national economy. In the solution of problems of language education the leading role is played by an education system, first of all, system of high comprehensive school.
Representatives of many ethnos live and cooperate in the multiethnic state of Kazakhstan. Languages of these nationalities actively function at the household level, and the Kazakh language is presented at the level of the state use. Before considering a language situation, we will stop on features of modern social and cultural conditions of Kazakhstan. Social and cultural, social culture (culture of the social relations) is defined by the regulatories, values and ideals causing behavior of people in society and their social relationship. The main forms of social culture are moral, legal and political culture.
Values of social culture (mercy, humanity, equality, democracy, a law and order, civil liberty) are realized only in human relations whereas cultural wealth (for example, the maintenance of a work of art) appeals to spiritual perfection, enrichment of an inner world of the personality aren't capable to approve in the society of behavior standard, providing the movement to the values and ideals proclaimed by them [4]. The words «moral», «morals», «ethics» are similar in meaning, but they were in three different languages. The word «ethics» — comes from the Greek ethos — temper, character, custom. The word «morals» — a Latin origin of mores — customs, customs. Cicero formed from it the word — moralis — moral and moralitas — morals which became a Latin equivalent of the Greek words ethical and ethics. And «moral» — the Russian word (temper). For the first time it appeared in the Russian dictionary in the XVIII century and began to be used along with the words «ethics» and «morals», «the rules defining behavior, spiritual qualities». In practice of the word usage they are interchanged.
The form of social culture is morals, all spheres of human life and activity are subordinated to the moral principles, and the mechanism of social culture is the public opinion. The knowledge in the modern society turns into the real wealth and into that force which will make shift of the power. As for the language situation of the state, it is always directly connected with social, economic, cultural and other processes which proceed in society. Language processes are historically caused; they are a result of the last development and comprise prerequisites for the future. In any public system there are conditions of social interaction, there are characteristic forms of language interaction peculiar to it which are called bilingualism or multilingualism. History convinces that bilingualism as a special phenomenon of language life among the people of different continents exists since the mankind invented language as a means of communication. This Means was formed during vital needs and need at different stages of development of human society differently and had the features, besides the attitude of society towards it was not identical [5].
In our history Russian was the main means of international communication for a long time. The modern state language policy is directed to strengthening and expanding the Kazakh language, keeping common cultural functions of Russian and development of people’s languages of our state. Setting up language preferences among pupils will help to plan the ways of regulating language balance in Kazakhstan. We have all opportunities for transition to parity (Latin — equality) of Kazakh, Russian and other languages functioning in the country. In modern social and cultural conditions of Kazakhstan the development and distribution of bilingualism on the basis of the state Kazakh language is urgent, as relating to the main directions of development and interaction of languages. In the present situation the knowledge of the Kazakh language by representatives of all other ethnos is an important condition of consolidating the Kazakhstani people.
Modernization of school education brought about in our country nowadays, first of all, is connected with the qualitative update of the contents and ensuring its developing culture character. In this regard the special attention is paid to creating conditions for development of the pupil’s creative personal potential and expansion of opportunities of modern advanced education, including language. Within the frame of advanced language education such conditions are provided in the process of learning on the bilingual basis. Meanwhile in recent years the discussion of the problem of bilingual education is more often conducted, relevance and progressiveness of this technology is confirmed.
Interest of the Kazakhstan school in bilingual education grows by means of native and foreign languages, there are practiced its various models and separate elements. All this is caused by entry of Kazakhstan into Bologna Process, the declarations «About Creation of Uniform European Space of the Higher Education», after all «integration of the educational markets is impossible without ensuring access of people to global systems and sources of information, without compatibility of educational standards» [5], activization of the international activity of higher educational institutions, increase of the academic mobility of students and teachers, possibility of participation of the Kazakhstan citizens in the international educational projects.
It is received broad development the direction focusing the teacher on training in cross-cultural communication and which is based on a paradigm: culture — the purpose, language — means [6]. Any language is a cultural code which forms human life philosophy, its system of values, style of behavior and mentality.
