Early learning of English in a Kazakh school (results of a sociolinguistic study)

Sulkarnayeva Asiya ORCID: 0000-0001-7377-7310 PhD in Philology Associate Professor of the Department of Philology, Scientific Secretary of the Kazakhstan Branch of the Lomonosov Moscow State University 010010, Kazakhstan, Akmolinskaya oblast', g. Nur-Sultan, ul. Kazhimukana, 11, of. 701 a-r-s-2008@yandex.ru

Introduction

Over the past 25 years, teachers and teachers of foreign languages have been discussing specific problems of foreign language education: the introduction of modern teaching methods (including informational ones) into the educational process, the need to develop textbooks of a new generation taking into account regional specifics, early learning of foreign languages and much more. Moreover, the interest in these issues not only does not weaken, but every year attracts the attention of theoretical scientists and teachers/practitioners more and more.

In the early 90s, Kazakhstan's educational system was faced with the need to significantly modernize. Foreign language learning has become a key focus of attention: laws on languages and their statuses have been discussed and adopted; the status and context of foreign language learning has changed mentally, socially and legislatively, mainly English. So, learning English has become an urgent necessity. Kazakh-Turkish lyceums for boys (later for girls), which opened in 1992, became an illustrative example of multilingual education, where the teaching of English, Turkish, Kazakh and Russian languages was carried out together with the teaching of other disciplines in a foreign (English /Turkish) language [1:1]. This appeal to multilingual (Kazakh-, Russian- and English-speaking) education, in which a foreign language, along with the native language, served as a tool for obtaining knowledge in the specialty and self-education, has become a key aspect of intercultural communication and multicultural education [2: 6].

In the 2000s, a foreign language was included in the list of compulsory subjects. Under the leadership of S.S. Kunanbayeva, the "The concept of development of foreign language education of the Republic of Kazakhstan" (2006) ^[3]. This concept states that "the need to introduce early learning of foreign languages with further improvement and deepening of their mastery in the variable succession structure of educational institutions of basic, secondary specialized, post-secondary vocational and higher education is realized." In section 3.2 "The system of continuous and continuous foreign language education", the levels of language acquisition should be "implemented as follows: for the primary grades of secondary school, a starting training program is recommended; for the main stage (grades 5-10) – levels A1, A2" ^[3].  The author will tell about the practice of mastering the levels of a foreign language below.

In general, the experience of observing the gradual modernization of the foreign language education system in Kazakhstan shows that among many conceptual and documentary paradigms, a special place is occupied by the practice of creating educational institutions and organizations of different levels with in-depth study of native and foreign languages, starting from a young age. And this, the author would like to emphasize here, is also one of the main mental and cultural paradigms in the field of foreign language education: the focus on intercultural communication in action has become obvious. As the author repeatedly says in his works, in the 1990s there was a paradigm shift from "language learning in theory" to "language learning in practice". This, at first glance, imperceptible change actually led to the modernization of the entire system of foreign language education. The transformation of foreign language education is a consequence of a changed paradigm in the perception, training and life of new generations of Kazakhstanis.

In the first decade of the 21st century, there was a lot of talk about the introduction of English language learning in primary school education. The year 2012 was significant in this sense, as a number of gymnasiums, lyceums and schools with advanced study of a foreign (English) language took part in this experiment. Today, there is an active demand for learning English in kindergarten and classes are conducted as additional, officially permitted (the duration of the lesson is 20 minutes). An example of this is kindergarten No. 30 "Kainar" (Astana). In elementary school, the study of English varies from 1 to 3 lessons per week (along with a mandatory lesson, parents pay for an additional lesson through the school fund). An example of this is one of the capital's schools-the Nursultan Gymnasium, where an additional lesson is in the school schedule.

So, what is the earlier teaching of English in the primary and secondary levels of public school? Why is it accompanied by so many myths? Where and how to get reliable facts? In this paper, the author will consider the results of a sociological study on the early learning of English in primary and secondary school in one of the grammar schools in Nur-Sultan.

Research methodology

At the planning stage, it was decided to conduct a survey of informants through an anonymous cluster (or group classroom) questionnaire using a continuous sample of respondents as the most reliable way to obtain the information necessary for the study. When compiling the questionnaire, the author was guided by the traditional rules for the compilation of questionnaires. The principle of respondents' perception of the questionnaire text was taken into account: due to the age characteristics of the respondents, the questions were composed in the simplest possible sentences. This definitely played an important role, as all the questions in the questionnaire were clear to the students.

The principle of specificity of culture and practical experience of respondents was also taken into account. Obviously, the respondents could answer questions about their own experience. It was their experience in learning English from the 1st grade that was the purpose of this questionnaire. Prior to the survey, students and their parents, the class teacher and the English teacher were given a detailed and clear explanation of the essence and purpose of the survey. It is noteworthy that the students took part in the survey with great enthusiasm, as they wanted to share their own experience in this matter.

In order to avoid the traditional difficulties of obtaining contradictory information, the author tried to avoid duplication of meaning in several questions and build a logical sequence of questions from simple to more complex, from particular to more general.

The principle of "semantic blocks" in the questionnaire was fully observed. So, the first four questions concerned the time, methods and place of learning English (the first semantic block). The next semantic block of two questions (questions 5 and 6) concerned the understanding of English speech: place and method (the second semantic block). Further questions related to their own speaking (questions 7 and 8): the ability to speak and the assessment of this skill (the third semantic block). Then the questions (numbered 9-11) require the expression of one's own opinion (the fourth semantic block). In the next fifth block, the questions are devoted to the student's own experience (questions 12-13). In the sixth block, questions are devoted to motivation and talent in learning a foreign language (14-15 questions). Note that the third and fifth semantic blocks are interrelated, as they refer to the personal experience of respondents. The fourth and sixth blocks contain questions of a more abstract nature, but are based on the opinion and personal experience of the students.

