Chinese students in the Main Botanical Garden of the city of Almaty
Teachers of the Kazakh National University named after al-Farabi in their educational and upbringing work follow the global trends in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the human community. Students from a wide variety of countries come to study at the University's Faculty of Pre-University Education. Students of the Department of Language and General Education Training of Foreigners find themselves for the first time in a new country, in a new city for them – Almaty, and in a new university for them. Many students have just graduated from school, and they find themselves outside their familiar environment, learning to live independently away from their parents, without yet knowing the languages spoken in our country. Therefore, university professors have certain tasks and responsibilities related to the leisure activities of foreign students. It is up to the teachers to introduce the students to the city so that they can navigate it and they should be taught how to communicate with the local population.
Despite the late autumn, the weather in Almaty is beautiful, so after our classes, we went to the Main Botanical Garden with our Chinese students. This excursion helps us achieve SDG №15, which is the conservation of terrestrial ecosystems. The Main Botanical Garden is one of the most significant, interesting, and popular places in the southern capital. It showcases the flora of Kazakhstan and other countries. Each tree or shrub has a sign that identifies the plant and its location. This always arouses great interest among students – they read these signs, translate them into their native languages and are happy that they have learned new information for themselves. The botanical garden is perfectly equipped and planned – there is a pond where swans still live, since it is very warm in the city, they have not yet been transferred to winter mode. Different geographical zones are presented here, so part of the botanical garden looks like a real forest, where you can hear the singing of the birds and local squirrels that are not afraid of people. This excursion is especially valuable because it allows students to learn a lot of new and interesting things.
Turebekova R.S. and Mamytbekova L.K.,
teachers of the Department of Language and General Education for Foreigners
at the Faculty of Pre-University Education
Al-Farabi Kazakh National University.
