KazNU doctoral student teaches Kazakh language at Oxford

Didar Sadyk, PhD student at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, teaches Kazakh at Oxford University (UK).

The program is implemented under an agreement between the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Oxford University and is the first pilot project for the systematic introduction of the Kazakh language into the educational process of the world's leading universities.

Oxford's Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies currently teaches 28 languages. To date, Turkish, Uzbek and Azerbaijani have been represented among the Turkic languages in the educational portfolio. Now the Kazakh language has been officially added to them. Thus, the Kazakh language has become one of the languages studied in the global academic space at the institutional level.

The pilot course is being implemented with the direct participation of Didar Sadyk, a native of the village of Karashoky in the Kerbulak district of the Almaty region. He graduated from al-Farabi Kazakh National University with a degree in Philology, a master's degree in Linguistics, and is currently studying for a PhD. His dissertation research is devoted to improving the methodology of teaching Kazakh to an English-speaking audience. Professional specialization and methodological competence became key factors in his selection as a teacher of the program.

The Akhmet Baitursynula Institute of Linguistics is a fundamental scientific center engaged in the comprehensive study of the Kazakh language. The initiation by Oxford University of direct academic cooperation with the Institute testifies to the growing international interest in the Kazakh language and its scientific value.

Kazakh language classes are held twice a week in the format of four academic hours. Among the students are young researchers studying historical and cultural dynamics and linguistic processes in the region of Asia and Eurasia. For them, the Kazakh language is of interest not only as a means of communication, but also as a carrier of the cultural code and civilizational worldview.

The implementation of this project is an important step in strengthening the position of the Kazakh language in the international educational arena. In the future, it is planned to expand the course and include the Kazakh language in the permanent curricula of Oxford University.

Press-service of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University