Baltabayeva G.M., Zhussupova R.F.

L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Kazakhstan

English Vocabulary Teaching in Terms of Multilingual Education

At the present time Kazakhstani society steadily shifts from bilingualism to multilingualism. The reason for such change is the strategic goal of the language policy of Kazakhstan which reinforces the necessity of speaking three languages: Kazakh, English and Russian. These languages have different statuses and functions within the country. Kazakh as a state language to develop and strengthen national identity; Russian as a language of formal communication to maintain the unity of different nations; and English as a language of world economy and science. Therefore, the country is currently implementing overall modernization of the education system and inserting a multilingualism policy into the educational process. However, being a multiethnic and multi-religious state with more than 130 representatives of different ethnic groups, Kazakhstan has not been ultimately regarded as a multilingual country, since the Russian language dominated in practically all spheres of life. Nevertheless, multilingualism is prevalent among Uighur, Uzbek, Dungan, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Tajik, Tatar, and other ethnic groups. In today’s attempt to raise knowledge of multiple languages, multilingualism is growing among the Kazakhs as well [1]. Hence, the role of English becomes more significant and more attention is paid to English language teaching as well as preparing English language teachers. In our opinion language acquisition is closely associated with vocabulary. Moreover, increasingly established multilingual settings at secondary schools create certain problems and challenges for teaching English vocabulary within multilingual education which will be discussed in this article.

The primary concern of teaching in multilingual classroom arises from the fact that the teacher has to manage a class full of students who were raised in different language environment and whose first languages are different (Kazakh or Russian, or even the language of their ethnicity). In such conditions there may not be a common L1 for the teacher and students to benefit from the use of. Using students L1, might in fact, misemploy the time designed for teaching and learning. It may be quite common in our country to teach vocabulary through the medium of the language in which the education process is held. For instance, textbooks often have vocabulary lists where the words are translated from English to Russian/Kazakh. This may be an appropriate way of dealing with vocabulary teaching and learning in a classroom where everyone shares a common language; with mixed classes where students have different L1, however, this is not the case. Trained teachers are aware that there are ways to demonstrate and explain vocabulary by using definitions, synonyms, antonyms, gestures or mime and using these strategies may help teachers avoid the use of non-target language in the classes. However, as Cummins [3] suggests it is not necessary to have such a common first language in the classroom; the teacher can still draw from the students’ multilingual resources and make use of their L1s. It is also possible to increase and develop the students’ multilingualism by using the native language of the country, for instance in translation exercises or the teaching of cognates, so as to increase the students’ vocabulary knowledge in both the language of the country and the foreign language being taught.

Learning and teaching vocabulary cannot be imagined without a dictionary use. According to Nation [4], dictionaries are useful for learning vocabulary and for understanding and producing text. The choice of dictionaries is another question for the teacher. There are three main types of dictionaries when it comes to foreign language learning: monolingual, bilingual, and bilingualized dictionaries. According to Cummins, in vocabulary learning, bilingual dictionaries are more efficient than monolingual dictionaries or learning from context. Whereas Nation argues that bi- and monolingual dictionaries can complement each other, in that the bilingual dictionary provides the learner with an easily accessible meaning of the word, while the monolingual dictionary gives more detailed information about it. However, having students with different L1s complicates the selection of bilingual dictionaries. English teachers in Kazakhstan during their practices encounter the lack of reliable English-Kazakh dictionaries. Owing to this, the only bilingual dictionaries that can be used in a classroom are English-Russian. Therefore, teachers have to expect that Kazakh and Russian proficiency levels of students are quite the same.

Necessity of mastering three languages in Kazakhstan leads to the classrooms of mixed types where students with whether Kazakh or Russian (if not another first language) strive to learn English. As a result, there is a number of issues English language teacher faces in the multilingual classroom. The article attempted to describe the principle ones; however, the teacher should take into account that the dynamic use of the three languages (Kazakh, English and Russian) will affect the construction of knowledge and cultural identity. In this case it is essential to carefully mediate between languages and cultures for better learning. Recommendations:

· design multilingual dictionaries (e.g. English-Kazakh-Russian-Uzbek);

· apply photo and picture dictionaries when teaching new vocabulary items;

· use wide range of teaching strategies in a multilingual class.

References

1. Baiteliyeva, Zh. (2015). Multilingualism in Kazakhstan and Problems of Teaching the Kazakh Language. Asian Social Science 11 (6).

2. Ismaili, M. (2015) Teaching English in a multilingual setting. GlobELT: An International Conference on Teaching and Lea Learning English as an Additional Language, Antalya – Turkey,199.

3. Cummins, J. (2007). Rethinking monolingual instructional strategies in multilingual classrooms. Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 10(2), 221-240.

4. Nation, P. (2001). Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.