The Educational Status of the Russian Language in the New Demographic and Linguistic Situation in Kazakhstan

Abstract

The article discusses the status of the Russian language in modern Kazakhstan and related issues of teaching methods. A review of previously published works devoted to this problem is made. The issues of changing the status of the language are considered in the context of changing the demographic situation in the country. It is noted that it was the change in the population by nationality that determined the transition from Russian-Kazakh to KazakhRussian bilingualism. The review of the ethnic composition of the population of Kazakhstan by region, made in this work, indicates its unevenness. The work also carried out a sociological survey of the population in the regions about the presence of the Russian-speaking environment. The results of the survey showed that the southern and western regions are characterized predominantly by Kazakh monolingualism, while the Russian-speaking environment exists in the northern and northeastern regions. The work as a whole identifies a significant change in the language situation in Kazakhstan in recent years. In this regard, it was concluded that it is necessary to develop and introduce a new methodological concept of language teaching in the new realities of life into the educational process of secondary and higher education in Kazakhstan.