The principle of the distribution of questions according to their degree of difficulty was partially sustained, since questions of a more abstract nature (blocks 4 and 6) were included in the middle and end of the questionnaire. This is due to the author's desire to maintain interest in the questionnaire questions and get complete answers to all questions.

The questionnaire in Russian (handout, on paper) was a list of 15 questions with several types of questions: single choice, multiple choice (determined using a smiley face), a semi-closed type with a comment. The combination of several types of questions in the questionnaire seems appropriate and desirable due to the need to obtain the most complete information on the issue under study.

For example, the question "Do you mix your native language with English in your speech?" offered answer options: "Yes" or "No" and a comment on the question "Why?" as a continuation of the answer. It should be noted that the comments of the informants were especially interesting here, since they revealed the essence of the issue and gave a clear picture on each issue of interest.

Example of a multiple choice question: "How do you speak English: just words or whole sentences, or I speak and read and write fluently." Here the informants were offered three possible answers: 1) «I say just a few individual words (e.g. yes/no/good/bad)"; 2) I say short simple sentences (e.g. I like you. I will read this book. I went home. I drank juice yesterday); 3) «I can speak in whole (long) sentences (for example, I want to tell you about my spare time and vacation. Usually I go into sports when I have some free time. My favorite sport is tennis. When on vacation I go the county». Informants were asked to put a smiley face in the column where the most appropriate answer was formulated for him.

Example of a question-comment: "Do you think it is possible to learn English in Kazakhstan, where English is not spoken everywhere? if YES or NO, then write why." Note that in each question there was an additional place for the informant's comment. Looking ahead, let's say that this played a positive role, since almost all informants left one or another comment in this column.

As always, when working with active procedures and techniques of conducting sociolinguistic research, the advantage was the live contact of the teacher as a participant in the study with informants. The disadvantage of the survey was the significant time spent on the preparation of the questionnaire, the conduct of the survey itself and the limited coverage of the language group.

The preparatory stage included a discussion of the goals and objectives of the questionnaire with the methodical association of English teachers of this gymnasium school. The date, time and place of the survey were determined: January (academic year, third quarter), school English classroom, before the start of lessons. Conditions for conducting the survey: anonymously, in writing. The duration of the survey was 45-50 minutes; however, in the process of conducting the survey, many informants completed the survey in a shorter time.

The informants are fifth grade students of one of the gymnasiums of the city of Nursultan, Kazakhstan. The language of instruction is Russian. There are 47 informants in total (two parallel classes). The stage of acquaintance with the informants was excluded as superfluous, since the survey was conducted by their English teacher. During the preparation process, it was assumed that conducting a questionnaire by a teacher would remove the barrier of embarrassment of informants and allow them to focus on the answers faster and more calmly. Looking ahead, we note that the survey of students passed calmly, without unexpected difficulties.

Discussion: analysis of questionnaires and author's comments

We consider it expedient to analyze the answers and comments to all 15 questions of the questionnaire in order to identify the most complete picture of the problem under study.

Question 1 "Have you been learning English since 1st grade?". 46 affirmative answers (or 98%) and 1 (or 2%) negative answers were received to this question. Explanation from the author: 1 student started studying from the 3rd grade (arrived from another school).

Analysis of answers and comments: students of these classes have started learning English since 2012 (1st grade of the gymnasium). That year, the study of English was mandatory for participating schools of the republican pilot project according to the "Concept for the development of foreign language education of the Republic of Kazakhstan", adopted in 2006.

Question 2"Do you learn English from different textbooks (books)?". 41 (or 87%) answered in the affirmative; 1 student (or 2%) does not remember; 5 (or 11%) students answered that they study according to the textbook "Tiger Time". Explanation: at the time of the survey, the entire class was studying according to this textbook.

Analysis of answers and comments: It is most likely that 5 students focused only on the current academic year. The majority of respondents confirmed the study of the subject according to various educational and methodological publications. This is also confirmed by information from the methodical association of the gymnasium school, since they work according to the main textbook approved by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as additional materials that the methodical association of the school itself chooses for each academic year. Looking ahead, let's say that many students attend additional classes, where they study according to other books, textbooks and manuals.

Question 3 "Do you learn English only at school in the classroom (don't go to extra classes somewhere)?". 20 students (or 42%) answered in the affirmative; 25 (or 53%) gave negative answers. 2 questionnaires (5%) should be considered filled out incorrectly, since the answers to this question were "yes + yes" and "no + no", which indicates contradictory answers. Thus, 20 students answered that they study English only in school lessons.

Analysis of responses and comments: Most of the students (53%) attend additional classes outside of school. Since the following question is a logical continuation of this question, no more detailed comments are noted here.

You should pay attention to the answers of students who study English only in school classes. In the comments, they wrote that they study the language as follows: "by myself" (5 answers), "with the Internet / online translator" (9 answers). It is noteworthy that language learning takes place with the involvement of online resources (for example, an online translator) that help with the pressing problems of language learning: two-way translation of words and sentences (text). 9 respondents consider online resources to be a real practical help.

