Navigating International Students’ Investments, Language Learning Strategies, and Future Selves in Learning Kazakh as an Additional Language: Evidence From Kazakhstan

Abstract

Language is increasingly recognized as a key factor shaping international students’ experiences in higher education, particularly in contexts dominated by English-medium instruction (EMI). Despite this, many international students assume that English alone is sufficient, often overlooking the importance of host-country languages. As a result, research on their engagement with Languages Other Than English (LOTEs) in non-Anglophone settings remains limited. In Kazakhstan, where Kazakh holds growing sociopolitical and cultural significance within a multilingual environment, international students’ experiences of learning Kazakh as an additional language remain underexplored. This study addresses this lacuna by examining how international students invest in learning Kazakh, with particular attention to their changing beliefs, language learning strategies (LLS), and imagined future selves. Adopting a qualitative design, the study draws on narrative writing and semi-structured individual interviews with 10 international students at an EMI university in Kazakhstan. It is guided by Darvin and Norton’s (2015) model of investment, which provides a lens for understanding how identity, access to resources, and ideological conditions shape language learning. The data were analyzed thematically to capture the complexity of participants’ experiences. The findings suggest that participants’ beliefs about Kazakh and Kazakhstani society evolved over time, moving from initially limited and instrumental views toward more nuanced, culturally and ideologically informed understandings. Their investment was shaped by academic demands, social relationships, and future aspirations, but remained fluid and sometimes fragile due to institutional constraints, the dominance of Russian and English, and limited opportunities for meaningful language use. At the same time, participants demonstrated agency through cognitive, social, and self-regulated strategies, while their imagined future selves sustained engagement. These findings suggest the need to move beyond EMI-focused models by integrating context-sensitive support for host-language learning, including tailored curricula, opportunities for authentic interaction, and stronger institutional recognition of Kazakh. They also highlight the importance of preparing international students for multilingual realities prior to and during their studies. Overall, the study contributes to a growing body of research that calls for rethinking internationalization in higher education as a multilingual and socially embedded process rather than an English-dominated one.