April 25, 2019, the Department of Foreign Languages of the Philological Faculty of the Eurasian National University. L.N. Gumilyov held an international scientific and methodological seminar on the topic "Multilingualism in higher education: challenges and opportunities."
Practitioners involved in multilingual education and intercultural communication exchanged experiences and made presentations. Among the participants were scientists from Poland, Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
An international seminar with a welcome speech was opened by the first vice-rector of academic affairs A.A. Moldazhanova, Dean of the Faculty of Philology Zharkynbekov Sh.K. Head of the Department of Foreign Languages, Ph.D., Ass. Professor Sagimbaeva D.E., noting that this topic involves solving a number of problems related to planning, defining strategic and tactical goals, content and imperfection of methods and technologies. According to them, the multilingual education of university students is also a factor in the effectiveness of intercultural communication.
Foreign colleagues raised actual problems of the implementation of multilingual education and intercultural communication in the study of the features and components of foreign languages for intercultural and interlingual communication. In particular, Lucyna Aleksandrowicz-Pedich (Warsaw, Poland) dwelt on the aspects of multilingualism in the university environment, where great importance was given to the peculiarities of the formation of foreign language communicative competence in the multilingual environment.
Professor, Head of the Department of Pedagogy of the Higher School of the Kyrgyz National University. J. Balasagyna (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan), Asipova N.A. dwelled on issues of multicultural education and upbringing, the main purpose of which is to unite young people on the basis of cultural community, common human values and common civic interests. "The current socio-cultural situation in the Kyrgyz Republic is characterized by openness to democratic changes, the affirmation of humanistic values, an orientation to global changes taking place in the world, and at the same time the desire of the people to revive and preserve national and cultural traditions," she said
Honored Worker of Higher School of the Russian Federation, Doctor of Philosophical Sciences, Professor R.Vafeev He focused his attention on national languages in the process of internationalization of knowledge, where the experience of Russian-national bilingualism was used.
Bridget Goodman - PhD doctor, Professor Nazarbayev University with his assistant A. Scherbakov - Doctoral student at Nazarbayev University presented a project on multilingual education and language policy, where the main priority is given to English as a means of learning (EMI) in higher education, they also considered some aspects of language policy and language learning, identified the prospects for the exchange and dissemination of best practices for the further development and implementation of multilingual education and intercultures th communication in Kazakhstan.
In his speech, Doctor of Philosophy, Professor of Pavlodar State Pedagogical University Saurbayev R.Zh., analyzed the main features of language policy, language planning and language education in a multilingual society. "One of the functions of language is a means of communication, but this function is not the last, since in society language acts as a means of human socialization. Language is a conductor of the state policy of the titular nation and within the framework of a poly-rational society, its main function is to unite peoples living in a multinational state in one nation, as well as in the education of linguistic and national tolerance ", - said the professor.
Head of the project “Modernization of Secondary Education” of the World Bank, Ph.D. Sultan Zh.I. dwelled on the prospects of the Kazakh language in multilingual Kazakhstan. The speaker noted that usage of Kazakh language is still considered to be quite narrow and uncompetitive comparing with Russian language. In this regard, the speaker presented ways to preserve and develop the Kazakh language based on the results of the research and international experience.
The organizer of the international seminar - the Department of Foreign Languages presented no less relevant cases, one of which was devoted to the CLIL methodology (Tuselbaeva Zh.A. - Ph.D., Associate Professor of the Department). She considered the peculiarities of the work of teachers of core subjects and teachers of foreign languages in the system of subject-language integrated learning, as well as the prospects for its application in the field of higher professional education.
The seminar resulted in recommendations of participants on the correctness of creating uniform methodological platforms, the generalizing significance of which will form the basis for improving the teaching and teaching of foreign languages in non-linguistic specialties in terms of multilingualism, globalization and digitalization.
