PSU's Center for Intensive Study of the Kazakh Language and Multilingual Education makes its contribution to the quality of education offered by the University.

The 2014-2015 academic year was marked by a number of important events in the Center's life, such as the establishment of the Center of the French Language and Culture, as well as the Volunteer Training Center for EXPO-2017 in Astana, both of which are aimed at developing multilingualism in students and promotion of Eurasian ideas.

At the opening of one of the centers, the Rector of S. Toraighyrov PSU, Aryn Orsariyev, said he had no doubt that multilingualism will become an important competitive advantage for the graduates. “Further development of the Center will help the University in ensuring the quality of education that will meet the current requirements of the labor market,” he said.

The Center's activities contribute to the fulfillment of the tasks set for higher education institutions by the National Plan.

According to the Center's Director, Zhanarsyn Kapenova, all activities carried out by the Center are based on the goals of the Kazakhstan-2050 Strategy and the National Plan, 100 Steps to Implement 5 Institutional Reforms in Kazakhstan. The 79th step of the National Plan implies increase in graduates' competitiveness and growth of the education sector's export potential. It's also planned to carry out a gradual transition to teaching in English at the country's higher education institutions.

“The main area of the Center's activities is holding additional (extracurricular) training sessions in Kazakh, Russian, English and other foreign languages for the University's academic staff and students,” she said.

The Center has extensive experience in teaching foreign languages using intensive teaching methods and advanced information and communication technologies.

The training programs have been developed in accordance with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages and combine the successful pedagogical experience of universities of the USA, UK, Germany, Russia and other countries.

Teachers working at the Center take part in professional development activities on a regular basis: they have internships at universities of the UK (M.S. Kulakhmetova), Germany (B.K. Zhumabekova), Turkey, Latvia (A.K. Aipova), participate in online workshops, e.g. Shaping the Way We Teach English held by the US Department of State and the University of Oregon (A.S. Sarsenbayeva), Thomson Reuters Scientific and Scholarly Research (A.K. Aipova), workshops held by Goethe Institute and DAAD (B.K. Zhumabekova), etc.

It has also become a tradition for the Center to invite native speakers from other countries. For example, Harry Leeds is a lecturer from New York University, USA.

There are different types of activities: training sessions, seminars, master classes, workshops, round table discussions, etc.

“Having completed a language course at the Center, students get certificates of proficiency. Good knowledge of foreign languages can help them enter a Master's degree program, take part in the academic mobility program, participate in international conferences, publish their research papers in foreign journals, have internships in other countries, etc.,” said Zhanarsyn Kapenova.

The Center's plans for the 2015-2016 academic year include teaching specialized foreign language to the University's teaching staff and holding online sessions with foreign lecturers, native speakers.