At the same time, comments are interesting where respondents added that someone helps them after all: "with my brother" (1 answer), "someone helps" (1 answer), "with my mother" (2 answers), "with my aunt" (1 answer), "with my sister" (1 answer), "with uncle" (1 answer). Several answers contained explanations like "with the Internet and mom." Based on the explanations, it can be concluded that these persons (mother, uncle, etc.) to some extent speak English, sufficient within the school curriculum. Due to the assumed age of these persons (mother, aunt, uncle, brother, sister), it can also be judged that these are young and middle-aged people (approximately from 18 to 40) have at least a minimal set of language skills. Hence (as well as from the author's daily practice), a more general idea about the (rather) positive results of the program for the development of foreign language education implemented in Kazakhstan. 

Question 4 "Do you go to learn English for some additional classes (tutor, center, language school)?". 2 questionnaires should be considered filled out incorrectly, since the answers to this question were "yes + yes" and "no + no", which indicates contradictory answers. 20 (or 42%) answered in the negative; they learn English only in school lessons.  25 students (or 53%) answered that they study English additionally.

Analysis of answers and comments: Out of 25 students, 2 students who wrote about it in the questionnaire attend a (private) tutor. A group lesson is attended by 1 student. 21 the questionnaire does not contain explanations about the type of class visits (individually or in a group). The frequency of attendance of additional classes by students is as follows: twice a week – 14 students, three times a week – 6 students. 4 students did not indicate the frequency of visits.

Based on the answers of the students, contradictory guesses can be made. The first guess is that the school curriculum for learning English is too complex and inconsistent for most of the class to master (53%). This can be confirmed by analyzing teaching materials and the frequency of their use in the classroom, as well as by anonymous questioning of teachers (planned by the author in the future). If the teacher relies on the main textbook, then the study of the material can be difficult, but consistent. If the teacher relies mainly on additional materials, then the material for studying can be both complex and inconsistent. One thing is obvious, students misunderstand the material being studied (its content, logic, sequence). Second guess: the school curriculum for learning English is too simple and this causes the desire of students and parents to study a foreign language additionally for the development of language skills and abilities. The third guess is that the school curriculum is logically built, tested and adapted for study at school (after all, it is approved by the Ministry of Education). The desire to learn English is additionally justified by the dictates of the time, a kind of fashion. In general, it seems that 53% of students attend additional classes both due to educational necessity and following a kind of fashion for English.

Question 5 "Do you understand when they speak English on the street, in a store, etc.?". 32 students (or 68%) answered in the affirmative and 15 (or 31%) gave negative answers. Comment: just individual words are understood by 11 students; whole sentences are understood by 15 students; "all-all" is understood by 0 students. An affirmative answer ("yes") without a comment – 17; an affirmative answer ("yes") with an abstract comment – 4 questionnaires. Examples of questionnaires with an abstract comment: "I'm learning English and I like it"; "on the street, expressions"; "a lot, but I don't understand a little"; "food".

Analysis of responses and comments: It is interesting that respondents fairly objectively assess their own knowledge. So, none of the students answered that they could understand fluent foreign speech. Moreover, 31% gave completely negative answers, and 68% of students understand only individual words and simple sentences. Only four recipients gave a comment on this question. However, the comments themselves are abstract in nature and do not provide enough complete information. It is obvious that any modern person is familiar with the English names of fast food and beverages, household appliances and cars, the simplest or most common words-slogans, advertising mottos, etc. Such a superficial knowledge of English words can hardly indicate any knowledge of the language.

Question 6 "Do you understand English without translation from cartoons or movies?". 36 students (or 76%) answered in the affirmative and 10 (or 21%) gave negative answers. 1 the questionnaire cannot be accepted for consideration, since the student put a dash in both columns of the answers "yes" and "no"; 10 negative answers, 9 of them are given without comment. Whole sentences (as spelled out in the comment) are understood by 13 people; only the meaning and words are understood by 24 students; little / little (according to the comment) is understood by 2 students.

Analysis of responses and comments: Despite the large percentage of those who answered in the affirmative (76%), the comment still gives a more complete picture. Thus, 24 respondents are able to grasp the meaning and individual words. This in no way serves as proof of language proficiency, since it is obvious that the meaning will be clear from the very content of the cartoon and/or movie. For example, let's recall silent movies / cartoons, where the essence is clear to the viewer without words. Whole sentences, most likely syntactically simple, can be understood by only 13 students (27%). And again, this does not speak about language proficiency, since the most common sentences are familiar to the ordinary man in the street. For example, "Hi! How are you?" or "Anybody home?". Thus, the understanding of fluent (free) English is not yet available to our respondents.

Question 7 "Can you speak English?". 35 students (or 74%) answered in the affirmative and 9 (or 19%) gave negative answers.3 questionnaires cannot be accepted for consideration, as the students did not specify any answer (an empty field). The following comments are given to negative answers: "I am not English (spelling is preserved)", "bad with English", "if they ask me, I want to understand, but sometimes I can't understand", "I have a problem with making sentences (word order)", "word order", "teachers they change."

The following comments are given to the affirmative answers: "I go to courses (4 answers)", "partially" (4 answers), "I can describe a picture" (5 answers), "greeting", "[I have] a good teacher" (5 answers), "I watch instructive videos", "I can formulate a question / make sentences", "thanks to the tutor" (2 answers), "I have language experience", "with difficulty" (3 answers), "good, but not excellent".

