Today, I visited the national library for an English language discussion group open to the public as an "American Corner." The group meets every Saturday for discussion in English followed by a film in English. The group here draws a crowd of 50-60 participants every week, and I wanted to meet some local students and young people to get a sense of what their language skills are like and what their interests are. Plus, the film this week was the classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. There was some needs assessment for work, curiosity filling, and personal joy involved in the trek to the library.
The topic set for the discussion: The role of foreign languages in Kazakhstan. I couldn't have prescribed a more interesting topic for my work and life here. On a related note, we've had a difficult time using English around the city in shops, offices, and restaurants. I am very grateful I have Russian to mangle our way through most transactions!
The message from the students (most were high school or university students) was clear: English is highly valued here and the preferred lingua franca for the future. Opinions were shared about the desire to use the Kazakh language more widely and the desire to eventually diminish the role of Russian as a primary or official language in Central Asia. Students expressed their ideas about using English for business, science, and travel. More than one participant in my group said that they would like to go abroad for education and bring back that know-how to contribute to Kazakhstan's future. Without smacking of nationalism, there was a clear pride about being a multicultural and multilingual country (so far we've seen much evidence that this is actually true). There is a true emphasis on tolerance among peoples living here. We even heard the opinion of one college student who said he desired a future in which Central Asians and Russians communicated among themselves in English. All of this as a backdrop does bode well for my work with English Language Programs in the region...
It was an interesting two hours, and I could have stayed longer. Good thing I get two years to continue such discussions!
"There is no life I know to compare with pure imagination. Living there, you'll be free if you truly wish to be."
~ Willy Wonka
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