The Role of Language Teacher Identity in Kazakhstan’s Trilingual Education Policy

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to underscore the critical role of language teacher identity in implementing Kazakhstan’s trilingual education policy. While the policy sets ambitious linguistic targets, teachers ultimately determine how well these targets translate into classroom realities. Exploring teacher identity helps illuminate why certain aspects of trilingual education succeed and why others fall short, and demonstrates why supporting teacher identity is essential for more effective policy outcomes. The paper first examines the concept of language teacher identity within multilingual contexts, highlighting its influence on teaching beliefs, choices, and practices. It then discusses the importance of teacher education for nurturing teachers’ identity awareness and explores how current programs in Kazakhstan often overlook this dimension. Following this, the paper addresses practical concerns about integrating identity-focused content into already demanding teacher training curricula, showing how small, incremental changes can yield significant benefits. Next, it presents a workshop template that integrates identity reflection into professional development for trilingual educators. The paper concludes by reinforcing the necessity of supporting language teacher identity to realize the ambitions of Kazakhstan’s trilingual policy.