Analysis of responses and comments: As in the previous question, the majority of students answered in the affirmative (74%). However, here we must take into account that this is a subjective opinion. As the comments show, the situation is not so prosperous. So, there are only 9 negative answers with interesting explanations, more precisely, a description of the problem in language learning. This is probably due to the fact that teachers themselves inform students about their problems in the process of learning the language, i.e. students receive teacher's feedback. As practice shows, this is useful and necessary in the process of language acquisition, since it reflects an objective picture. Comments on affirmative answers also show the presence of difficulties: the study is difficult, satisfactory or good, but not excellent. Five answers are accompanied by an abstract explanation about the presence of a good teacher / tutor and four answers that students go to courses (English). The students themselves evaluate the quality of language proficiency by such criteria as the ability to describe a picture, formulate a question and make sentences. Naturally, such criteria do not prove language proficiency, but indicate the presence of a certain set of language skills.

Question 8 "How do you speak English: just words or whole sentences, or I speak and read and write fluently. There are 3 possible answers here. Put a smiley face where you choose your answer J". Note: No comment was provided for this question. The answers are as follows: "I'm just saying a few separate words" – 8 questionnaires (17%). There is no comment. "I speak in short simple sentences" – 33 questionnaires (70%). There is no comment.  "I can speak in whole long sentences" – 5 questionnaires (10%). 1 questionnaire with a double choice of answer (short sentences + long sentences (text) with a comment (punctuation of the author is saved) "it depends how and where."

Analysis of answers and comment: Since the respondents were offered ready-made answers in three columns (I speak in separate words; I speak in simple sentences; I speak in long sentences), no comment was provided for this question. Interestingly, the largest number of responses came to the "golden mean": 70% of respondents positively assessed their language abilities to speak in short, simple sentences. It follows from this that students of the 5th grade of the gymnasium school, studying English from the 1st grade, have a certain set of language skills and are able to carry out a simple but successful communicative act. Of course, it would be interesting to compare language competence with students who later started learning the language according to the school curriculum.

Question 9 "Do you think that it is necessary to learn English from the very childhood (in kindergarten, from the 1st grade)?". 40 students (or 85%) answered in the affirmative and 7 (or 15%) gave negative answers. The following comments are given to negative answers (given in the author's spelling and punctuation): "well, everyone chooses their own opinion, so no"; "at any age you can learn English"; "because it's difficult for a small child"; "still small, you need to know simple words for little ones"; "in my opinion, people at this age are still young."

The following comments are given to the affirmative answers (the author's spelling and punctuation are preserved):

- "to learn the language better and faster, and you get used to it";

- "because even a tourist can approach a child and ask how to get somewhere";

- "because a child's brain remembers better";

- "because if you teach now [from the author – in the 5th grade] it will be difficult to teach him, and he is needed almost everywhere";

- "because I'm going to different countries";

- "because a little child understands more";

- "if we learn from the first grade, we will understand better in the future";

- "it is necessary that English is known and understood from the first grade, words, good memory";

-     "I believe that you need to know English, it will be needed in life";

- "will help in education";

- "English is better learned this way";

- "a lot of things [that] are written in English";

- "English is the world language";

- "it's easier to teach this way";

- "it will be easier in high school";

- "soon we will all speak English, and Kazakh will be in Latin";

- "because the child must develop + English is still an international language";

- "if you learn from childhood, then in the future you will already know all English [language]";

- "but in the future, who knows, suddenly only English will remain";

- "the sooner the better";

- "when you go abroad, you won't understand them there";

- "because sometimes you can meet the English";

- "it's easier to teach in childhood";

- "useful for future work";

- "children should learn a lot."

Analysis of responses and comments: 85% of respondents believe that learning English from an early age is useful and necessary. Here are various arguments that can be systematized as follows:

1) cognitive abilities of the child's brain (good memory, the need to develop language competence);

2) the role of English as an international language (currently prevails in the world community);

3) education (according to the principle "the earlier, the better");

4) professional activity (knowledge of a foreign language as a useful skill in the future);

5) communication (outside of your country, with native English speakers).

Question 10 "Does learning English prevent you from learning other languages (for example, Kazakh, Russian, etc.)?". Affirmative answers – 5 (or 10%). Negative responses – 42 (or 89%).  

Analysis of answers and comments: To the affirmative answers, respondents give the following comments (given in the author's spelling and punctuation): "French"; "many institutes have other languages and textbooks"; "pronunciation"; "when I speak Kazakh [I] want to say in English". Let's pay attention to the fact that the student (s) is also studying French, which (or which) prevents the study of English as a mandatory foreign language at school. The second serious difficulty is pronunciation, which is not surprising, since the phonetics section is actually excluded from Kazakh textbooks on learning English. The only permanent and accessible source (to one degree or another) of correct pronunciation is the school English teacher. Naturally, the pronunciation of the teacher serves as a benchmark for the assimilation of pronunciation norms by students. However, on the other hand, his/her (teacher's) pronunciation may also leave much to be desired. The next problem is the influence of English on the study of the Kazakh language, especially for students of other nationalities. This is a fairly common situation, especially when studying English in depth.

The following comments are offered to negative answers (89%) (given in the author's spelling and punctuation): "someone knows some languages from birth"; "I'm OK"; "it's easy for me"; "I'm doing well in all languages"; "it doesn't bother me"; "I like all languages"; "I love all languages"; "I can remember both, I have enough time"; "I like Kazakh better, and I'm not confused"; "on the contrary, it helps"; "we should be able to connect everything"; "Kazakh and Russian are easy and learn them faster. And English is a little more difficult"; "I have time"; "I am learning English and I like it"; "I have time to learn 3 languages"; "it develops".

If we classify the comments of students, then three main categories are revealed: 1) motivation and success (I like everything, everything turns out well); 2) proper organization of time (I manage everything, there is enough time); 3) personal responsibility (we must be able to, it develops). Thus, learning one foreign language contributes to the successful assimilation of other languages. In the Kazakh context, this is more than relevant in connection with the current state program for the development of trilingualism (Kazakh + Russian + English). The development of a multilingual personality is noted as one of the main aspects in the "State Program for the development and functioning of languages in the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2011-2020" ^[4].

