Abstract

Language policy and planning issues have been at the heart of the post-colonial development of many countries, and are increasingly important in many parts of the world, including in much of the former Soviet Union. An important part of the expansion and development of the educational system in Kazakhstan over the next decade will be the implementation and expansion of a multilingual education model, in which all students will ultimately study not only Kazakh and Russian, but also English. My focus in this presentation will be on the theoretical foundations of language planning and language policy, as well as with the related concerns of ‘language orientations’ (Ruiz, 1984, 1990, 2010) and linguistic rights (Grin, 2005; May, 2005; Patrick, 2005; Paulston, 2003; Wright, 2007). Finally, I will use the framework provided in the first part of my presentation to outline elements of a research agenda with respect to language-in-education policy in Kazakhstan.

The seminar can also be attended online via http://collab8.adobeconnect.com/kazakhstan_seminars