Comments on: The language reality

By: Adriano

Adriano — Thu, 05 May 2011 05:00:31 +0000

I’m really fascinated by central asia in general and KZ seems like a really interesting country. I speak only elementary russian but I feel that I could learn alot there. I am really interested in doing my masters in another country and KZ seems like a potential. I think it would also be cool to teach English there as well.
I really love the Russian language and I also think Kazakh culture and the language are really interesting. Like Banny, I am not white (I’m a South American of chinese and african descent) and I am kind of turned off to the growing xenophobia and racism in certain parts of Russia. Anyways I’ll keep doing my research and maybe I’ll end up in Astana or Almaty one day. later

By: Astel

Astel — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 13:50:19 +0000

@Banny, Hello! You should have no doubt about it! Kazakhstan is a very hospitable country, people will be pleased to meet you!

By: Banny

Banny — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 09:12:44 +0000

Hello! I’m in love with the Russian language, but unfortunately I am not interested at all in Russia…Plus, I know Russia is not the best country for a dark-skinned latinoamerican like me. Do you guys think I’d be fine in Kazahkstan? Are they more receptive than Russians, in general?

By: Turgai Sangar

Turgai Sangar — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 12:45:01 +0000

“I was quite surprised by the fact that so many teens and young people speak Kazakh than Russian in Almaty”

In my experience, it depends on which parts of Almaty you go and which kind of people you meet but this is indeed true in certain suburbs, novostroïki, around the bazaars etc… and less in the ‘upper class’ centre. Lots of Kazakh-speakers have moved from the surrounding province and other parts of the country to Almaty over the last decade.

By: Turgai Sangar

Turgai Sangar — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 12:40:15 +0000

“Will people be particularly pleased to have a Westerner speaking Kazakh?”

Yes. Even is you speak Kazakh partially, ethnic Kazakh people will LOVE you for it especially in the province.

By: Stephen

Stephen — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 21:28:53 +0000

Hi all,

I’m going to be in Almaty for two weeks in September, and I’m just wondering how I should divide up my pre-trip language study time. I’ve already worked my way through Russian and Kazakh textbooks once, but I’m now thinking that it may be smarter just to concentrate on Russian from here on in, even though I find Kazakh an immensely appealing language. Let me add that I’m a language buff and speak some languages that are similar typologically to both Russian and Kazakh, so it’s not a question of difficulty here, simply practicality, and the sort of reception I’ll get in using both. Will people be particularly pleased to have a Westerner speaking Kazakh?…..

By: beka

beka — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 07:06:04 +0000

The quality of Russian in Kazakhstan is excellent.We speak russian,we think in russian In some ways we know russian better than native russians because we are also native speakers and and can demonstrate our skills…..

By: Maral

Maral — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 11:58:13 +0000

There are many places to study Russian in Kazakhstan. The teachers are of high quality and it is cheap really to dwell here. The experience of teachers is inferior to none in this respect. You could either graduate at a university or attend special courses. For example, I can recommend you to take a course of the teacher AUBAKIROVA Alipa Nasibullaevna in Astana. She has the great experience of teaching russian to comers from many countries and speaks, as I know, english, turkish, persian. If you are keen on studying Russian in Kazakhstan,
here is the cell phone number of the teacher: +7 701 725 66 64.

Good luck!

Maral

By: ahimsa

ahimsa — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 07:40:01 +0000

Hi Stavros,

Going back to James’ question, do you know of any formalised study programmes in Almaty for studying Russian? I don’t mean programmes like where you pay per hour as an individual or in a group, that’s what organisations like kimep offer. I am looking for formal programmes with intensive daily lessons for a fixed period with exams leading to recognised qualifications.

Please advise. thanks

By: deutsche welle

deutsche welle — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 13:07:58 +0000

Kazakh language is more spoken now on the streets in Almaty as it was 2 or 3 years ago. Recently I visited KZ (currently I live in Germany) and I was quite surprised by the fact that so many teens and young people speak Kazakh than Russian in Almaty on the streets, bars and etc. I guess the majority of them are “oralmans” coming from china and mongolia.
Once in Germany I was asked if it’s worthy to go to KZ to learn Russian I told doubtless “yes”, but I recommended only Almaty and Karaganda.
At the same time I know in some municipal enteprecises like APK Almaty 1 (energy supplier) there is no use instructions or broshures written in Russian. The only version you can get is in kazakh language…