Kazakhstan has embarked on an ambitious educational reform process to increase English skills among teachers and students by 2025. Through the U.S.-Kazakhstan University Partnerships Program administered by American Councils for International Education and funded by the U.S. Embassy in Kazakhstan, East Kazakhstan Technical University (EKTU) and University of Delaware are collaborating to improve the level of English in STEM fields.
Through University of Delaware’s English Language Institute, seventeen EKTU faculty members, doctorial students, and staff completed English language listening and speaking classes to improve their oral English proficiency, and improve teaching skills in STEM subjects in English. They learned synchronous and asynchronous online teaching pedagogies and adapted their own courses at EKTU based on experience from their U.S. partner. On May 6, EKTU hosted the certificate ceremony to recognize the achievement of participants and congratulate them with their success.
Looking ahead, the two universities plan to conduct a Science Writing Boot Camp to build and expand upon faculty’s pedagogical content knowledge of their field. University of Delaware’s English Language Institute will work with EKSTU to incorporate training and theories of instruction in Second Language Acquisition for higher education.