Question 11 "Do you think it is possible to learn English in Kazakhstan, where English is not spoken everywhere?". Affirmative answers – 44 (or 93%). The following comments are given to them (given in the author's spelling and punctuation):

- "if there is a desire, then you will learn English";

- "we have good teachers";

- "maybe";

- "yes, you can have a tutor";

- "because the English can still meet";

- "everywhere you can learn";

- "this is the world language";

- "Kazakhstan needs a variety of languages";

- "there are many nations in Kazakhstan and there is a desire to teach them [languages]";

- "if you try, you can find a tutor";

- "I don't know";

- "because we teach English well";

- "if you really want to, you can";

- "you can study individually, on the Internet, in games";

- "there is internet and many different courses";

- "yes, you can only need a desire";

- "there are teachers who studied in England or America";

- "it is possible at school, the teacher helps"";

- "we teach at school, with tutors";

- "there are special "speakengs" where Englishmen are invited and they talk. And there are additional lessons";

- "go to courses, teach at home, watch movies and read books in English";

- "you can learn from online lessons";

- "you can! All you need is a textbook and a desire and the Internet";

- "either on YouTube or with a good teacher."

Negative responses – 3 (or 7%). The following comments are given to them (given in the author's spelling and punctuation): "the environment [and] the environment [speaks] Russian and Kazakh"; "you often speak Kazakh, not English."

Analysis of responses and comments: Almost all respondents responded positively (93%). Affirmative comments can be divided into thematic groups: personal motivation (if you really want to, you can or you can study individually, on the Internet, in games); professional help (the teacher helps; tutors); popular opinion (this is a world language; the English can still meet). It should be noted that students in their comments are most likely repeating the words of their parents and the widespread public opinion regarding the need to learn English. Having adopted someone's opinion and having established himself in it, the student further finds available means to perform the difficult task of learning a foreign language: online materials (YouTube, online lessons, films); traditional printed publications (textbook); native speakers (special "speakengs"); teacher (teacher, tutor).

The few negative answers (3 in total) are accompanied by no less interesting comments about the language environment, the essence of which can be briefly described as follows: the dominant role of the Kazakh and Russian languages. The population of the country speaks these languages, which is historically determined. Naturally, the republic is not (and never has been) among the English-speaking countries; however, the desire and need to learn English as the language of the world economy have produced visible results over the past 20 years of Kazakhstan's independence.

Question 12 "Do you mix your native language with English in your speech?". 34 students (or 72%) answered in the affirmative and 12 (or 25%) gave negative answers. 1 the questionnaire is not accepted for analysis, since the student ticked both boxes and wrote "yes and no".

Analysis of answers and comments: The following comments are given to the affirmative answers: "because it's so convenient" / "convenient and shorter"; "easier and unusual"; "because sometimes I want to say in this language"; "it's easier and funnier for me"; "it's easy, for example, senkyu, sori, OK"; "it's fun"; "it's interesting to talk"; "some words are taken from English"; "I am close to the gaming industry, where English is very often used"; "because English words have spread"; "this is my language"; "[I mix] Kazakh with English, especially numbers"; "at school, in social networks we speak English"; "sometimes I don't think, but I answer."

The analysis of affirmative comments highlights the key aspects of the use of "Runglish", where interference of the Russian language is obvious. Note that for the use of English words in speech, students cite convenience, brevity and fashion as the main arguments: "convenient", "shorter" and "funnier". Interestingly, English words have undergone a phonetic transformation under the influence of the Russian language and are not only pronounced, but also written according to this transformation – "senkyu" (which implies the word "thank you"). In general, the topic of runglish is very relevant at the present time; this is evidenced by the fixation of the Internet page on the well-known Wikipedia site (https://ru.wikipedia.org/Ðóíãëèø ) ^[5]. The respondents themselves note a desire for such a mixture of languages: "because sometimes I want to say in this language" and "this is my language."

Reasoning about the negative or positive causes and consequences of this phenomenon is not included in the tasks of our analysis here, but may become the topic of a separate study. This will be more than in demand, since now I can already say with confidence about another pseudo-dialect of the English language that is actively being formed in Kazakhstan. I will conditionally call it "kazinglish" by analogy with "runglish", so easily introduced into everyday use by Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev. It can be stated that the majority of Kazakh youth (especially ethnic Kazakhs) aged 13 to 30 years successfully forms "Kazinglish" in everyday life. This happens at the main levels of the language: lexical, phonetic, syntactic. Examples are the following words: noun kazyburger (burger with smoked-boiled horse sausage); verb skanerleu (to scan). The use of phonetically adapted words and expressions fills the Kazakh language of everyday communication more and more. This is also facilitated by intrusive advertising in the mass media: for example, TV advertising shows the traditional national dish beshbarmak in combination with an American drink and is accompanied by the slogan "Coca-Cola damdarek" (it tastes better with Coca-Cola). «Kazinglish", in my opinion, has already become a phenomenon that it is impossible to dismiss or turn a blind eye to. It should be studied, analyzed, like any other linguistic phenomenon.

