The Department of International Relations and Multilingualism focuses on the language training of students in multilingual, English, and Turkish groups, as well as university faculty members teaching courses in English and Turkish. Joint work has been carried out with the Department of International Relations and Multilingualism to attract foreign faculty and organize their collaboration with students and university staff.
In 2018, West Kazakhstan University hosted 15 invited foreign scholars, six of whom arrived under the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan program “Attracting Foreign Scholars to Teaching Activities,” and one top manager from Poland, Dr. Anna Katarzyna Bańkowska, Doctor of Philology, who headed the Institute of Multilingualism in 2018. In 2016 and 2017, the Institute of Multilingualism was directed by an invited scholar from South Korea, Dr. Jeong Hyun Lee. Since 2019, the Institute of Multilingualism has been merged with the Center for Internationalization. Subsequently, in September 2020, this structural unit became part of the Department of International Relations and Multilingualism. The department currently consists of four staff members: Head of the Department, PhD Vladislav Sergeyevich Zubkov; Methodologist Zarina Nurbolatovna Serikkalieva; Consultant-Translator Elena Sergeyevna Khokhlacheva; and Consultant-Translator Sandugash Samatovna Sagidullieva.
To facilitate English and Italian language training for students at West Kazakhstan University, in September 2019, a native speaker from Italy, Master of Philology Elena Secondo (Sorrento), was invited to the Department of Foreign Languages. In advancing the university’s multilingualism program, department staff organized the arrival of Fulbright Program scholar Emily Sims (Georgia, USA), who began working at the university in January 2020 as a volunteer English language teaching assistant in the Department of Foreign Languages.
Staff of the Department of Multilingualism also participated in organizing English language courses for scholars and university staff within the framework of grants for university technology commercialization offices/projects, under the initiative “Stimulating Productive Innovation.” Six training groups were formed according to proficiency level: 2 Elementary, 2 Beginner, 1 Pre-Intermediate, and 1 Intermediate. Native speakers from the Philippines, holding IELTS certificates of 8.0 or higher, were also recruited to conduct the lessons.
Within the framework of English language instruction at West Kazakhstan University by native speakers, including efforts to increase students’ competitiveness in preparation for trilingual education in secondary schools, continuing studies at the master’s level, and IELTS exam preparation, 200 students from the following specialties – Chemistry, Biology, Ecology, Physics, Mathematics, and Computer Science – were trained from September 2019 to June 2020. At the end of the 2019/2020 academic year, 40 graduates received international CEPT certificates, including at the Advanced (C1) level. During the 2020-2021 academic year, online courses through Coursera and EduCare were organized for 70 students and 18 faculty members, with subsequent acquisition of relevant international certificates.
Since 2021, West Kazakhstan University has been offering a Turkish language course on a contractual basis for faculty and students, with participation from professors of leading universities in Turkey.
In particular, starting September 1, 2022, courses in Turkish have been conducted by Gazi University graduate Gülşun Eroğlu. The Turkish language course for faculty and students is offered five times per week.
In 2023, Professor Lorenzo Pubblici from the University of Naples conducted classes for students under a bilateral agreement over a four-week period. From October 18 to November 15, 2023, Professor Krystian Obolewski of Kazimierz Wielki University delivered a lecture course. Additionally, Professor Agnieszka Kamyk-Wawryszczuk of Kazimierz Wielki University conducted lectures and practical sessions for students enrolled in the 5B010200 and 6M010200 programs “Pedagogy and Methods of Primary Education” during the same period.
