The main topic of the article is reformation of the educational system and particularly of language education in the transitional period in Kazakhstan. The author insists on the necessity to take into consideration new status of Kazakh, Russian and English. The article touches on psychological peculiarities of learning second /third …. languages and their methodological basis.
Modern globalization defines conditions of social-cultural modernization, including opening and expanding borders of linguistic space. Modernization of Kazakh education system is mainly related to renewal of its content, provision of active, developing, culturally-corresponding nature of it, demands of modern labour market for professionally-mobile and creative persons who possess communicative competence. In this case creating conditions for developing creative potential is treated with special attention. Familiarizing youth with global values, formation of skill to communicate with people of neighbor cultures within global space becomes an important goal of institutions of higher education. A significant part of population within multicultural area of Kazakhstan is bilingual. While enriching a student by heritage of two cultures, bilingualism put him into favourable conditions in comparison to a unilingual person. Due to the transition phenomenon, his native language and Russian come into a complex interaction. While comparing the two languages one can reveal complications, foresee and consider typical mistakes, comprehend nature and cause of mistakes, define order of mastering linguistic material in a consequent method. Teaching Russian in village schools, where basic social load is devoted to native language, can be efficient if it is based upon the latter. Studying native and Russian language, as one of strategic problems, defined by the Concept of developing education of Kazakhstan until 2020, guarantees achievement of educational goals due to familiarizing students with a different culture, history, literature, art, and science. Deepening in knowledge on native culture as a component of the integral world culture takes place at the same time. Knowledge of Russian is a linguistic capital, multiplication of which can guarantee certain economic profits. Russian language, along with state language, preserves total volume of functions as it is still used as means of accumulation and obtaining information, ideological influence, tool and object of education, component of spiritual culture of Kazakh society, and powerful means of communication. The essence of every language is defined by history, its present, and its future. The culture of Kazakh and Russian people is a component of school linguistic education. A new model of education, directed towards final result has been set as highest priority. The following positions are referred to key competences of a school graduate:
- formation of poli-lingual person who has mastered basic values of national and global literature, ready for social-cultural interaction;
- formation of competences, needed for communicating in domestic language and foreign languages, demanded in the society (Russian language is this axialiry language in our society).
Bilingual system is a system of education that forms intercultural competence, trains youth in tolerance and urge to understand the totality of multicultural and multilingual world society. How can knowledge on different values, including social-cultural values, be presented within the structure of tutorial influence in order to have real forming effect in modern conditions? It is well-known that upbringing is a process of forming a personality, its character, feelings, ethical, and aestetical ideals, culture of behavior. Any upbringing takes place according to social-cultural parameters of a given society and is defined by state policy and institutes of civil society that operate in the studied area. The term «social-cultural upbringing» has been introduced to the scientific use during recent years, and, as scientific definition, it includes all types of upbringing. The goal of social-cultural upbringing is to form and develop skills to carry out social functions of a civilian within a given society, train him to be competent in social-cultural features of his nation and society. Formation of personality, obtaining social-cultural form is a compex process, and many factors participate in it. Regulating contents of social relations in education is an urgent problem nowadays, when social-cultural activity, social environment, and relations suffer from numerous conflicts, and their dependence can lead to negative consequences. During mastering Kazakh and Russian language in school, students will familiarize with cultural achievements of two nations-bearers of these languages that certaily provides for development of their individual and social mobility. The very nature of two linguistic disciplines reviews transition of the accumulated experience of social-cultural achievements in order to help the youth in their self-realization and process of personal socialization. Democratization of Kazakhstan, humanization of relations, assimilation of cultures, integration of countries and societies enriches social-cultural relations with certian uniqueness, influences characteristic of social space that is distinguished by its cultural features. Forming a personality in modern conditions of interaction between cultures and languages actualizes a number of problems of social-psychological, pedagogic, methodical nature. Solving each of the mentioned problems and their realization is linked directly to social-cultural aspect. Multiplicity of subcultures is typical for modern civilized world. Through this variety cultural development of the society takes place, dominant values are formed as well as norms, standards of behavior, spiritual and cultural needs are met. Political, economic, social alterations of recent decades have resulted in linguistic changes. Kazakh language has obtained official status, a new linguistic situation has emerged, and it defines the necessity to form Russian-Kazakh bilinguality in addition to Kazakh-Russian bilinguality. Formation of Russian-Kazakh bilinguality is linked to a number of complications of linguistic, social, psychological, economic, and linguistic-didactic nature. Russian-Kazakh bilingualism implies equal good knowledge of two languages in order to establish an efficiennt bilingual communication. It is important that students of linguistic calsses are able to think, solve certain problems that lead to the process of brainstorming, justify on possible ways to solve these problems in orde to analyze contents of their expressions, so that an idea is placed into central place, and language serves its basic function – formation and formulation of this idea. It is critical that students conseive language as means of intercultural interaction. During recent years attention of linguists, methodists, and practicing teachers is drawn to those features of language that are linked to human factor, pacticularly various aspects of intellectual and emotional life of a person. In this case consideration of social-cultural features of the society plays an important part in formation and development of bilingual personality of a student.
The work was submitted to International Scientific Conference «Development of scientific potential of higher education», UAE (Dubai), March, 4-11, 2014. came to the editorial office оn 27.01.2014.