The following comments are given to negative answers: "when talking to a foreigner, he may not understand Russian words"; "the speech will be incomprehensible"; "I don't notice"; "it looks stupid"; "if I speak English, I only speak it"; "I don't know"; "well, everyone has language is your own language, you can't use someone else's language"; "my native language is the most important (kaz.yaz.)"; "I don't like it". As can be seen from the comments, 25% of respondents still hold the opinion that mixing languages is undesirable, because it makes speech incomprehensible, even stupid. It is noteworthy that one of the students replied that "my native language is the most important", attributing in parentheses an explanation that it is the Kazakh language. Of course, the knowledge of languages is the wealth of an educated person; the love of the native language is worthy of respect and following as an example.

Returning to our analysis of the students' answers, we note that among the comments there is only one that indirectly indicates the presence of "Kazinglish": "[I mix] Kazakh with English, especially numbers." It seems that conducting a separate study on "kazinglishu" among primary, secondary and senior level students can show very interesting results.

Question 13 "Is it easy for you to learn English?". 30 students (or 63%) answered in the affirmative and 15 (or 32%) gave negative answers.2 questionnaires cannot be accepted for consideration because the students did not indicate any answer or the student ticked both boxes and wrote "yes and no".

Analysis of answers and comments: Students added the following explanations to the affirmative answers: "I'm just trying"; "all [teachers] explain everything well"; "I have the best teacher"; "I listen carefully to teachers and learn the rules"; "it's easy for me"; "it's very convenient for me, but this is mine opinion"; "the tutor explains to me / everything is clear to me"; "I have a good memory and thinking"; "it is easy to remember and I like it"; "interesting language"; "I have a desire to learn"; "it's easy"; "because we mix lessons with games and songs"; "we watch, read, talk in the classroom"; "I assimilate with visual memory"; "I go to courses"; "they explain to us in an interesting way"; "I don't find anything difficult, I need to listen to the teacher."

Note that students highlight motivation (I have a desire to teach), professional competence of the teacher (all [teachers] explain everything well), accessibility (they explain it to us in an interesting way), visibility (I assimilate visual memory, listen carefully to teachers) as the main criteria for easy mastering of a foreign language. It is known that these criteria are the fundamental principles of linguodidactics. Hence, it can be concluded that there is a positive methodology for teaching a foreign language in relation to academic results among school teachers, teachers and private educators. Students' assessment of their own efforts is also interesting: It's easy for me, I don't find anything difficult.

Among the comments to negative answers are noted: "I forget some words"; "besides English, there are many other lessons at school where you need to learn something"; "partially"; "laziness"; "something was missed in elementary school"; "it is difficult to learn all the words, especially when memory is bad"; "all languages are together and sometimes I get confused! (sad smiley face)"; "bad memory and can't formulate words"; "I don't remember words"; "stuck on irregular verbs and a problem with retelling"; "you need to memorize and read a lot";

"it's a foreign language."

As already analyzed above, students constantly receive feedback from the teacher regarding gaps in knowledge; that is why it is so easy for respondents to classify their existing problems in the learning process. Obviously, these problems are the most typical at all stages of language learning: memorization of words, irregular verbs, retelling. Of greater interest are comments about student laziness, the need to learn other disciplines and language interference ("all languages are together and sometimes I get confused!"). Students are aware of a large amount of knowledge in all disciplines (you need to memorize and read a lot), hence the obvious conclusion about the heavy load of the educational process on the student. Reasoning somewhat aloof from this analysis, it seems that it would be useful for the school education system to separate students by study profiles already at the middle level, and not at the senior level, as is usually done in schools and gymnasiums-lyceums. Thus, it would be possible to form specialized training of students in the profile: humanities or mathematics. It is assumed that this would reduce the load on one block of disciplines in favor of another.

Question 14 "Do you think you need talent to learn English?". 8 students (or 17%) answered in the affirmative and 38 (or 80%) gave negative answers. 1 questionnaire a is not accepted for consideration, since the student has put a dash in both fields.

Analysis of answers and comment: Among the explanations to the affirmative answers we read: "in other countries it is possible to talk to people"; "it is very difficult for some to remember"; "I don't know"; "it seems to me because it is transmitted by g and netics"; "aha"; "[need] to read, memorize"; "there are people who are poorly given, but they really want to; and some people don't want to, but they remember very quickly."

For negative answers, more extensive student comments were offered (spelling and punctuation are preserved): "anyone can learn"; "not really. After all, any adult can learn, and talent is not required here"; "every person who has a goal can do it"; "everyone can. Everyone teaches the same way"; "if he wants, he will learn"; "everyone has the same opportunities to learn the language"; "everyone can"; "you need desire"; "you need diligence"; "the main thing is work"; "if you want, then everything is possible WITHOUT TALENT"; "talent is not needed. It just needs to be understood, listened to, watched carefully and that's it"; "every person in the world can learn any language."

The widespread opinion about the innate propensity to learn foreign languages (as a rule, going against the inclination to mathematics) implies (?) the presence of some talent in the student. Certain propensities of the student, revealed already in the elementary school, to certain subjects in some way imply that in the future the student will choose one or another profile of study (mathematical or humanitarian). As common practice and everyday life shows, in most cases this is the division in directions that takes place. In fact, we know many outstanding personalities in the field of physical and mathematical sciences who spoke several foreign languages. Learning a foreign language, as a rule, requires time and considerable effort; the ability to master a language is inherent in every person (who speaks his native language) and languages – almost anyone with experience of a bilingual (multilingual) environment. Let us recall the classical home education for the Russian nobility in the 19th century, when a French tutor or an English governess was invited to teach noble children languages and other sciences. Constant contact with a native speaker, as well as the language environment of the family with the predominance of a foreign language, served as a solid basis for mastering both native and foreign languages.