Bilingual education, which we consider necessary, is new not only for such multilingual state as Kazakhstan, but also for the whole world. In comparison with many other countries where there is an acculturation of the personality, in Kazakhstan both languages are demanded and fully function, both cultures interact, continuous cooperation of different ethnos takes place, therefore, acculturation is out of the question. The backbone of bilingual education is reduced to the program in which two languages act as training languages. The purpose of such education is formation of the bilingual persons capable freely to carry out communicative and activity operations in two languages in all without exception life situations.
It is necessary to note the need of the consecutive, coordinated performance of all principles revealing the essence of some principles of bilingual education. Children at this age are sociable and emotional, their feature is inquisitiveness and sharpness of perception, and they are open for any sort of communication. Joint activity unites children of different nationalities, causes in them a direct emotional response.
The principle of co-development of pupils’ communicative and cognitive abilities. Children’s interest in game is of great importance at this age. It gives the opportunity to interest pupils in a natural way, using game methods of teaching, to develop communicative abilities in speaking, understanding the foreign speech aurally. Developing educational and informative (ability to see the purpose and to work in compliance, ability to control and estimate your actions and actions of other children), speech, social and cultural, language competences of preschool children and younger school children, it is necessary to remember that game activity is harmoniously connected with educational and is the fundamental, forming basis of this activity.
The principle of multicultural orientation on studying a foreign language. In the environment of biculturalism game activity in the educational process not only solves various problems of the cross-cultural relations, upbringing, education, but also offers a wide range of real-life and educational situations.
At the same time, competence of literary standards in two languages means understanding, perception and preservation of fundamental cultural values of two nations. In this regard the practical purposes of bilingual language education can be defined as:
- mastering subject knowledge with use of two languages (native and foreign);
- formation and improvement of cross-cultural competence;
- development of communicative competence in the native and learned foreign languages;
- development of ability to receive additional subject (extra language) information from different spheres of functioning of a foreign
Realizing these purposes means to create a pupil’s language personality that is the personality capable to generate and understand speech statements [7].
Normally the bilingual know at least one language fluently. However chances when communication of the individual with his native language speakers is limited, and the level of the communicative interaction with native speakers dominating in language community is low. In a similar situation the adequate knowledge of the native language is lost, and the second language is mastered in limits.
This phenomenon gets the name the half-lingualism. The lexical structure of both languages is limited, and the grammatical structure is simplified. Special forms of half-lingualism are formed in conditions, when the contacting languages are closely related.
Problems of languages and cultures interaction, language construction and language policy gain special relevance both at the level of the individual, and at the level of society multilingualism of which surely assumes bilingualism and multilingualism.
In the conditions of the bi-and multilingualism sometimes rather uncommon is a question of the native language and in general a question of ethnic consciousness. Not by accident this problem is widely discussed now.
Khasanov B.H. considers: «For the personality its bilingualism is a means of thought expression, of knowledge of reality and of communication in multilingual society: thus its main component (native language) is a characteristic component of national, other component (the second language) — a learning tool of the persons representing multilingual nationalities and development of cultural values of other people [8].
The main difference of bilingual education from the traditional one is that teaching language is not only the means for teaching and training, but also its purpose. There is no doubt that mastering the language most successfully happens in the case of a significant and actual context. It follows that it is necessary to balance continuously between the lesson focused on the academic content and the lesson of a specific language orientation to achieve both purposes in the coursework. As in the phrase «bilingual education» we emphasize the noun (education), the bilingual lesson turns into a place where the academic and nonacademic content of a subject meet. It means that explaining the essence of difficult issues and scientific (academic) concepts we have a right to use more down-to-earth (nonacademic) language taking into consideration the pupils’ insufficient level of language teaching proficiency [8]. The concept bilingual programs in literature denotes various devices by means of which it is possible to help children to get compulsory (academic) education in the second language (or to continue education in the language which isn't the first or mother tongue). We consciously avoid the definition «mother tongue» as it is very difficult under the conditions of the modern dynamic world.
