KAZAKHSTANI SCHOOL TEACHERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARD MULTILINGUALISM: A SOCIOLINGUISTIC INTERPRETATION OF FOCUS GROUP FINDINGS

Abstract

Multilingual education remains a key priority in Kazakhstan’s educational agenda. However, the practical implementation of this policy largely depends on teachers’ everyday experiences and professional practices within schools. At the policy level, trilingual education is presented as a system aimed at the parallel development of the Kazakh, Russian, and English languages. In practice, however, alongside questions concerning the outcomes of multilingual education, students’ perceptions of different languages, the teaching methods considered most effective by educators, the capacity of textbooks to support multilingual instruction, and the extent of parental involvement in this process, teachers’ personal attitudes toward multilingualism also remain a matter of considerable importance.

This article examines school teachers’ perceptions of multilingual education policy in Kazakhstan from a sociolinguistic perspective. The study aims to identify teachers’ views on the role of Kazakh, Russian, and English in the educational space, as well as their assessments of learning outcomes, teaching methodologies, the quality of textbooks, and the practical implementation of language policy within schools. The empirical basis of the study consists of data obtained from two focus group discussions involving 22 teachers from the Alikhan Bokeikhan BINOM School-Lyceum and the Bilim-Innovation Boarding Lyceum for Gifted Girls in Astana. The collected data were analyzed using content and categorical analysis and subsequently organized into several thematic areas, including language priorities, methodological opportunities and challenges of multilingual instruction, issues related to textbooks and curricula, the role of parents in the educational process, and questions of national identity.

The findings reveal the existence of systemic barriers to the implementation of trilingual education, as well as a range of conceptual issues requiring sociological and sociolinguistic interpretation. At the same time, the results reflect teachers’ civic positions regarding language policy and educational reform. Particular attention is drawn to tensions arising from the content and quality of textbooks, grammatical and textual materials, students’ language proficiency levels, and parents’ critical attitudes toward school teaching practices. These factors contribute to the emergence of new dynamics within the sphere of social and linguistic relations. The study argues that multilingualism should be understood not merely as a means of acquiring several languages but as a complex social phenomenon situated at the intersection of national identity, social equality, intercultural communication, and pedagogical practice.