Numerous studies and many online resources on bilingualism prove that the acquisition of a foreign language takes place naturally in a bilingual environment. In the absence of a natural language environment, the assimilation of a foreign language is effective when using productive and qualified teaching methods. Naturally, the process and speed of learning a foreign language are always individual, depend on the psychophysiological characteristics of the individual. However, it is hardly worth talking about the presence of a certain talent for languages, since a person is endowed with an innate ability to learn a language.

Question 15 "Is it more interesting for you to learn English in a game and conversation or from a textbook, exercises, texts? There are 2 options here. Put a smiley face where you choose your answer J". 41 students (or 87%) answered in the affirmative and 4 (or 8%) gave negative answers. Double choice (combined answers) – 2 answers.

"It is more interesting for me to learn English in a game and conversation" – 41 answers.

"It is more interesting for me to learn English from a textbook, exercises, texts" – 4 answers.

Analysis of responses and comments: Out of the comments given, 87% of respondents advocate an interactive format for learning a foreign language. Of course, it is necessary to take into account the age and psychophysiological features of the development of children aged 11-12 years. The game and the frequent change of types of tasks in the lesson are the main methodological recommendations for English language teachers. The famous saying of Confucius "I hear and forget; I see and remember; I do and understand" fully reflects the essence of the interactive learning format. Since the students were asked to put a smiley face in one of the proposed graphs in the questionnaire, there were no comments from them. It seems that if the questionnaire included another column with the approximate wording "It is more interesting for me to learn English during the game and from textbooks", then the bulk of the answers would fall on this column. It is obvious that learning a foreign language in the absence of a natural language environment is impossible without teaching materials in the form of textbooks, dictionaries, books for reading, etc. Game forms of learning are also presented in the form of printed educational materials (as a rule, handouts). Thus, we should talk about the predominant role of the interactive learning format over the classical textbook-notebook.

Deviating somewhat from the analysis of the recipients' responses, I would like to say a few words about the current problem of substitution of concepts and the resulting problem of conversational foreign language (speech in a foreign language) of trainees. Unfortunately, with an interactive format, concepts are often substituted: instead of "interactive", "fast" is meant. This is not surprising, since the so-called "easy and fast" method of language acquisition is becoming increasingly popular. The purpose of such a "technique" is the implementation of a communicative act, the rapid development of speaking skills. In other words, the very overcoming of the language barrier. At the same time, the grammatically correct formalization of speech is not given due attention. It is worth carefully familiarizing yourself with the content and goals of teaching many (usually private) language schools, courses, etc. Advertising slogans of such educational centers shout that they are able to remove the language barrier and teach anyone spoken English. In fact, everything is much more prosaic. In fact, of the four main activities (reading, writing, listening and speaking), the student is "trained" only in one type – speaking. Other activities are either intentionally excluded from the learning process (as a rule, writing suffers the most), or are used as a basis for speaking (mainly reading).

As a result, the side effects of such a "technique" of overcoming the language barrier and rapid foreign speech are the trainees themselves, who have assimilated and fixed unacceptable phonetic, grammatical, lexical and stylistic errors in their speech. For an ordinary student who does not seek to master a foreign language at a professional or academic level, a minimum set of vocabulary for the implementation of a primitive communicative act may be quite sufficient. But such a "technique" has an adverse effect on a student striving for academic and professional level, since it becomes almost impossible to retrain him to the correct foreign language (a foreign language).

So, summing up the results of our research, let's say that 2012-2013 became significant for foreign language education in Kazakhstan elementary schools, since a number of gymnasiums, lyceums and schools with in-depth study of a foreign (English) language took part in this experiment. Now there are already experienced trained specialists in the framework of the specialization "Previously teaching a foreign language" at the Department of English at Kazumoimya im. Abylai Khan. Currently required (!) to conduct a large-scale and statistically tested study on the quality of foreign language learning by then 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders (current 7th, 8th, 9th graders), since only the results of such a study will confirm or refute the effectiveness of early foreign language learning in Kazakhstan elementary school.

The only small-scale research (mini) study on this topic is a joint project "Myths and Facts about Early English Language Learning: Results of sociolinguistic research" with Darlan Sulkarnaev (2018, under a grant from Oxford University Press Travel Grant). The results of the study provoked a lively reaction and response from the participants of the conference – English teachers and young researchers, since they stated similar results in their pedagogical practice. The objectives of the study were: 1) describe the language situation of learning English in elementary school (using the example of the capital gymnasium); 2) analyze 10 myths to obtain 10 facts about the effectiveness of learning English from the 1st grade (using the example of one gymnasium class, the best in parallel); 3) give a conclusion and determine further possible prospects.

Here we will give only excerpts on several aspects, since the results of the study are being tested for further publication in a journal included in the Scopus and Web of Science database. Myth #1 – English can be easily learned only in school lessons. Fact #1: 53% of the surveyed students attend additional classes (tutors, courses, etc.) in English. Myth #2 – Elementary school students will be able to easily understand English after school lessons. Fact #2: 68% of students understand only individual words and phrases, but do not understand fluent spontaneous English speech. Myth #3 – students studying English from the 1st grade can easily and fluently speak it at the end of the 4th grade. Fact #3: 19% of 5th grade students do not speak English, 74% can only say a few separate phrases. Myth #6 – it is possible to learn English in Kazakhstan, despite the lack of an English-speaking environment. Fact #6: 94% of the surveyed students support this statement. Myth #9 – Learning English requires natural talent. Fact #9: 81% of students disagree with this statement.