We can differentiate bilingual programs on the purpose and the audience. In case when the purpose of the bilingual program is transition to education only in the second language, these programs are called as transitional programs. Even in such tough wording it turned out to be necessary to support and in some ways develop the child’s first language proficiency level for maintaining the quality of education. The restriction of the importance of the first language slowed down the general development and mastering the program. In the modern world such transitional programs are unique in the case when the only common feature of the audience is the poor command of the language (state language), and children can have a various first language. It is necessary to note that these are mainly children from needy families (and often low-intelligent).
Unfortunately, nowadays the bilingual and multilingual personality hasn’t become a model yet on which the society is focused on. Mainly a bilingual masters one of the languages so poorly that his communication opportunities in this language are very limited [9]. It is easy to switch from language to language if to aspire to forming the ideal bilingual/multilingual personality who will know two languages rather freely and depending on circumstances, it would be necessary to bring some innovations within the system of school education, having included the bilingual education in it. Though it is an absolutely hard thing demanding big expenses and assuming the solution of a set of scientific, methodical, organizational, administrative, social and economic, psychological issues. But as a result we will have the highly educated bilinguals who are equally fluent in two literary languages. All this in total makes a basis of the educational process in such multicultural and multilingual community as Kazakhstan which needs the educated, moral, enterprising experts [10]. They should be capable independently to make crucial decisions in choice situations, predicting their possible consequences; capable to cooperation, differing in mobility, dynamism, constructability, possessing the developed identity.
In modern programs an ultimate goal of education and mastering the language as a means of communication is the pupil’s communication competence. In the Republic of Kazakhstan there is a concept of the language identity of a new type knowing several languages (three languages: Kazakh, Russian, English), integrated into the world culture, tolerant and possessing universal values. The foreign language is included in the list of compulsory subjects [11]. In accordance with the International European language standard the state educational standard on a foreign language was created.
The role of bilingualism in formation of harmoniously developed personality is great, for which it is an important means of all-round development and self-expression in multinational society in the concrete historical period — from the middle of the XX century to our time». Bilingualism (multilingualism) is the phenomenon socially natural and necessary in the multinational state. [12]
There is an opinion that use of the principles of bilingual education is a direct way of language assimilation of the population. But otherwise we doom those citizens to inevitable language and common cultural isolation. Both in that and in the other case it is possible to see signs of internal unity weakening of Kazakhstan nation, so it is necessary to look for ways of overcoming these remaining disintegration moods.
According to many experts, mastering the native language, i.e. taking all its measures can be possible only by learning any foreign language. Nothing can be learned without comparison, and the unity of language and thinking doesn't give us the chance to separate thought from ways of its expression. The bilingual language education gives us this chance, helping to reveal various means of expression both in the foreign and the native language.
References
- Nauryzbay Zh.Zh. Sayasat, 1997, 1, p.
- Message of the President of Kazakhstan to the people of Kazakhstan «Let’s build the future together!» from 01.2011, [ER]. Access mode: http://www.akorda.kz/ru/page/poslanie-prezidenta-respubliki-kazakhstan-n-a-nazarbaeva-narodu-kazakhstana28-01-2011-g_1340624589
- Suleimenova E.D. of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (series: philological), Almaty, 2001, 16, p. 19–30.
- Khassanov B.Kh. National languages and their interaction, B.Kh.Khassanov, Almaty, 1976, p.
- Kashkimbayev Z. Humanities, 2000, 4–5, p. 171–175.
- Zakiryanov K. National education, 1998, 5, p. 74–75.
- Isaev M.K. The Russian language and literature in Kazakhstani school, 2004, 3, p. 3–6.
- Mikhalhenko V.Y., Kruchkova T.B. Linguistics questions, 2002, 5, p. 116–142.
- Kubayeva I. The Kazakh language and literature in Russian school, 2004, 1, p. 98–108.
- The Russian language and literature in Kazakhstani school, 2004, 3, p. 6–12.
- Minasova K.R. Socialogical investigation, 2002, 8 (220), p. 49–56.
- Iskakova A.S. National education, 2006, 3, p. 48–58.