The private ELT sector in Kazakhstan

Thomas Ewens, Kazakhstan

Thomas Ewens is an English teacher based in Almaty, Kazakhstan at KIMEP University.
E-mail: t.r.ewens@googlemail.com

In my context of Kazakhstan, an over-emphasis on quantity and on quantification is having a corrosive effect on standards of teaching and learning within the private English language education sector.

There is a thriving ELT 'black market' in Kazakhstan where foreigners, usually with no formal training, or even, an interest in teaching can earn quite reasonable salaries as English teachers so long as they are a native speaker. They do not plan their lessons for the most part, and they do not reflect on their teaching or go to workshops or conferences. Sadly, this is probably true in many places around the world.

In private sector ELT in Kazakhstan, teachers earn less if they work hard and take teaching seriously. They get paid more for teaching five mediocre classes in a day as for teaching three really great, well planned classes. Unprofessional teachers can cram as many classes as they can into their working day and coast through them all. They can earn more because they are more concerned with how many classes they can teach (and therefore with how much money they can make) rather than the quality of those classes. Teachers who are committed profession and who prepare classes properly on the other hand find that lesson planning is an almost open-ended commitment because, for them, students often pay a lot of money to attend classes and they deserve the very best.

Standardised International Exams such as IELTS and TOEFL are another culprit. They are designed to measure language ability quantitatively. Of course in many ways this is a futile exercise as language ability is unquantifiable. But, in my experience, in a highly consumerist culture like contemporary Kazakhstan people just do not see it that way. IELTS and TOEFL are seen as being a gateway to a foreign education and a better life. The numbered bands provide definable, concrete targets for students to work towards. An English teacher friend recently joked to me that English and IELTS are different languages. Interestingly, IELTS and TOEFL students rarely turn up to extra-curricular activities or participate in English club. It seems that some of these students are not interested in studying English in order to communicate better but just to pass an exam and get a grade.

In conclusion, an over-emphasis on quantity and on quantification is leading to lower teaching standards and to an over-obsession with summative, high-stakes assessment in the private ELT industry in Kazakhstan.

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