Let us explain that there is not a single large-scale study in Kazakhstan to determine the quality of English language acquisition by primary school students, which causes some confusion, since only such a qualitative and quantitative study by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan will make it possible to convince or dissuade the effectiveness of learning a foreign language from the 1st grade of school.

Conclusions

The main conclusions of the study:

1) The change of one of the main mental and cultural paradigms in the field of foreign language education: the focus on intercultural communication in action. There has been a paradigm shift from "language learning in theory" to "language learning in practice". This, at first glance, imperceptible change actually led to the modernization of the entire system of foreign language education. The transformation of foreign language education is a consequence of a changed paradigm in the perception, training and life of new generations of Kazakhstanis.

2) Primary and secondary level students identify motivation, professional competence of the teacher, accessibility, visibility as the main criteria for easy mastering of a foreign language. These criteria are the fundamental principles of linguodidactics. Hence, it can be concluded that there is a positive methodology for teaching a foreign language in relation to academic results among Kazakhstani school teachers, teachers and private educators. Learning a foreign language in the absence of a natural language environment is impossible without teaching materials. Game forms of learning are also presented in the form of printed educational materials (as a rule, handouts). Thus, we should talk about the predominant role of the interactive learning format over the classical educational notebook.

3) In the absence of a natural language environment, the assimilation of a foreign language is effective when using productive and qualified teaching methods. Naturally, the process and speed of learning a foreign language are always individual, depending on the psychophysiological characteristics of the student. It is not necessary to talk about the presence of a certain talent for languages, since a person is endowed with an innate ability to learn a language.

4) Students are aware of the large amount of knowledge they receive in all disciplines, hence the obvious conclusion about the heavy load of the educational process on the student. Reasoning somewhat distantly, it is obvious that it would be useful for the school education system to separate students by study profiles already at the middle level, and not at the senior level, as is usually done in schools and gymnasiums-lyceums. Thus, it would be possible to form specialized training of students in the profile: humanitarian or natural-mathematical. It is assumed that this would reduce the load on one block of disciplines in favor of another.

5) Currently, there is a problem of substitution of concepts and the resulting problem of colloquial foreign language (speech in a foreign language). Unfortunately, with an interactive format, concepts are often substituted: instead of "interactive", "fast" is meant. This is not surprising, since the so-called "easy and fast" method of language acquisition is becoming increasingly popular. The purpose of such a "technique" is the implementation of a communicative act, the rapid development of speaking skills. In other words, the very overcoming of the language barrier. In fact, of the four main activities (reading, writing, listening and speaking), the student is "trained" only in one type – speaking. Other activities are either intentionally excluded from the learning process (as a rule, writing suffers the most), or are used as a basis for speaking (mainly reading). As a result, the side effects of such a "technique" of overcoming the language barrier and rapid foreign speech are the trainees themselves, who have learned and fixed unacceptable phonetic, grammatical, lexical and stylistic errors in their speech. For an ordinary student who does not seek to master a foreign language at a professional or academic level, a minimum set of vocabulary for the implementation of a primitive communicative act may be quite sufficient. But such a "technique" has an adverse effect on a student striving for academic and professional level, since it becomes almost impossible to retrain him to the correct foreign language (a foreign language).

6) In Kazakhstan, a pseudo-dialect of the English language is actively being formed, let's call it "Kazinglish" by analogy with "runglish". It can be stated that the majority of Kazakh youth (especially ethnic Kazakhs) aged 13 to 30 years successfully forms "Kazinglish" in everyday life. This happens at the main levels of the language: lexical, phonetic, syntactic. The use of phonetically adapted words and expressions increasingly fills the Kazakh language of everyday communication. This is also facilitated by intrusive advertising in the media. «Kazinglish" has already become a reality; it should be studied, analyzed, like any other linguistic phenomenon.

 To repeat, let's say that 2012-2013 became significant for foreign language education in Kazakhstan's primary school, as a number of gymnasiums, lyceums and schools with in-depth study of a foreign (English) language took part in this experiment. Now there are already experienced trained specialists in the framework of the specialization "Previously teaching a foreign language" at the Department of English at Kazumoimya im. Abylai Khan. Currently required (!) to conduct a large-scale and statistically tested study on the quality of foreign language learning by then 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders (current 7th, 8th, 9th graders), since only the results of such a study will confirm or refute the effectiveness of early foreign language learning in Kazakhstan elementary school.

The matter remains for the small (or the big?) – to conduct a large-scale (republican), statistically verified and objective, qualitative study on the mastery of foreign languages by the population for the period from 1991 to 2021. The results of such a study will allow us to analyze the paradigms that have occurred, the existing trends in the study of foreign languages in the country, as well as outline long-term plans for the further development of foreign language education, taking into account the economic, social, mental, cultural, geopolitical prerequisites for the development of Kazakhstan.

Throughout the history of young Kazakhstan, the First President actively supported the chosen strategy for the development of foreign language education, which was always reflected in his Messages to the people of Kazakhstan. So, in the Message "Let's build the future together" (2011, paragraph 2.3 "Development of languages") it says that "... for a modern citizen of Kazakhstan, the possession of three languages is a prerequisite for their own well–being. Therefore, I believe that by 2020 the proportion of the population who speaks English should be at least 20 percent" [12:2.3]. The matter remains for the small (or the big?) – to conduct a large-scale (republican), statistically verified and objective, qualitative study on the mastery of foreign languages by the population for the period from 1991 to 2021. The results of such a study will allow us to analyze the paradigms that have occurred, the existing trends in the study of foreign languages in the country, as well as outline long-term plans for the further development of foreign language education, taking into account the economic, social, mental, cultural, geopolitical prerequisites for the development of Kazakhstan.