Russians learning the Kazakh language. ‘They immediately start talking’ |
At first, Skalozubov thought that only 40 people would join his language course. 300 people showed interest in the course opened on April 15
Growing up in the predominantly Russian-speaking city of Esil in the north of Kazakhstan Alexey Skalozubov never felt the need to speak Kazakh, the state language of his country. Village The situation has not changed even after he graduated from the university where he majored in agriculture and moved to Almaty for work. Everyone in his environment – family, friends and clients – spoke Russian.
However, 25-year-old Skalozubov says that he did not feel well because he does not know the Kazakh language. After all, Kazakhstan is the homeland of the last three generations of his family.
Themes of identity, language and patriotism in Kazakhstan Russia came back to the agenda after the attack on Ukraine began at the end of February. Most of the population of this country are ethnic Russians.
Skalozubov says that the war also increased the interest of Russian speakers living in Kazakhstan to learn the Kazakh language. He himself decided to take advantage of the opportunity to open a free Kazakh language school, which he had long dreamed of, and first announced his plan in March social shared in the media.
This was followed by numerous support offers. Volunteers, including several teachers, expressed their desire to teach the Kazakh language for free. Young entrepreneurs, cultural centers and other institutions use their space as a classroom for free offer they did. Help with free printing of course materials and brochures offer there were those who did.
At first, Skalozubov thought that only 40 people would join his language course. 300 people showed interest in the course opened on April 15. Soon “Batil Bol!” (“Be brave!”) project has spread to other cities of Kazakhstan.
Skalozulov project meeting places school, or not a lesson, but a “Kazakh language club”. He wants clubs to become a place where people learn the Kazakh language in an informal environment, focusing on the words and phrases they use in everyday life.
Skalozubov, who has no teaching experience, uses his Kazakh language experience as the club’s teaching method. The Kazakh language was taught to him at school and university. In addition, he also took private language lessons for a short time. However, although he “accumulated a relatively strong vocabulary”, he could not learn to speak. Because schools are more focused on grammar than practical speaking.
Skalozubov says he only started speaking Kazakh in 2019 after moving to a Kazakh-speaking neighborhood near Almaty’s Central Mosque.
“Most of the people there are mainly religious ethnic Kazakhs. Most of the employees of the cafes I frequented spoke both Kazakh and Russian fluently. I was trying to talk to the workers in Kazakh…”, – he says.
“The format of the club is designed in such a way that people start talking immediately. In our daily life, for example, when we buy food in a grocery store or a cafe, we use the dialogues we need.” – explains Skalozubov.
Many of Skalozubov’s students are ethnic Russians who have lived in Kazakhstan all their lives and attended Russian schools education they are ethnic Kazakhs who did not speak their language well.
Russian remains the official language of Kazakhstan. Many ethnic Kazakhs here, including government officials, know Russian better than Kazakh. But this situation is changing.
Skalozubov and some members attribute their club’s sudden and unexpected popularity among the country’s Russian-speakers to the atmosphere created by the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine social Skalozubov, who has become more active in the media, condemns Russia’s attack and says that he is ready to fight for his homeland, Kazakhstan, if necessary.
Skalozubov received a lot of positive feedback and met like-minded people. Among them there are many Kazakh Russians.